Heartless Hunter (Crimson Moth, #1) (96)

Rune looked up from her packing list to find Verity sweeping into the casting room, her heeled boots clicking on the floorboards as she pulled her gloves off her hands.

Rune had sent a carriage to fetch her friend early, before Alex arrived for their last meeting about tomorrow’s heist. Rising from the desk, Rune bit her lip and turned toward her friend, who scanned the room, her attention homing in on the stacks of wooden crates crammed full of spell books, and the empty shelves beyond them. Verity’s brows knit.

“That’s what I wanted to tell you about.” Rune’s stomach knotted. She wasn’t looking forward to this conversation—or to leaving Verity behind. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’m leaving the New Republic.”

Verity’s gaze shot to hers.

“I’m going with Alex to Caelis.” Rune touched the thin chain around her neck, lifting it out of her bodice so Verity could see the ring hanging from it. “He asked me to marry him.”

Verity blinked. “And you accepted him.”

“I know you wanted me to choose someone more useful …” Rune wrinkled her nose, not liking the insinuation that Alex wasn’t valuable. “But I—”

“No,” Verity interrupted, shaking her head. “No, I’m glad you didn’t take my advice.” She stepped toward Rune and reached for her hands, gripping them tightly. Her dark eyes glittered as she said, “I never should have made that stupid list. I wasn’t thinking about you. I was thinking about the mission.” She shook her head harder, as if angry with herself. “I’ve been a rotten friend.”

Rune let out a breath. “I thought you’d be more upset.”

“I am upset. You’re like a sister to me.” She looked stern, suddenly. “I don’t want you to leave, but I also want you to be happy. And safe. In Caelis, you can be both. Besides, Alex adores you. He’ll spoil you for sure.”

Rune smiled. “You’ll visit us?”

Verity squeezed her hands. “Of course.”

Rune pulled her into a hug, not even minding her perfume. “Thank you for understanding.”

“I’ll always understand,” Verity whispered.



* * *



SHORTLY AFTER ALEX ARRIVED, the three of them gathered in Rune’s casting room one last time to discuss tomorrow’s plan. As the sun dipped below the horizon, Verity pulled out two stolen Blood Guard uniforms from her rucksack.

“It might be a little big,” she said, handing one over to Rune. “But it should do the trick.”

The red wool coat, cotton shirt, breeches, boots, and hat were all stolen from the student in her dormitory. Hopefully, the girl wouldn’t notice before Verity returned them.

Rune took the stack of clothes. “Why are there two?”

“This one is for me,” said Verity, taking off her spectacles to rub her fingers against her tired eyes.

“But why do you need one?”

“I’m coming with you.”

Rune frowned at her friend. “Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous, Verity.”

Verity ignored her, picking up the black soldier’s hat and placing it on her head. “Everyone knows that witch hunters work in pairs, if not packs. It might look suspicious if you’re alone.”

“I agree,” said Alex. He sat cross-legged beside Rune, one hand planted on the floorboards behind her, his shoulder touching hers. With his closeness came the comforting warmth of him, along with his leather and oak smell. “You’ll be safer with Verity at your side.”

Rune slit her eyes at them both. “And if something goes wrong?”

Verity tilted her chin back so the brim of the soldier’s hat stopped obscuring her view. “Then you won’t be alone when they throw you in a cell.”

From the firm press of her lips, she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Admittedly, Rune felt calmer knowing Verity would be there. “Fine,” she sighed. “Thank you.”

She set her stack of clothes on the carpet in front of her, next to Gideon’s access coin and her last remaining vial of blood. It was mostly full. She’d been trying to save as much of it for tomorrow’s heist as possible, in case something went wrong and she needed to cast a spell—or several—to get them out.

It would have been nice to replenish at least some of her blood stores before tomorrow, but her monthly cycle hadn’t started yet.

“It would make me feel better if we went through the plan one last time,” said Alex.

So they did.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Rune would meet Verity at her dormitory, and together they would don their Blood Guard uniforms. While crowds of people filled the streets for the Liberty Day festivities, they would travel to the palace and enter the prison.

Alex would wait with the horses a block away.

Once inside, Rune and Verity would use Gideon’s access coin to get past the seventh gate, telling the guards they had orders to bring Seraphine to her purging. They would retrieve Seraphine, usher her out of the palace prison, and bring her to Alex and the waiting horses.

From there, Rune and Alex would hide Seraphine at Thornwood Hall. The next day, they would board the ship to Caelis with Seraphine concealed in their cargo, bound for freedom.

Rune’s heart stuttered at the thought. In two days, she’d be sailing across the Barrow Strait, toward a new life.