“Consider yourself lucky for you,” the Hunter said as he stepped back from the cell. “But one day, the Queen will add your spine to her collection. And you’ll wish you were dead a long, long time before then.”
My heart throttled in my chest, and fear poured off my body like waves. I was certain the Hunter was going to hurt Rourke. Not kill him—yet. That much was clear. Harm him? Yes. Perhaps through torture, as a way to get answers about the Summer fae? Maybe.
But the Hunter merely spit on the floor of Rourke’s cell and strode back toward the entrance to the dungeons. He threw the keys on the wall and vanished back up in the stairwell, leaving me alone with no one to stand in my way. Immediately, I dropped the shadows and grabbed the keys off the wall, my feet pattering against the stone passageway.
“Norah.” Rourke was across his cell in an instant, twisting his hands through the bars and into mine. Shock was written all over his face, as well as a hint of fear. “What are you doing here? How in the name of the forest did you get down to this cell?”
“I used the stone, you idiot.” But I didn’t mean my words, of course. I was too excited to see him, so overwhelmingly relieved that I’d managed to get here in time.
“Are you telling me that you got all the way here using your shadow powers?”
“That’s right. And I’m going to have to use them a hell of a lot more to get us out of here.” I shoved the key into the lock and turned. When I opened up the cell, Rourke strode forward and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Oomph,” I said, like an idiot, my eyes going as wide as saucers. Rourke…was hugging me. He actually had his arms wrapped around me, and his chest was pressed tight against mine. The scent of burning leaves drifted up my nose, and my eyes slid shut, my entire body yearning to bask in the feel of him. This was unexpected, to say the least. But very much welcome.
Very much welcome.
“This world has a strange way of moving its pieces around the board,” he murmured into my ear, sending sparks of electricity down my neck. “It wasn’t so long ago that things were the other way around. Me, coming to get you out of a cell. Remember?”
“How could I forget?”
Rourke pulled back, and his mask of calm indifference shuttered across his features once again. I supposed he couldn’t help himself. That was how he’d always been. I just wished he could see that he didn’t have to hide emotions, not from me.
“We won’t have time to complete the plan.” Rourke jumped right back into mission-mode. “Once they realize I’m not in my cell, they will send out patrols searching every inch of this city. We need to be as far away as we can by then, I’m afraid.”
“That’s no problem. I already heard enough from the Queen herself. And to be honest, Rourke. You won’t believe it when I tell you. It’s…not great.”
His eyes flickered, and he frowned. “You can fill me in as soon as we’re safe. Do you think you’ll be able to cast your shadow net around us both?”
With a deep breath, I held out my palm and swallowed hard. “Maybe. I think it’s probably best if we’re in constant contact though…”
His warm fingers weaved through mine while his gold-flecked eyes stayed locked on my face. The vein in my neck flickered, reflecting the pattering of my heart. And then together, as one, we crept right past the Queen and all her guards, disappearing into the hazy Autumn city of Esari.
Chapter Eleven
The storm didn’t hit until we’d made it out of the city. The trees rose up high as we left civilisation behind, ducking underneath the twisting branches of the Autumn woods. Thunder rumbled overhead as bulbous clouds beat down hail the size of oranges. Rourke pulled me to the ground and launched himself on top of me, shielding my head from the onslaught of the brutal ice.
My heart hammered hard in my chest as I clung to the ground, fingers digging into the soaked earth. The storms were growing worse. The hail was violent and unrelenting. Lightning shot through the sky, and a cry of fear ripped from my throat. I couldn’t help but remember what had happened to the Summer guard. This storm could grow worse, and it could grow worse very fast. And we had nothing but the trees to keep us safe.
“We need to get out of this storm,” Rourke murmured into my ear. “Do you trust me?”
Widening my eyes, I twisted my head to face him. “Of course I trust you.”
Rourke’s warm and comforting body was suddenly gone—he was on his feet within seconds. As the hail slammed into the ground all around his, he bent over and scooped me up into his arms. His feet began to pound against the pockmarked dirt as his lithe and impossibly fast body twisted and turned, dodging the furious attack from mother nature.
Up ahead, a small stone building melted into view. Rourke sped straight for it, throwing open the steel-encased door and storming inside just as a heavy, unrelenting rain poured down from the skies above. He heaved in great breaths as he lowered me to the floor, and then turned to latch the door behind us.
All I could do was stare at him. Rourke, as it turned out, was impossibly fast. I’d seen flashes of it before but never like this. The way he could move…my eyes slid down the back of him, and I gasped. From where he’d been protecting me, he’d taken a heavy beating from the hail. The ice had sliced through his cloak, as well as the shirt underneath. Blood was smeared everywhere, so much so that it was impossible tell just how badly he’d been wounded.
I stood on shaky legs and crossed to where he was bent over, his forehead pressed against the hard stone wall. “Rourke. You’re hurt.”
“I know. But at least you’re safe.”
My heart flickered, and I reached out to place a timid hand on his shoulder. I expected him to flinch. He always did. But not this time.
“My safety is not more important than yours.” I took a small step closer. “Please let me look at your wounds.”
He stiffened and shook his head. “I know what you want to do, and the answer is no. I remember what happened when you healed Kael. It made you impossibly weak, Norah. You’ve already put yourself in danger enough because of me.”
Oh, Rourke.
“At least let me clean your back,” I said. “The normal way. No magic allowed.”
For a long moment, I didn’t think he would agree. But his body had began to tremble, a sign that he wasn’t as immune to his wounds as he wanted me to think. Rain had soaked through all our clothes, and a chill had come along with the storm. His wounds needed some attention, or things were going to get a lot worse.
“Okay. Just cleaning though.” He pushed away from the wall and eased down onto a burlap canvas that was spread across the floor. With trembling fingers, I leaned over him, carefully pulling his matted shirt away from his back.
He flinched, but that was the only sign of pain. His back, on the other hand, told a far different story than the calm, controlled expression on his face. He’d been cut—badly—in at least three places. I used his shirt to gently wipe away some of the blood, but the wounds kept pouring, no longer how many times I dabbed them dry.
“Rourke,” I began.
“Norah, don’t.” He leaned up on his elbow to face me, his golden chest glistening under the pale light streaming in from outside. I know what you’re going to say, but you can’t.”
“I don’t think we really have a choice here. You’re losing a lot of blood. If I don’t stop it, things are going to get a lot worse.”
I didn’t know how worse exactly. I wasn’t a doctor. I didn’t know how this kind of thing worked. Would he pass out first? Would he be able to walk? Or would he just…slowly fade away if we didn’t stop the bleeding? I’d never read a manual on this kind of thing. All I knew was, nonstop, profuse bleeding would lead to terrible things.