SEVENTY-FOUR
RUNE
IT TOOK THREE DAYS of hard riding to get to the Crossroads.
Halfway, the group split up. Laila took the soldiers and headed for the Rookery, hoping to seize it by force, with the help of a substantial number of Blood Guard soldiers on the inside who were waiting for Laila’s command. If Rune and Gideon were successful at the Crossroads, they would soon join her.
Bart remained at the Wentholt cottage, in case Harrow and Juniper returned with more witches for their ranks. Charlotte Gong, Elias Creed, and the other exiled aristocrats remained with Bart, organizing search parties of the homes and towns invaded by Cressida’s army, hoping to find survivors.
Gideon and Rune continued to the Crossroads, accompanied by Seraphine and Antonio. Antonio had volunteered at the last moment, surprising Rune.
“Bart doesn’t mind being parted from you?” she asked him.
“Sometimes our paths must diverge from those we love,” Antonio said as they rode, side by side, scanning the surrounding mountains. “But if love is the highest power, our paths will converge again—if not in this world, then the next.”
The words felt like a premonition, making her shiver.
“You believe that?” she asked. “That love is the highest power?”
He glanced at her like she’d asked him if water was wet. “Don’t you?”
At sundown, they heard the thunderous roar of the Crossroads before they saw it: the gorge opening up and the hungry white whirlpool below. Its currents swirled angrily, like water down a giant’s drain.
In the center was a rocky island maybe twenty paces across. A rickety rope bridge connected the island to the gorge’s bank. It jerked and swayed, beholden to the strong winds surrounding them.
Rune knew in her gut that small island was where she needed to go. It’s exactly where Cressida would hide her half sisters: in the center of a whirlpool.
She glanced at Seraphine, finding her eyes also focused there, as if she sensed the same.
“Gideon and I will go look,” said Rune, adjusting the strap of her satchel containing the necessary spell book. “If I need you, Seraphine, I’ll wave.”
Seraphine nodded as Antonio continued scanning the mountainous hills around them. The moon was a pale sliver against a red sky, reminding them that Cressida would arrive soon. The new moon was tomorrow. Best to find Rune’s half sisters and get out.
Gideon went first, testing the bridge. He’d strapped a shovel to his back—in case they had to dig the bodies up—and sheathed a pistol at his hip. The bridge swayed beneath his weight, making Rune’s heart lodge in her throat. But his grasp on the rope never slipped, and he quickly pulled himself forward. When he finally reached the other side, he nodded to her.
Rune stepped onto the bridge.
Spray dampened her clothes and hair. The ropes—slippery with water—chafed at her stiff hands until the skin broke. More than once, her foot slipped, and she nearly went down.
She wouldn’t survive a fall into those currents. The whirlpool would drag her under, and even if she managed to come up for air, the water would smash her body against the rocks, snuffing the life from her.
Rune righted herself, checked that her satchel was secure, and continued.
Gideon’s gaze never left her. She felt him watching her every move, felt him tense every time she stumbled. When she was within reach, he held his hand out.
Rune grabbed it, holding tight.
He pulled her to safety.
They split up, checking for signs: upturned earth, or an unnatural pattern in the rocks. Cressida would have buried them here two years ago, returning at least a few times to renew her spell.
But Rune didn’t find them in the ground.
She found them lying in a still pool, hidden by reeds. It was the glow that alerted her to it. When the tall grass shifted and the pale light shone through, Rune caught sight of a white casting signature: a rose and crescent moon.
Rune waded through the reeds until she stood at the pool’s edge. The water was crystal clear. Beneath the pale glow of Cressida’s signature, she saw them: two young women lying peacefully under the surface, as if asleep.
Silver-white hair framed Elowyn and Analise’s faces. Long, pale eyelashes rested against their fair cheeks. And there was a gaping hole in each of their foreheads where a bullet had gone in, dealing a killing blow.
Rune’s breath froze in her lungs.
My sisters.
She swallowed, not wanting to step into this place in which they rested, waiting for Cressida to bring them back to life. But in order to check the strength of the magic preserving them, in order to destroy them, she’d have to drag them out.
