“Somehow I doubt that,” he said, trying to figure out whatthiswas.
“In order to forgive you, I need to trust you.”
She came closer, until only a sliver of space separated them.Gideon’s entire body tensed against her closeness, her spell holding him fast.
“And in order to trust you, I need to ensure you’re mine.” She traced her casting knife softly over his exposed collarbones. “Minealone.”
He could not revert to past Gideon—the pathetic boy who crawled back to her night after night. Like an abused dog returning to its master, hoping maybe this time, he would get kindness instead of a kick in the ribs.
You’re not that Gideon anymore.
That Gideon had no choice but to submit to her. The lives of those he loved were in her hands.
“You can’t escape me,” she said. “Even when we were apart, I’ve haunted your every step. Prowled your every dream. Haven’t I?”
Gideon gave a tight smile. “In truth, I never think of you.”
“Liar.” Her mouth snarled. She pressed her knife back to his throat. “A horse once broken can be broken again. By dawn, I’ll have you begging for me. Just like the old days.”
The thought of it scared him more than anything.
Gideon stared her down, trying to conceal his fear. “Do what you like to me. I won’t grovel to you again.”
Where had he learned to lie, so boldly, to his enemy’s face?
Perhaps he’d learned it from Rune.
“Everyone I love is dead,” he said as she pressed the cold steel of her knife to his skin. “You have nothing left to bind me to you.”
Cressida’s eyes glittered like ice. “If that were true, you’d have shot the Crimson Moth and walked out of Larkmont before anyone noticed her missing.”
He frowned.What?
“I see the way you look at her, Gideon. You once looked at me the same way.”
Gideon nearly laughed. “AtRune? You’re mistaken.”
“Rarely.” Her voice flattened. “I’m not blind. Rune is beautiful. I understand why you’d be tempted.”
Tempted?
“I’m the opposite of tempted. My feelings for Rune are as dead as my feelings for you.”
Cressida smiled. “Fine. I’ll play along.” She pressed her hands to his bare chest. He couldn’t tell if her skin was cold as a corpse, or if that was just the effect she had on him. “Just remember: I don’t need you willing, Gideon. I only need you obedient. And Iwillhave your obedience…”
She pressed her palm to the brand seared into his pectoral.
“I left something here, the day I branded you.” She tapped her fingertips against the raised edge of the scar: a rose inside a crescent moon. Her insignia. “A spell I intended to activate long before now, but never got the chance.”
She leaned in and pressed her lips against the scar.
Gideon shivered, his body wanting to recoil. But no matter what she did, he couldn’t fight back.
“This is going to hurt,” she murmured.
Hurtwas an understatement.
Pain flooded Gideon like lightning. Scorching hot. Bright white. As if she were branding him all over again. Only this time, there was no red-hot iron pulled from the fire and held to his skin. No burning flesh.
