“You’ll see.”
THIRTY-THREERUNE
“YOU CAN NEVER BEtoo prepared,” said Rune as they emerged from the wooded park. Gideon had kept watch while she hid in the trees, enchanting their jackets with a reversal spell calledWitch’s Armor.
It’s for repelling harm,she’d told him, quoting the spell book she’d learned it from.Like armor, the spellmarks will deflect a knife aimed at your chest, or make bullets bounce off you.
What Gideondidn’tknow was that Rune had also drawn the marks for a beguiling spell on the inside of her wrist, hidden by the sleeve of her uniform.
Beguilewasn’t as coercive asTruth Teller. It was a simple Mirage spell, one Cressida had shown her when Rune still believed her to be Verity. According to Seraphine, Nan had usedBeguile, too, often during business dealings to help with persuasion. It couldn’t force someone to do what she asked, but it nudged them in that direction. Essentially: it made the wearer difficult to resist, though not impossible.
It wouldn’t work on someone like Gideon, for example, who delighted in opposing Rune. But young guards wanting to impress a pretty girl? It might work on them.
They approached the yellow house. The front gates were open, revealing statues of two Ancients flanking the front steps: Patience and Justice. Patience held an hourglass in her hands; Justice bore a bandolier across her chest.
Only a single guard stood outside the front door. Runeguessed him to be about nineteen or twenty. It was dinnertime, and Gideon knew that half the staff were on their breaks. This was part of their strategy: the amount of security would be diminished for the next half hour or so, increasing their odds of not just getting in but getting out.
At the sight of Rune and Gideon, the guard stood straighter. Possibly because of their red uniforms, or because he recognized the Blood Guard captain.
Gideon nodded a silent greeting.
“Hi,” said Rune, turning up the brightness of her smile like the flame in a lamp.
The guard was tall and broad, though not as tall and broad as Gideon, and his light brown hair shone with hints of red where the sunlight hit.
His gaze fixed on Rune, running down her uniform. It fit her perfectly, because Gideon knew her measurements. He’d taken them himself, not so long ago.
“Can I help you with something?” asked the guard, his attention still wandering over Rune.
“We’re here to collect the witch’s child,” Gideon said, interrupting the guard’s perusal. “The Commander needs her at the palace.”
The guard tore his gaze from Rune and straightened at Gideon’s commanding tone. “The child was already at the palace this morning. Do you have papers?”
Rune shot Gideon a look.Papers?He might have mentioned needing papers.
“There wasn’t time to draft them,” she said. “It’s a last-minute request from the Commander’s office.”
“I’m afraid I need to see papers before I can let you in.”
Time to improvise.
“I told you this would happen, Captain.” Rune pivoted, asif to leave. “We should have insisted on—Ow!” Rune winced, grabbing her ankle as if it pained her. “I think I—” Pretending to lose her balance, she stumbled backward and fell right into the guard. “Oof!”
He caught her around the waist, steadying her. “Are you all right?”
From this close, she could smell the shaving soap on his skin. Rune leaned into him, still holding her ankle as she balanced on one leg. “I’m so sorry… it’s my bad ankle. It acts up sometimes.”
She glanced at Gideon, whose eyes were narrowing.
Well, it’s not like you were getting us anywhere helpful.
“Don’t put any weight on it,” said the soldier, who scooped an arm under both her legs, lifting her. “I’ll take you to the parlor. You can rest there while I find someone to call for a physician.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “That’s so kind of you, but I don’t want to be a bother…”
TheBeguilespellmark grew warm against her wrist as Rune ran a finger along the collar of his jacket. The guard watched her movements, entranced.
Swallowing, he said, “It’s no bother.”
