Rebel Witch

Gideon is taken to Good Commander Noah Creed’s study, where Noah and Harrow wait. Harrow has just informed Noah that she has a witch contact who infiltrated Cressida’s ranks. The contact revealed that Soren gave Cressida an army that will set sail to lay siege to the New Republic within several days. Soren’s initial war chest has doubled since Rune’s kidnapping. Gideon convinces them that the best course of action is to keep Rune alive, since killing Rune will only further enrage the prince. He reveals that Cressida plans to resurrect her sisters via the missing Roseblood heir. He outlines a plan by which they allow Rune to summon the Roseblood heir before capturing her and executing the heir, thwarting Cressida’s plans. Then, they use Rune as a bargaining chip with Soren—exchanging her safe return for calling off his army.

Noah brings in the sibyl they hold hostage, Aurelia Kantor, to confirm Gideon’s claims. He threatens the safety of her daughter, Meadow, to get Aurelia to comply with his demands. Aurelia sees into the past and confirms that Cressida’s mother, Queen Winoa, had a fourth child with her second husband. While many assume that this child died during birth, Aurelia reveals that the child was stolen during the night. When Noah asks her where the heir is now, Aurelia can’t see it. Just as Noah is about to harm her child, Gideon intervenes, noting that Cressida mentioned her sibyls experienced the same blockage. Powerful magic obscures visualization of the heir’s location. Convinced that Gideon’s plan is their best option, Noah agrees to give Gideon two days to complete his mission; if Gideon fails, he’ll be sentenced to execution for sympathizing with witches. Gideon agrees on the condition that the Blood Guard leave him alone and doesn’t interfere.

Gideon escorts Aurelia back to her cell after the meeting. He asks her where Cressida is keeping her sisters’ bodies, but Aurelia refuses to answer even when he insists that he’ll rescue her as a reward. Aurelia agrees to answer his questions only after her daughter is freed.

Rune waits for Gideon on his apartment’s roof. He returns with a Blood Guard uniform for her and requests her help in rescuing Aurelia’s daughter, Meadow. They grab dinner at a street vendor and then, while Gideon buys them ice cream, Rune stares out at the port where boats are docked. When he returns, she asks him about a particular boat—Dawn’s Aria—that she believes is Alex’s. Gideon admits that he hasn’t been able to part with it since Alex’s death but doesn’t know how to sail. Rune offers to teach him, surprising them both. When the subject changes, Gideon admits that he comes here whenever he misses his family. He recounts a memory: his sister’s 10th birthday, when his parents took the family out. They ate ice cream for the first time due to his mother’s recent business success.

They stroll along the promenade until they reach the heavily guarded house they’re expected to infiltrate to save Meadow. Rune enchants their jackets via a spell called Witch’s Armor to repel harm. Secretly, she draws the marks for a beguiling spell on the inside of her wrist, hidden by the sleeve of her uniform. It isn’t as strong as Truth Teller but helps with persuasion.

They stride up to the front door, where a young guard named Ed stops them. Though he initially refuses to let them inside, Rune feigns a hurt ankle and flirts with him, and they enter when he goes to search for a physician. While he’s gone, Rune and Gideon sneak through the house, looking for Meadow. As they search, Gideon admits to feeling jealous when Rune flirts with other men. Meanwhile, she still thinks he’s repulsed by her. She admits that she hated it when he flirted with Abbie and asks about the night on the ship when William claimed that Gideon took Abbie into their cabin. Gideon admits to kissing Abbie but claims that he likewise hated watching Rune kiss Soren. She explains that she kissed Soren to survive, not because she wanted to.

Rune doesn’t believe Gideon when he says he wished he was kissing her instead of Abbie, so he shows her why he pulled away when he kissed Rune that night on the ship. He kisses Rune and places her hand over the brand on his chest, which grows hot and excruciatingly painful. When they part, Rune understands that it isn’t repulsion he feels when they kiss but pain from Cressida’s branding scar. Gideon claims that the brand didn’t activate when he kissed Abbie, indicating that it’s meant specifically to keep Rune away. She vows to learn how to break the curse keeping them apart.

