She pushed against him, halting the kiss, and stepped out of his reach.

“Buttercups are my favorite,” she whispered, breathless and walking backward. “But daisies are also acceptable.”

The corner of Gideon’s mouth turned up. “Noted.”

It went against all of his instincts, watching her walk away, not knowing what danger waited for her beyond this alley. But as Verity had pointed out, there was little he could do to protect Rune.

Except for catching the witch who’d attacked her tonight.

Behind him, the kitchen door swung open. Gideon turned to find Laila stepping out.

“There’s something you should see. But we need to be quick. It’s already fading.”

Curious, he followed her inside.

Back in the courtyard, which reeked of smoke but was devoid of spellfire, Laila peeled a scorched tablecloth back from a long table. She pointed underneath.

Gideon crouched down, ducking his head to see.

Something glowed in the space between the chairs, moon-pale and delicate.

“It’s a casting signature,” Laila said, her voice floating down from overhead.

Gideon dropped to all fours, squinting in its direction, trying to get a better look. He crawled under the table, the pebbles shifting beneath his knees, until he knew exactly what he was looking at.

He saw it every night in his nightmares. Found it carved into his chest every time he looked in the mirror.

A thorny rose enclosed by a crescent moon.

The sight of it made him nauseous.

“A witch was hidden among the guests tonight.”

The brand on his chest flared suddenly. Gideon rubbed at it, but the pain faded quickly, leaving him to wonder if it was just in his head.

Laila joined him beneath the table, sitting cross-legged on the other side of the signature. With her head bowed beneath the wood overhead, her gaze flicked between him and the floating mark. “Who does it belong to?”

The past rose up to bite Gideon, trying to drag him backward in its teeth.

He wished he could deny what was right in front of his eyes. That there was some other explanation. But he knew this signature like he knew his own name.

“It belongs to a witch who should be dead.”

His eyes met Laila’s.

“Cressida Roseblood.”

OceanofPDF.com

FORTY RUNE

“QUITE THE PERFORMANCE,” SAID Verity as Rune’s carriage left the palace, bumping along the cobblestone streets. “With acting skills like those, you could audition for the Royal Theater.”

Beside her, Rune sighed. Verity was upset. She’d been worried sick about Rune, who she’d watched get engulfed by spellfire, and when she finally found her alive, Rune was flirting with an equally dangerous force: Gideon Sharpe.

“Truly. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe you were smitten with a Blood Guard captain who hunts down your own kind.”

Rune looked away, unable to escape the guilt flooding in. “I’m not smitten,” she said, watching the city center roll by through the window. “And I’m perfectly aware that he hates my kind. That’s why I’m letting him court me, remember? To steal his intel.”

“And how much intel have you stolen, exactly?”

Rune opened her mouth to answer, except the only information Gideon had given her was bad information.

Is she right?

Was courting Gideon nothing more than a dangerous waste of her time?

“I need to wear down his defenses more,” she said. “Once he trusts me completely, he’ll be at my disposal.”

Verity turned to the window. “Whatever you say.”

Knowing that Verity wasn’t really angry at Rune, but at the people trying to hurt her, she changed the subject. “Is Seraphine all right?”

Verity nodded, visibly relaxing. “They removed her back to her cell.”

With the tension defused, they sat in silence until the carriage pulled up to Thornwood Hall.

Alex’s home was nestled inside a forest. The old trees towered over them as they exited the carriage and started toward the stone house.

More of a small castle, thought Rune, staring up at it. A turret graced each of its four corners, and candles burned in most of the windows, giving Rune the impression of eyes. Like Cressida’s former home was watching her approach.

She hurried to catch up with Verity, following her inside.

Now that Verity had obtained information regarding the prison, they needed a cogent plan for breaking Seraphine out of that prison—as soon as possible.

Upon entering Alex’s home, she was greeted by piano music floating through the halls. It soothed her a little. While Verity stalked toward the kitchens in search of refreshments for their meeting, Rune followed the song to the other end of the house, drawn to it like a distressed ship to a beacon.

With the smell of smoke lingering in her hair, Rune drew her shawl tighter around herself. She’d spent two years being hunted by the Blood Guard. She was used to people wanting her dead. But it had never occurred to her that a witch might want her dead, too. The realization rattled her.

The conservatory door hung open. Sighting the pianist, Rune paused to watch him play.

Alex’s lean shoulders hunched as his hands moved like spiders over the keys. The sight of him was like coming home. Like wrapping herself in a warm blanket on a chilly day.

Alex was constant and safe. Gentle and kind.

Rune leaned against the lintel and let herself wonder, just for a moment, what it would be like to accept his offer. To leave everything behind and go to Caelis, where she could live a life without fear and finally be herself.

No. She had a purpose here in the New Republic. A duty.

Witches were still being hauled to prison and purged. Rune couldn’t abandon them. They were innocent people, and she owed it to her grandmother. Saving girls from being murdered by the Republic was the only way to make Nan’s death mean something.

It was the choice she’d made.

And no matter how she might dream of a different life, this was the one she belonged in.

Alex’s right hand stumbled, hitting the wrong key, and the song halted.

“Rune.” He brushed his golden hair out of his eyes to look at her. “You startled me.”

“Sorry.” She stepped out of the door frame and into the room, moving toward him. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”

He rose from the bench, his gaze sweeping over her. “What happened?”

Rune looked down at herself. Ashy soot streaked the beautiful gown Gideon had made her. It probably streaked her face, too. “I … it’s a long story. I’ll tell it once Verity gets back from the kitchen.”

Alex made room for her on the bench, looking worried. Rune sat down, letting her shawl fall to the floor behind them.

She nodded toward the keys. “Don’t stop on my account.”

With his eyes still on her, Alex placed his fingers on the piano and resumed the song.

And like that, he was gone again. Soaring away from her.

“You play better than your brother, that’s for sure,” she said when he finished, remembering Gideon plunking piano keys in her library.

“Oh? Has he been serenading you?” The playfulness of the question couldn’t hide the edge in his voice. Before she could answer, he closed the fallboard, and the keys disappeared. “I have something to show you.”

He rose from the bench and walked to the far wall, where his writing desk stood between two windows. He picked up a large sheet of paper, then brought it back and handed it to her.

“It’s the deed to the house in Caelis.”

Rune stared at the deed. A strange numbness flooded her. “You bought it?” The realization gave her a stomachache. “So soon?”

“I’m putting Thornwood Hall up for sale tomorrow. Please don’t look so unhappy.”