Page 61 of Heart of the Cursed
Chapter 24
With no destination in mind, Arun walked aimlessly until the sun rose. Only then did he realise just how long he’d been wandering around the woods.
Normally, he would have enjoyed the peace and quiet. Listening to the sounds of nocturnal animals was a soothing kind of melody, but not tonight. His mind had been too preoccupied with thoughts of Selene to enjoy much of anything.
He had gone for a walk in the hopes of figuring out his feelings for her, but it was impossible to think of anything when his mind kept screaming at him to return to her. But Arun refused to go back. He needed to figure some things out first, and he couldn’t do that with her around.
There wasn’t only the matter of his feelings for Selene to consider, either. There was also the spell to take into consideration. If they did manage to find the spell and it worked how it was supposed to, then he would be leaving the realm soon. It would be foolish to get involved with her knowing it couldn’t go anywhere, but that didn’t stop him from wanting exactly that.
He knew it was selfish, but he didn’t want to leave the realm without her. But he couldn’t… wouldn’t… ask her to go with him. After everything she’d been through, she deserved to live in peace with her own kind. It didn’t matter that she was only half Human, she was meant to live among them. He just hoped that when the dust settled, they would let her live among them.
He couldn’t begin to imagine how she would feel if they turned their backs on her yet again. Especially after everything she would have done to free them from being hunted and killed or enslaved. It would probably break her heart.
Selene deserved so much better than the life she had been given. She deserved to be protected and cherished for the kind-hearted soul she was. If only the Humans could see that for themselves.
Unable to stay away from her any longer, Arun turned around and headed back to the bunker. She would have probably woken up by now and wondering where he’d disappeared to, so he picked up the pace. Arun had already been gone for a lot longer than he’d anticipated. He had planned on returning to the bunker before she woke and noticed him missing, but time had slipped away from him.
As soon as the bunker came into view, he knew something was wrong. The metal door was wide open, and he’d made sure to shut it when he left. He couldn’t see Selene leaving it open, so that only left one explanation. Someone else had been inside, and they probably weren’t friendly.
“Fuck!”
Arun raced over to the bunker and climbed down the ladder. He quickly searched all the rooms, including the little storage cupboard by the entrance. Thankfully, there was no sign of a struggle in either of the rooms, but there was also no sign of Selene. Whoever had broken into the bunker, had left with her.
He was about to go outside and search for clues when he caught sight of a piece of paper. It was folded in half and left on the bed where he’d last seen Selene fast asleep.
It was bad enough that someone had been inside the bunker while he’d been gone and that they had most likely kidnapped Selene. But what was even more worrying, the person responsible knew his name. Which meant they knew him and what he was capable of.
Arun took a deep breath before picking up the piece of paper and unfolding it. The second he saw the name at the bottom, his heart sunk.
‘Next time you touch what belongs to me, you will pay the ultimate price. Agnarr.’
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
How could he have been so stupid as to leave her alone? If he’d known Agnarr was after her, he never would have left her side. If only she’d told him, he wouldn’t have let her out of his sight for a single second, let alone for hours.
Arun didn’t know how she knew him, but knowing Agnarr’s history with Humans, it couldn’t be good. There was no way he was getting her back without a fight. If Agnarr thought he would walk away from her because of his threat, then he was sorely mistaken. There was no way he would leave her in the hands of such a monster.
Any good warrior went into battle with an army at his back, but all Arun needed was his two best friends, Taredd and Dain. Between the three of them, they could defeat any foe, even if that foe was his own brother.
