RUNE
THE PRISTINE HALLS OF Larkmont were quiet and still. As Rune crept through them, veiled by Ghost Walker, she overheard two guards talking about Soren’s trip to the capital, saying his fleet was ready to sail for the New Republic.
Had Cressida and the other witches he’d given sanctuary to joined him there? It would explain the empty palace.
If Cressida was in Caelis, her spell books would likely be with her.
Am I too late?
Rune quickened her pace. Arriving in Larkmont’s guest quarters, she walked up to the witch queen’s suite and pressed her ear to the door. She heard no voices or movement within, so she opened the door and slipped inside.
Marble columns held up the bedroom’s high ceilings, and the lavish furnishings announced that only privileged guests ever slept here.
No breakfast tray sat on the terrace, waiting to be collected. No clothing was strung about. Nothing was out of place.
Is she already gone?
A breeze from the next room brought a whiff of old magic. Rune followed the scent, hurrying through the archway, passing the private bath, and entered the parlor meant for retiring in the evenings.
The open windows let in a breeze. It ruffled the curtains, sending sunlight flickering through the quiet room. The air smelled strongly of blood and roses—a telltale sign Cressida had used this room for casting. Rune’s gaze snagged on a packed suitcase lying on the sofa as if waiting for someone to collect it. Next to the suitcase sat a leather book bag.
Hope flared in her.
Cressida must have left her things to be packed and brought to the capital for her.
Rune opened the bag, pulling out the spell books to look for sailing spells strong enough to help her guide a large ship on her own. The first book consisted of elemental spells, and while some might be helpful— changing the current or tide; calming a strong wind or changing its direction
—they weren’t what she needed.
Rune pulled out the next and skimmed its pages, recognizing several love spells. She tried flipping past them, only to end up in a section on love curses. None of which were useful to her.
Rune was about to toss the entire book aside when the memory of Gideon stopped her. His brand burning beneath her palm, growing hotter by the second. The way he tore away from her, trembling with pain.
It happens when I touch you.
Fury curled like smoke inside Rune.
She stared down at the book on her lap. Instead of setting it aside, Rune flipped back, searching for the spell Cressida had used to hurt Gideon.
She found it soon enough:
TRUE LOVE’S CURSE is an Arcana spell. It prevents a victim from being with his true love by inflicting pain whenever he touches her skin to skin.
The words made Rune dizzy.
They’d both assumed the spell kept Gideon away from Rune, specifically. But this was something else. This was intended to keep Gideon away from his true love. Which meant …
It happens when I touch you.
Swallowing the strange lump in her throat, Rune kept reading.
Once cast, TRUE LOVE’S CURSE cannot wear off. Only the blood of the victim’s true love, spilled in a sacrificial act, can break it.
What kind of sacrificial act?
Rune scanned down the page and found spellmarks for the counterspell at the bottom. There were three in total. She stared at them.
Those three spellmarks were all it would take to break the curse?
And the blood spilled in a sacrificial act.
The sound of a creaking door made Rune freeze.
“Make haste.” Cressida’s voice floated through the archway. “In order to sail at dawn tomorrow, we must arrive in Caelis tonight.”
The witch queen’s footsteps grew louder. Rune’s pulse thumped wildly as she shut the spell book and quickly rose to her feet, heading for the windows. Ghost Walker concealed her, but the last time she’d used her invisibility spell to hide from Cressida, she was sure the witch queen had still sensed her in the room.
Not wanting to chance it, Rune stepped behind the curtains, clutching the book of spells.
The footsteps stopped. “What’s—”
“Hush,” Cressida hissed, silencing whoever was in the room with her. Probably eyeing the open satchel and the spell books scattered across the sofa. There hadn’t been enough time to put them away.
Rune held her breath.
A slight breeze at her back told her the window behind her was open. She could turn and climb out. Cressida would never know it was Rune who’d been in here, only that someone had been rifling through her things.
But her mind was on True Love’s Curse.
On the instructions for breaking it.
Namely: the blood spilled in a sacrificial act.
Cressida’s shoes clicked on the tiles as she drew closer to the curtains. If Rune wanted to escape, she had to go now.
But she suddenly knew what was required to break the curse. The terrifying thought of it made her stomach clench.
What if I’m wrong? What if it doesn’t work?
Cressida stood directly before her now, on the other side of the curtain.
Rune heard the breaths she took. Felt the chill of her presence.
Was Gideon worth the risk?
Rune touched the coin hanging around her neck.
Yes.
Gideon had endured unimaginable things under the Reign of Witches. And yet, somehow, he’d emerged with his soul intact. The proof: he’d forfeited his life so Rune—a witch—could go free.
Cressida yanked aside the curtain. Clutching the stolen spell book to her chest, Rune looked up, meeting her queen’s furious gaze.
“You.”
Rune had never been more terrified.
As Cressida’s eyes dropped to the book of love spells, her mouth twisted in a mocking smile. “Oh, Rune. Unlucky in love?”
Rune’s anger ignited. She lifted her chin. “I suppose I should thank you.
If not for your curse, I wouldn’t have irrefutable proof that he loves me.”
Cressida’s nostrils flared. Grabbing Rune’s jaw, she slammed her head hard against the window, cracking the glass and sending a stab of pain through her skull.
Despite the shock of it, despite Cressida’s ferocious grip tightening on her jaw, Rune stared the queen down. “Touch Gideon again, and I’ll make you wish you were dead.”
Cressida leaned in, whispering close to her ear. “Do you know what I do to those who threaten me?”
Oh, Rune knew.
Do your worst.
