The guards were almost here.
“Listen,” she hissed. “I’m perfectly happy to save myself and abandon you. But if you want to live, I suggest you let me do this.”
Gideon glanced toward the door and back to the blood dripping from Rune’s fingers. Instead of answering, he walked to the closet, opened the door, and got in.
“There’s not enough room in here for two people.”
“Thenmakeroom.” Sheathing her knife, she followed him in, careful not to leave a trail of blood in her wake.
Gideon was right. There wasn’t enough room for two people.
Shelves lined the tiny closet, each one full of towels, soap, and cleaning supplies. That left only a few feet of space for Rune and Gideon to cram themselves into. Gideon took up most of it, forcing Rune to squeeze in between him and the shelves, leaving less than an inch of air between their two bodies.
Sweet Mercy. She’d forgotten howlargehe was. Like a mountain.
The closet door stood open, letting light from the room beyond flood in. Before she ran out of time, Rune used Ava’s blood to draw three symbols across Gideon’s freshly cleaned chest.
“Just so we’re clear,” she whispered, using the last of the blood on the final symbol, “I’m doing this for Alex, not you.” Under her breath, she added, “He’d never forgive me if I let her hurt you.”
When she glanced up, Gideon was staring at the ring on her finger. The one Alex gave her when he proposed.
“Understood,” he said, glancing away.
With the spell finished, magic burned in Rune’s throat. It flowed out of her and around him. Gideon shimmered like a mirage and would have vanished from her sight entirely if not for Rune knowing precisely where he was.
Ghost Walkerwasn’t a true invisibility spell. Instead, it coaxed the gazes of others to bounce off you, allowing you to evade notice. But if someone knew you were there, the spell couldn’t hide you.
THUD THUD THUD.
Rune jumped.
“Everything all right in there?”
She glanced toward Ava’s body across the room. She still needed to draw the spellmarks on herself, but she’d used all of Ava’s blood on Gideon.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
“Who’s in there?” demanded the guard.
Gideon grabbed the closet door and shut it, plunging them into darkness. Slivers of light filtered in from the cracks.
“Here.” He thrust out his hand. “Use mine.”
Rune glanced down to find blood shining on his palm, seeping from what appeared to be dozens of tiny cuts. When he held his hand up to the light filtering in, Rune saw shards of sparkling glass embedded in the skin.
He needed to dig those out before the cuts got infected.
“Better hurry,” he whispered, as the door to the powder room burst open and guards flooded in.
Out of time, Rune touched the blood on Gideon’s palm and quickly drew the same three symbols on her wrist. Her fingers trembled as she rushed. If she got even one mark wrong, the spell wouldn’t work. But if she didn’t finish in time…
The briny taste of magic prickled her tongue. A second later, Rune’s skin tingled as magic flowed out and around her, hiding her the same way it had Gideon.
She glanced up to find two iridescent moths flickering a few feet over their heads. Burning red in the darkness.
She’d barely finished the spell when footsteps headed in their direction. As if on instinct, Gideon’s arm slid around her waist, pulling her hips against his, moving her away from the closet door.
Heat poured off him. His scent filled the closet—woodsy,with a hint of gunpowder. Fire raced through her as old memories surfaced: reverent glances; whispered promises; the feel of his hands and mouth and body on hers, skin to skin.
