Gideon frowned, wanting to contradict this: Harrow was nothing if not resourceful. He stayed quiet, though, coming to lean against the gravestone next to her.
“They indentured me to a wealthy witch family, who treated me fine, I suppose. At least, at first.”
Harrow’s voice, which was only ever biting and sarcastic, suddenly softened.
“Their daughter, Juniper, taught me to read and write. She even shared her favorite books with me: novels, operas, plays. The more fanciful, the better.” A strange glow lit up her face as she spoke. Gideon had never seen her look like that. “She wouldread to me in the evenings, and sometimes in the afternoons, if the weather was nice and if I could abandon my chores without being noticed. We would sit in the trees and recite poetry and plays to each other.”
Isn’t that the point of art—to tame the monsters in us?
It was something Harrow said to him not so long ago. He’d assumed she was quoting some book at him, to mock him, and hadn’t given it a second thought.
“You loved her,” he realized.
Harrow flinched, ashamed to be caught out. As if loving a witch was a criminal offense.
“When her family realized, they didthis.” She pointed to the spot where an ear should be. “They hoped to make me unpalatable to her. Maybe I should be thankful they didn’t have the stomach to take my eyes, or my nose. That probably would have done the trick.”
Her jaw clenched, but she continued.
“They threw me in the cellar and locked the door. They probably hoped I’d bleed to death.” Her hands fidgeted in her lap as she picked at her fingernails, already bitten to the quick. “I thought Juniper would rescue me. She’d never spoken her feelings outright. Hadn’t made any declarations of love. But I’dhoped…”
She fisted her hands.
“I kept waiting for her to come, but the door never opened. I stayed alive by catching drops of water from a leaking pipe, waiting to die of starvation.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “When the door finally opened, I thought I was hallucinating. It wasn’t my mistress; it was a soldier in a red uniform. He said the Sister Queens were dead, and the Reign of Witches was over. He said I was free.”
Uncurling her fists, she stared down at her open palms. “Strange thing was, I didn’t feel free.”
Gideon touched her shoulder. “Harrow. I’m sorry.”
She shrugged, and his hand fell back to his side. “We all have our scars, Comrade.” Glancing up at him, she held his gaze. “But I don’t have to tell you that, do I?”
She slipped down from the gravestone and returned to the path.
“Don’t forget whose side you’re on tonight.” Her voice echoed back to him. “Or there will be worse scars to come.”
FORTY-THREERUNE
GIDEON WASN’T HOME WHENshe arrived at his apartment. So Rune moved quickly. She needed to be long gone before he returned. The sooner she rejoined Aurelia and Meadow, the better.
Rune was still wet from her swim. Her ice-cold hands shook as she rummaged through his cupboards, stopping only when she found the sack of apples and the bag of hardtack. She’d hauled them out and was about to sling them over her shoulder when a creaking floorboard made her freeze.
“First, you steal my gun. Now, I find you breaking into my apartment and taking my food.”
Rune shot to her feet, spinning to face him.
Gideon leaned against the door frame, still in uniform. Watching her. “Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?”
Her heart galloped in her chest.
Is this it?Would he arrest her now? Or would he wait to betray her, expecting a cargo hold full of witches, including the Roseblood heir?
Rune drew her casting knife, gripping it in front of her. Gideon’s gaze flickered to the blade and back to her face.
Realizing her stolen gun was gone, he moved like a predator, descending on her. She slashed the air with her knife in warning. But he only grabbed her wrist, holding it away from himself.
“Youare far worse than a thorn in my side,” he said, his dark eyes gleaming at her. “You are a knife in my heart.”
His voice was low and dangerous, making the hair on her arms rise. But at odds with his voice were his gloved fingers, which lifted to her throat. Rune let out a soft gasp as he gently traced the arc of her neck.
