Opening the stall door, Rune quickly tacked the mare,concealing her withGhost Walkerbefore holding the lead out to Harrow. “Take her and get out of the city.”
“Where will you go?” she asked, taking it.
“If Cressida catches me, I’m as good as dead.” Rune entered the next stall and started drawing the marks forGhost Walkeron the horse’s rump. “I need to get off this island.”
But first, Rune needed to make one last stop: Wintersea House.
If her home was about to be torn apart by war, she too needed to rearm. With Soren dead, it was no longer certain that Cressida would win. If she did, she’d kill Rune. If she didn’t and the Good Commander regained power,hewould kill Rune.
The only thing to do was run.
And if Rune was going to run, she wanted some of Nan’s spell books with her. She knew enough spells to get by, but she had no way of learning more. She’d be utterly alone out there.
More importantly: the books were her last link to her grandmother. If Rune was going to leave everything behind, forever, she wanted a reminder of the woman who’d loved her so much she sacrificed herself so Rune could live.
“I was wrong about you,” said Harrow, watching Rune tack the second horse.
It almost sounded like an apology.
WHEN SHE ARRIVED ATWintersea, it was dark and crawling with Blood Guard soldiers. Four stood in uniform outside the gates, guns at their sides, while more patrolled the grounds.
Wintersea House is the residence of Noah Creed now,Gideon had told her.
Had the Good Commander left soldiers behind to ensure his property wasn’t ransacked?
Rune nudged her horse past the ones guarding the entrance.Ghost Walkerwould fade soon. It had been several hours since she’d cast it. She needed to hurry.
Rune was passing the stables when a familiar whinny made her halt her stolen horse.
Lady.Nan’s old show horse.
Rune had been forced to leave her behind.
Dismounting, she crept inside the stone stable. It wasn’t long before Lady’s glossy white head poked over a stall door, staring straight at Rune. As if to say,What took you so long?
Rune’s heart swelled at the sight of her.
She flung her arms around Lady’s neck, giving her a tight hug, then swapped her with the horse she’d stolen. She led Lady from the stable toward the back of the house, stopping next to Nan’s labyrinth, which formed one of three entrances to the gardens. The labyrinth was overgrown, its rose hedges in desperate need of pruning. Leaving Lady at its entrance to wait for her, Rune turned to face the back of Wintersea House. Her gaze skimmed up the wall, stopping at the window directly overhead, two stories up: her casting room.
Thick ivy snaked over the stone walls, diverting around glass panes. Rune grabbed the old vines and started to climb, hoping they would hold her weight. HopingGhost Walkerwould last long enough for her to find the spell books she needed and get out.
By the time she reached the window and unlocked it, three patrols had walked by beneath her. Swinging the pane quietly open, Rune crawled inside, careful not to land with a thud, in case anyone occupied the rooms below.
She’d been afraid to find her casting room empty, its illegal contents burned. But the room was untouched, exactly as she left it: with crates full of spell books she’d packed before her world turned upside down.
The secret wall was shut tight, suggesting Noah hadn’t found it.
Rune moved slowly through the room, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. Grabbing the matchbox off her desk, she struck a match and lit a candle.
Quickly, Rune searched the room. She found a small purse full of coins, as well as Lady’s whistle on the desk. She pocketed them both. Next, she turned to the spell books packed into wooden shipping crates.
There were far too many to take. She’d have to choose three or four. Something manageable.
Wary of her footfalls, Rune pulled out half a dozen books and brought them to the desk. There, she sorted them into two piles:bringingandleaving.
She pulled one particularly heavy book from the stack, and another slid out with it, falling to the floor.
It landed with athud.
