At those words, a chill crept over Gideon’s skin.
“We’ll finish this there. I won’t be long.”
Gideon watched the witch queen follow Soren out of the room, shutting the door behind her. When they were gone, Ava pushed away from the wall.
“Come on, then.”
Gideon looked at his pistol, still resting on the sink. Therewas one bullet left in the chamber—he’d used up the others earlier, getting past Soren’s security. To move him to Cressida’s chambers, Ava would have to remove his magic bindings.
He needed five seconds at most.
The witch slashed her skin with her casting knife, then touched her fingertips to the blood before smearing a bright red symbol across his chest. Her fingers looped and slashed, dragging across his skin. The stench of her magic filled the air, coppery and cloying.
Another spell?
Ava stepped away, smiling. Turning, she walked to the sink and cupped her hands under the water, then let it drip over the symbols Cressida had drawn onto the floor. She ran her shoe across the marks, looking almost bored as she severed the witch queen’s spell.
Gideon’s muscles tightened as the tendrils of Cressida’s magic loosened their grip on him. Releasing his shoulders and arms first, then his legs and feet.
When the spell vanished entirely, Gideon lunged for the pistol.
“Stop!”
It was like running into an invisible wall. His entire body jerked to a halt on Ava’s command, his spine going sword-straight.
“Turn toward the door.”
In horror, Gideon found himself doing exactly as she ordered.
The spellmark on his chest…
It binds me to her words.
Whatever she commanded, he’d be forced to do.
“Drop to your hands and knees, witch hunter.”
Against his will, Gideon lowered himself to the floor. Before him, shattered glass glittered across the tiles.
“Nowcrawl.”
Gideon picked his way through the glass, teeth clenching asshards sliced into his hands and embedded in his knees, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
He’d been a fool to think he could save himself.
Halfway to the door, he heard footsteps in the hall. He glanced up, watching the handle turn.
Is Cressida back already?
A dread as cold and dark as the sea swept through him.
But when the door swung open, it was an altogether different witch who stepped through.
Her golden dress caught the light, her strawberry blonde hair tumbled in waves down her shoulders, and her gray eyes simmered like a storm.
Rune.
SEVENRUNE
