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Before turning, Gideon glanced from Alex to Rune to the alcove they’d both come out of. His lips parted ever so slightly, and something dawned in his eyes. Whatever it was, he kept it to himself and strode off.
Alex blew out a breath.
Rune swore quietly. She had let him intimidate her and found her courage too late, botching her chance to get the information she needed.
Her hands curled into fists. She needed to remedy this, and fast. She only had so much time before they transferred Seraphine to the palace prison.
Smoothing down her gown, she replaced the snarl on her face with a sweet smile, preparing to slip into the role she’d grown so good at playing these past two years. Seeing it, Alex reached for her. “Rune, don’t …”
She stepped out of his grasp.
“Rune.”
He didn’t follow as she stalked after his brother. Her silk shoes barely made a sound on the mosaicked floor of the foyer, giving Gideon no inkling that he was being tracked. For now, their roles had reversed. Rune was the predator; he was the prey. And she was closing in on him.
At the far end of the hall, where the arches of the loggia framed the foggy city outside, Gideon turned and headed up a staircase. One that led to the box reserved for Blood Guard members.
A moment later, Rune followed.
Hitching her skirts, she ran up the steps, shoved aside the velvet curtains at the top, and stepped out onto the darkened balcony and into a sea of red.
It was teeming with witch hunters.
Rune hesitated.
She was the Crimson Moth—a wanted criminal, not to mention a witch, hiding in plain sight. But this wouldn’t be the first time she had walked into a space full of the people who hunted her kind. She’d done it hundreds of times before without batting an eye.
So why was there a tiny seed of fear sprouting inside her?
Because Alex is right.
In a war room full of weapons, Gideon was the deadliest, and Rune was heading straight toward that honed edge, her throat bared.
He doesn’t suspect you,she told herself, trying to calm thebuzz in her blood.All these stupid brutes see when they look at you is exactly what you want them to see: a silly little socialite. Gideon Sharp is no different.
Armed with this reminder, Rune headed toward the empty seat at the front of the box. Beside it, Gideon reclined, elbow resting across the backrest. Perfectly relaxed. As if Seraphine’s impending execution didn’t plague him at all.
Rune gathered her courage the way she gathered her dress. Sitting down beside him, she said, “Mind if I join you?”
SIXRUNE
GIDEON IMMEDIATELY WITHDREW HISarm from the seat back, startled by her presence. As the orchestra’s hum rose to a crescendo, the lights around the horseshoe auditorium dimmed. The second act was about to start.
“Actually, that seat—”
“I’ve never watched an opera from up here before,” she said, cutting him off. The exhilarating rush of danger coursed through her as she peered down to the floor seats, which were packed full, except for a few stragglers climbing over others to get to their spots. “It’s quite the view.”
In the near-dark, she could feel the weight of his inscrutable gaze. “Quite. Is Alex with you?”
“No. He …” Rune glanced up and their eyes locked. An electric hum made the hair on her arms rise. Like being caught in a storm right before lightning strikes.
“Miss Winters? Is everything all right?”
The question grounded her.
You are an actor,she reminded herself.And this is a play.
But which character was she—the heroine, the villain, or the fool?