Drawing a deep breath, Rune walked into the shallow pool. As soon as her boot touched the water, the pool blackened. A force like lightning exploded outward, striking Rune. It turned her vision bright white and threw her backward, into the reeds.
She landed on her rump, pain flickering through her.
Rune winced and sat up, staring at the pool, its black waters still rippling from her disruption.
The spell was obviously still intact.
So why did Harrow’s note say it’s fading?
Without the counterspell, they couldn’t break it. And if she couldn’t enter the pool to drag them out…
“What happened?” Rushing over, Gideon crouched next to her. “Are you all right?” Catching sight of Elowyn and Analise beneath the water, his eyes darkened.
“The spell won’t let me near them,” said Rune. “Maybe Seraphine will have a solution.”
But as he helped her up and they turned toward the bridge, Rune realized an unbreakable spell was the least of her problems.
Across the roaring whirlpool, Seraphine and Antonio were on their knees, a gun pressed to each of their heads. Beyond them, a hundred or more soldiers ringed the gorge.
Among them were witches. Dozens of witches. Their casting knives shimmered in the last light of the setting sun.
Juniper was with them. Her eyes were red from weeping, her hands were bound in front her, and at her back stood Cressida—with a knife to Juniper’s throat.
Harrow, too, was restrained. A soldier gripped the spymaster’s hair as they forced her to her knees.
We’ve failed, thought Rune.
“I’m sorry, Comrade!” Harrow’s anguished voice echoed over the water. “She made me choose!”
Rune remembered Harrow’s note from three nights ago, telling them Cressida was traveling to the Crossroads.
It was a setup.
Rune’s thoughts spun faster than the whirlpool.
This was why the pair hadn’t returned. Why Gideon had received only one brief message from Harrow. Juniper had gone to recruit witches to their cause, and someone had ratted her out to the witch queen, further using her to compromise Harrow.
“She had to choose between betraying you or watching Juniper die,” Rune realized aloud. She glanced at Gideon, whose expression was a mixture of shock and anger. “Cressida would have threatened to kill Juniper unless Harrow led us into a trap.”
Deep down, Rune thought, she still loves her.
“Cress will kill them both as soon as her goals here are accomplished,” Gideon growled.
“Then let’s ensure they aren’t accomplished,” said Rune.
At some point, Gideon had drawn his gun, pointing it at the soldiers on the other side. But he only had so many bullets, and every soldier also had a gun—most of which were pointed right back.
Cressida would have ordered Rune to not be harmed; she needed her alive.
Would she have ordered the same for Gideon?
No , she thought, remembering the witch who’d nearly killed him on the train tracks. Remembering Cressida pointing her gun at Gideon’s chest and firing—only to be thwarted by Alex.
Gideon was disposable.
Rune reached for his free hand, lacing their fingers tight as she scanned the gorge.
We are completely surrounded .
Laila and their soldiers were leagues away, heading for the Rookery. Their allies here—Seraphine, Antonio, Juniper, Harrow—were hostages. It was only Gideon and Rune, surrounded by a deadly whirlpool, and on the other side: enemy soldiers. All of whom had their guns aimed directly at them.
Her breath hitched sharply. Cressida was now crossing the bridge, followed by several witches.
“Thank you for doing my work for me!” The witch queen moved confidently along the ropes. She’d discarded her traveling cape, and her casting knife shone at her hip. “You couldn’t possibly have made this any easier.”
BANG!
Gideon fired on Cressida and the witches with her. The bullet ricocheted off some invisible shield surrounding them and flew into the night.
BANG! BANG!
More bullets flew, only to bounce off again.
“ Gideon ,” Rune warned, seeing the soldiers surrounding them lift their guns, aiming straight at him. Waiting for Cressida’s command.
Gideon wasn’t listening. Rune felt his desperation with every shot of his pistol. Saw it in the unsteadiness of his hand as he reloaded. He was not going down without a fight.
Except the fight’s over, Rune realized as Cressida and her witches stepped off the bridge.
Their allies were all taken hostage. Their only weapons were Gideon’s gun—clearly useless against Cressida—and Rune’s spellbook. But any spell Rune tried would only be deflected by those magic shields. There was no point even attempting to cast one; by the time she drew the spellmarks, Cressida and her witches would be on them.
And Gideon would be dead from a hundred bullets.
