Rune?
Her lips were bright red and smiling beneath the cut of the mask, and she’d braided her hair into a tight knot at the back of her head. It looked darker than its usual red-gold hue. As if she’d gotten caught in the rain, and it was still damp.
Or perhaps fell into a small body of water.
His eyes narrowed.
Remembering Laila’s words from earlier—I think my last shot hit her—Gideon’s attention moved from Rune’s face downward, checking her quickly for signs of a wound. His gaze skimmed the fitted bodice of her gray dress and the silk gloves covering her arms, but she appeared to be in fine form. Not at all like a criminal who’d raced desperately to get here tonight.
Stepping in closer, she laid her hand on his arm.
“How did the transfer go?”
He frowned. Was she going to pretend tonight hadn’t happened?
“It went exactly as planned.” Technically true. He’d transferred Seraphine Oakes earlier today, after meeting with Harrow. The witch was locked in a cell deep in the palace prison.
Gideon glanced around to see if Alex lurked about—or any of Rune’s suitors. He needed to get her alone, as soon as possible, and make the arrest.
“I was telling the girls at Charlotte’s luncheon about it,” she said, tucking her hand into his elbow and leading him deeper into the room. As if she truly didn’t realize he was about to arrest her. “Naturally, I’ll need to give them an update.”
She smiled up at him, waiting for details.
Gideon blinked. “You … did what?”
If Rune had gossiped away the information he gave her, it meant other people had the same information.
Gideon suddenly remembered Charlotte on the stairs. I hope things went smoothly for you.
Seeing his reaction, Rune’s hand fell from his elbow. “Oh. Was it supposed to be a secret?” She worried one red lip between her teeth. “I should have realized. Drat.”
His thoughts spun.
Rune had told him about the luncheon earlier, before he’d given her the false lead. Knowing how much Rune and her friends loved gossip, he was certain she had spilled the information at her little gathering.
“How could I be so senseless?” she cried. “I feel awful!”
Feeling overly warm, he unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. “How many guests were at this luncheon?”
“Hmm. Hard to say.” She twisted her lips. “A few dozen, maybe?”
Knowing the way gossip spread in Rune’s social circles, that number had likely ballooned long before tonight. And if dozens of people knew the location he’d given Rune as of noon today, any one of them might be the Moth, or in league with her.
Anyone could have been at the mine tonight.
He stared at Rune, unsure if she was obtuse, or a master of deception. She had drastically widened his net of suspects—but intentionally or unintentionally?
Is she actively sabotaging me? Or is she innocent?
He didn’t know. And either way, he could no longer arrest her. Not without further evidence.
Gideon ground his teeth together. He was back to square one.
“Rune, we’re leaving now. Are you ready?”
They turned to find Alex standing several paces away in a crisp white shirt with his usual brown suspenders. It made Gideon realize whose coat hung from Rune’s shoulders.
“Verity has an exam tomorrow morning,” Alex explained to Gideon. He pushed back his lion mask from his face and locked eyes with his brother.
The girl in question—Verity de Wilde—stood next to Alex, her face half-hidden behind a raven mask. She crossed her arms tightly over the bodice of her scarlet dress as she stared down Gideon, like she did not approve of how close he stood to Rune.
“What does Verity’s exam have to do with you?” Gideon asked Rune.
Verity’s clipped voice answered for her. “Rune and I came with Alex tonight. He’s taking us both home.”
Oh.
Gideon stepped back, away from them all. If Rune had come to this masked ball with his brother, she couldn’t have also been in Seldom Harbor.
It was another strike against him.
Rune might lie, but Alex wouldn’t. His brother would never knowingly sabotage him by aiding a dangerous witch. Not after everything their family had been through.
As the three friends turned to leave, Gideon watched Alex press his hand to the small of Rune’s back.
At least he’s taking my advice.
For some strange reason, this didn’t make Gideon feel better.
It made him feel much worse.
TWENTY-SEVEN
RUNE
THE CARRIAGE BUMPED AND jostled Rune as Alex’s driver took them down the cobbled lanes of the city. Verity and Alex sat facing Rune, who sat alone on the opposite bench.
She should have felt victorious at the look on Gideon’s face when he realized she’d turned the tables on him. Instead, she felt … drained. Like she could sleep for a month straight if given the chance.
Maybe that’s what I’ll do in Caelis, she thought. Then caught herself. She still hadn’t decided if she was going with Alex, never mind going for a month.
An unfamiliar tension radiated between them since leaving the warden’s study, and she could feel his eyes on her from the other side of the carriage. What had he been about to say before Verity barged into the room?
“Let’s get a look at this map.”
Right. The map.
Outside, the moon was almost full. It cast just enough light through the windows to see. Sinking down to the floor of the carriage, Rune pulled out the tracings and unrolled them, piecing them together.
Verity and Alex leaned forward to get a better look.
“There are seven sections,” said Rune, squinting at the circles she’d traced. A gate marked the entrance to the first and biggest section, the outermost circle. In each concentric circle after it, moving toward the center, were more gates. Seven in total. And each entry was named after one of the seven Ancients.
Mercy, Liberty, Wisdom, Justice, Amity, Patience, Fortitude.
Rune remembered when the opera house columns still bore the painted likenesses of the Ancients. The images were destroyed by fire when patriots ransacked the building during the revolution. The columns had since been painted over, but Rune could still picture the renderings of the witches in her mind: Amity, mid-laugh and her hair a wild tangle; Wisdom, with her secretive smile; Justice, turning her face toward the sky …
“Do you know which section they’re keeping Seraphine in?” asked Alex.
Rune shook her head. Not only did she not know what section or cell Seraphine was in, Rune didn’t know how many guards she’d need to evade. Or how one passed through the gates, which would be locked. Who held the keys? Once she was on the other side of all the gates, how would she get back out?
“This feels impossible,” said Rune, her shoulders slumping.
“There’s a reason they call it impregnable,” said Alex.
“Unhelpful,” said Verity, shooting him a look. She joined Rune on the floor, crossing her legs beneath her dress and leaning over the map as the carriage jolted beneath them. Rune’s nose prickled. One of these days, she would gently suggest to her friend not to dab so much perfume on …
But not tonight. Tonight, if Rune felt exhausted, Verity looked it. There were dark circles under her eyes, and every few minutes, her loud yawns broke the silence in the carriage. Not for the first time, Rune felt guilty stealing Verity away from her studies, certain her friend’s grades were suffering for it.
Verity would scold her if she knew what Rune was thinking. She and Rune were in this together. In it in a way Alex never would be. Rune had lost her grandmother to the purge; Verity had lost her sisters. Both wanted to rescue as many witches as they could—to make up for the ones they hadn’t been able to save.
“I wish I had a spell for walking through walls,” said Rune, leaning her head back against the carriage seat and staring at Alex.
“Is there such a thing?”