Rune stared at the note. She couldn’t make sense of it. It was Gideon’s handwriting. But the words… the coin…
I found this on the boat shortly after we left the island.
But what was a gift from Gideon doing on Alex’s boat?
Unless…
Rune’s heart plummeted into her stomach.
He put it there for me to find.
Which meant he knew she would use Alex’s sailboat to escape.
If he knew, why didn’t he stop me?
Rune recalled the guards swarming the waterfront, descending on her and Aurelia’s hiding place. The only reason they hadn’t found and seized them was because…
He called them off.
Rune thought back to that night. To the hammer of her heart as Aurelia cocked her gun, ready to shoot. To the relief that flooded her at the soldier’s shouted command.
We’re needed on the other side of town. Captain’s orders. All hands. Make haste!
Gideon had drawn the Blood Guard away, allowing Rune to escape.
She hadn’t outwitted him.
Not at all.
And now he’ll be accused of sympathizing with witches.
He likely already had been.
If the Good Commander knew Gideon had let Rune go, Gideon was as good as dead.
Rune glanced up from the note, staring across the sea, feeling like she’d made a terrible mistake. Like she’d abandoned half her soul behind in hell.
Did he have a change of heart at the eleventh hour, or had Gideon been deceiving them all for a while now? And if so, when did he decide to let her go?
If she’d paid attention, she might have figured it out. But now Gideon’s life was forfeit, and there was nothing she could do. An ocean sat between them, and Rune had no way to cross it.
An urge to leap into the sea andswimback overcame her.
Would he have come with me, had I asked?
But even if she had, where would they go? She and Gideon could never be together.
Not in the New Republic, perhaps. But the world is a vast place.
Why hadn’t she asked him?
Aurelia was right. Rune couldn’t let Gideon die. Not after he’d saved her life.
And if they’ve already executed him?
Rune had to believe he was alive—that he would find a way to skirt death long enough for Rune to save him. Slipping the necklace over her head, she rose to her feet.
I have to go back.