BANG!
Cressida was ten paces away. She’d be here in seconds. The other witches were fanning out, preparing to surround Gideon and Rune. Beyond them, the soldiers cocked their guns.
Cressida raised her arm, about to give the command to fire. To end Gideon.
And suddenly Rune knew there was only one way left to beat her.
She thought of Everlasting. A spell with no end.
Rune could keep Gideon safe forever with that spell.
She thought of everyone who called this island home. People who deserved to be safe.
Rune could keep them safe with her life—by giving it up before Cressida could steal it from her.
She remembered her dream at the summoning stones: her and Gideon, face to face, in the dark and the rain. It wasn’t rain, she realized now as the mist of the whirlpool soaked them.
It wasn’t a dream.
Her eyes burned with the realization.
BANG!
The gunshot brought her back to the gorge. Rune turned to Gideon, whose eyes were dark with fear.
“Try to reach the bridge,” he said, still firing. “If I keep shooting at them, maybe—”
He was in denial. Refusing to see what was right in front of him. Rune wouldn’t even make it to the bridge. And if by some miracle she did, more witches were waiting beyond it, not to mention the soldiers.
“Gideon.”
He didn’t seem to hear her.
Cressida was seconds away. Any moment now, soldiers would shoot him dead, forcing Rune to watch him die. And then Cressida would kill Rune, too, resurrecting their sisters and cementing her reign of terror.
If Rune didn’t act now, the world she’d glimpsed last night would be snuffed out in the blink of an eye.
She couldn’t let that happen.
BANG!
“If you can get to Seraphine,” said Gideon, “maybe you can—”
Before he wasted the last bullet in the chamber, Rune grabbed the hot barrel and forced it down.
“Gideon.”
He jerked his head toward her, studying her for a moment. Droplets of spray shone in his hair, making it look darker than usual.
“Let go of the gun.”
He frowned, his eyes wild with confusion.
Swallowing down her fear, she said, “Do you trust me?”
It seemed to take all of his strength to do it, but he let her take his pistol.
The sacrifice must be living when the spell begins.
She was going to die. That was certain. And in light of that certainty, there was only one choice before her. Only one move left to make.
A dead victim will not work, even if the blood is fresh.
With trembling hands, Rune turned Gideon toward her. Away from the horror a few steps away.
The victim’s life must be taken in the process of casting the spell, or it will fail.
“Look at me.” She made sure the pistol was cocked. Just like he taught her.
Her hands shook harder, making her realize she couldn’t do this herself. She was going to need his help.
Tearing his eyes from Cressida, Gideon fixed them on Rune. Placing her hand over his heart, she said, “I want you to know I am so grateful, so lucky , to have loved you.” Her voice wobbled. “Even if it was only for a little while.”
Gideon’s jaw clenched. “What are—”
Rune shook her head. The tears prickling her eyes made the sight of him blur.
“If I have to die, I want to die like this.” Rune took his hand and wrapped it around the pistol as she pressed the barrel against her heart. “Right here. With you.”
Gideon stared down in horror at the gun. At his finger on the trigger.
“No,” he said, trying to step away. “ Rune. You can’t ask me—”
“You must .” She grabbed a fistful of his shirt, keeping him with her. Her throat heated. Tears trailed down her cheeks. “It’s the only way now. You know what will happen if you don’t.”
He looked away in disgust, his grip limp on the gun in her hand, pointed at her chest.
“If you don’t do it, she will.” Rune glanced over his shoulder, to see Cressida grinning. Like something out of a nightmare. So close. Almost here. About to rip them away from each other forever. “There’s no third option. She’ll kill me and use my death to bring about a much bigger nightmare.”
When she looked back into his face, his eyes shone with tears.
“It’s either you or her,” she said. “Don’t let it be her. If you love me, you won’t let it be her. Gideon, please .”
Her voice broke on that plea.
His grip on the gun tightened, so Rune let go. Taking his face in her hands, she pushed up on her toes and kissed him.
Hot tears spilled down both their cheeks.
“It’s been an honor, Captain,” she whispered against his lips.
Gideon let out a soft cry, but he didn’t fail her.
Pulling the trigger, he sent a bullet straight into her heart.