I can’t marry you,she told him, reciting her lines.Not until every last witch is safe.
More specifically: shewouldn’tmarry him—not unless he gave Cressida an army to wage war on the New Republic.
Rune had no desire to marry Soren, nor was she interested in doing the witch queen’s bidding. The very idea of working for Cressida filled Rune with dizzying self-loathing.
But Cressida had saved her life, along with Seraphine’s. Cressida didn’t want her dead, unlike Gideon and everyone else in the New Republic. Most importantly: Cressida wanted to save the witches they’d left behind. Girls who were being exterminated at this very moment.
Every week, the names of dead witches made their way to Rune’s ears. The Blood Guard had captured Aurelia Kantor, a powerful sibyl—a witch who could see into the past, present, and future. And now they were using her to give them the locations of every witch in hiding. It allowed them to hunt down and execute witches with merciless precision. Sometimes as many as three or four a week.
Ancients knew what they were doing to Aurelia to get that information.
Once, the Crimson Moth would have rescued her. But the Moth was here in Larkmont Palace, all the way across the Barrow Strait, half-drunk on champagne.
Look at yourself,Rune thought.Partying with princes while your sisters are murdered.
She’d abandoned those girls. And if Gideon Sharpe wasn’t stopped, there would be no witches left in the New Republic.
If Rune were still on the island, she would have already brokenAurelia out of custody and smuggled her to the Continent, protecting other witches in the process. But the only way in was by sea, and every port of entry teemed with witch hunters and their witch-hunting hounds—dogs trained to scent magic. They were even stationed aboard ships traveling to and from the island.
Only one ship—theArcadia—refused to allow the Blood Guard and their beasts to board their vessels. But that just meant the witch hunters traveled undercover. And once the boat entered New Republic waters, it was boarded by hounds who sniffed out every witch before they could set foot on the island.
EvenifRune got the sibyl out somehow, the Blood Guard would never stop hunting her kind. The New Republic’s spies were searching the continent for Cressida Roseblood and her growing court, and if they had a sibyl in their hands, it was only a matter of time before they found where they were hiding.
They will never stop hunting us.
The only way to keep witches safe was to destroy the Blood Guard and tear down the New Republic.
And the only way to dothatwas to put Cressida back on her throne.
Rune wanted Cressida on a throne like she wanted a hole in her chest. The girl was vile. A cold-blooded murderess. But when compared to the alternative—a society that wanted to tie girls like Rune up by the ankles, slit their throats, and watch the blood drain from their bodies—Cressida Roseblood was the lesser of two evils.
Because under the rule of a witch queen, at least witches would besafe.
With Soren’s backing, Cressida would ensure no witch was ever hunted again.
Cressida was in the capital, looking for more alliances to forge, but she was due back any day now. The moment she returned, sheand Soren would sign the contract his lawyers had drafted, sealing their alliance.
And Rune would be required to marry him.
The powder room came into view. Rune fixed her gaze on the door. Once safely inside, she would let herself fall apart. Just for a minute. And when that minute was up…
Rune thrust the door open and stepped inside, letting it swing shut behind her.
Candles lit the dark room, flickering in wall sconces and in candleholders lining the sink’s ledge. As she strode to the sink, Rune uncorked the whiskey and took a long sip straight from the bottle. It burned her tongue and throat.
I thought I left all of this behind.
Rune had assumed it would be easy. After all, she was used to playing roles. Playing the part of “smitten fiancée” should have been a piece of cake.
But ever since Alex’s death, the flirting and scheming and deceiving was taking a toll. Hence: her near breakdown in front of Soren’s friends, and the bottle of whiskey gripped in her fist.
After fleeing the New Republic, Rune had foolishly thought she might finally get to be herself. No longer a silly, shallow socialite but a witch in plain sight. TherealRune Winters.
But who is that?she thought.Who is the real Rune Winters?
She shoved the question down.
It doesn’t matter.Cressida needed an army, and Soren had one. It was up to Rune to secure that army. What mattered was who sheneededto be: a girl who would put an end to the Blood Guard and finally ensure the safety of all witches.
