You deserve this.
If he hadn’t hesitated at the sight of Rune’s tears, if he’d simply pulled the trigger, he’d be riding back to Caelis right now, his mission accomplished.
Cressida rose to her feet and walked toward Gideon before pausing.
“Rune?” She glanced over her shoulder. “Did you hear what I said?”
Gideon looked past the witch queen to find Rune still in the room, standing a few paces beyond them. She seemed frozen in place, the pistol in her hands trained on him, her gray eyes unreadable.
Their gazes locked. An invisible charge electrified the air.
End this. Put me out of my misery.
She knew what Cress had done to him in the past. She knew what Cress would do to him now.
“Rune.” He stared her down, pleading.“Shoot.”
Her eyes were a raging storm. If she pulled the trigger, it would not be out of pity but something much stronger.
Cressida stepped between them. “Give Ava the pistol.”
Like a severed thread, the command snapped Rune out of whatever thoughts ensnared her.
“Thepistol, Rune.”
Rune glanced down at the gun in her hands. And then, like a good little foot soldier, she handed it over to Ava.
She didn’t look at Gideon again. Just turned and walked away, shards of glass crunching beneath her shoes. The door swung shut behind her, leaving Gideon alone with Cressida and her scar artist.
Like she didn’t care at all.
Ava walked to the sink and set his gun down on its ceramic edge, then stared into the mirror as she fixed her makeup.
“Look at us. Reunited at last.”
He tore his gaze from the door Rune had exited, returning his attention to the enemy in the room. Cressida Roseblood was beautiful—in a cold, terrifying way. Like being lost in a blizzard, knowing it was going to kill you.
Blood dripped down her arm and smudged the fingers of her hand. She stopped a foot away from Gideon and drew out her casting knife. Pressing its flat, crescent edge beneath his chin, she forced his gaze to hers.
Running the edge of the blade down his throat, she said: “Did you come to Larkmont alone?”
His mouth went dry. “Yes.”
She walked around him, trailing the knife across his shoulders, stopping at his back. He felt her slip the key into his manacles, then twist. The chains rattled to the floor.
He tried to reach for the knife, forher, but his freed hands were still bound by her spell.
Cressida continued circling, dragging her blade over his body, until she faced him once more. Hooking her knife into the collar of his stolen jacket, she tugged downward, popping open the top button. Gideon heard the rip of his undershirt beneath.
His heart pounded.
“And your purpose here?”
“To assassinate Rune Winters.”
She continued, popping the next jacket button, tearing his undershirt further. “Why?”
Gideon swallowed. “To stop her from securing an alliance between you and Soren Nord.”