Rune and Gideon find Meadow’s room on the third floor. She’s being held by a young woman who claims that the child can’t be taken without the permission of her mistress, the child’s legal guardian. The use of the term and what it implies—that children can be legally taken away from witches for non-witches to raise—angers Rune. She points her gun at the woman, forcing her to hand the child to Gideon, who tucks her into his spelled coat.

As they leave, the servant screams for help. They escape via the servants’ stairs but are surrounded before they can leave. They hold the guards off with gunfire, hiding behind tables in the dining room. While hiding, Rune has a vision of the future. In the vision, a much older Gideon plays with two children who resemble him. She can’t see who he’s married to but witnesses how happy he is. When she returns to the present, Gideon mentions her eyes and asks if she experienced a vision like a sibyl would. Before she can answer, a bullet grazes his arm, interrupting their conversation. Gideon convinces Rune to cast the Ghost Walker invisibility spells on herself and Meadow to escape while he distracts the Blood Guard with gunfire. Rune doesn’t want to leave him but complies to save the child.

Gideon surrenders to the Blood Guard, who arrest him and deliver him to their headquarters, where Harrow and Laila Creed wait. Laila has become the acting captain in Gideon’s absence. The guard informs them that Gideon worked alongside another Blood Guard to escape with Meadow. Laila correctly guesses that the second Blood Guard is Rune and reprimands Gideon. He begs for her to embrace his plan to gain Rune’s trust so that he can kill the Roseblood heir before delivering Rune to the Blood Guard. Laila worries that he might be falling into a trap of Rune’s, but he promises to keep Laila updated on his plans so that she can save him if necessary. Accepting this, Laila releases him, and he tells her his plan.

Rune waits three hours for Gideon, with two loaded guns set on the table before her for protection. When Gideon finally returns, Aurelia is with him. Rune introduces herself as the Crimson Moth and requests Aurelia’s help via a summoning spell. Because the spell is powerful—a Majora—she needs the willingly given blood of someone else to cast it. Rune reveals that the spell can only be cast from a specific location, hours away. Aurelia agrees to accompany her, but before they can leave, Gideon stops them and demands the answers Aurelia promised him in exchange for freeing her and her daughter. Rune is unaware of their deal, but before she can get answers from Gideon, Aurelia uses their distraction to her advantage and points one of Rune’s pistols (which she took from the dining table) at Rune.

Though letting Gideon die would be smarter, Rune can’t allow it. She draws her remaining gun and points it at Aurelia, ordering her to let Gideon go and exit the room with her daughter. Privately, Rune tells Gideon she overheard his conversation with William in the ship’s cargo hold and knows what he’s planning. Gideon doesn’t deny it but admits he’s in a difficult position. He can’t allow Cressida and her sisters to take the throne, but Rune can’t allow the New Republic to continue as it is. She points the gun at him and warns him not to follow her before leaving his apartment.

Rune, Aurelia, and Meadow travel to a towering circle of stones, fabled to be an ancient summoning circle. Rune and Aurelia cast the summoning spell by the light of the moon, and because it could take up to 12 hours for the summoned heir to arrive, they sleep.

Gideon follows them to the stones and watches them conduct the spell. He keeps watch hours after they fall asleep, and Rune eventually rises and sleepwalks into the protective circle of the spell. Gideon realizes with shock and profound dread that Rune is the missing heir.

Rune dreams of Gideon. They both stand in the rain, and Gideon raises his gun, shooting her in the chest. Rune gasps awake and is confused to find herself in the middle of the summoning circle. Aurelia finds her there, but both women assume that their summoning spell must have failed. Aurelia suggests that the ancient magic protecting the Roseblood from her sight must protect them from being summoned too. They wait several more hours before deciding to return to the capital. As they pack their belongings, Rune explains her escape plan to Aurelia. She believes that Gideon expects them to escape aboard the Arcadia, but they will instead escape on a smaller vessel: Alex’s sailboat.

Reeling from the discovery of Rune’s identity, Gideon agonizes over his next steps. He has two days to deliver both the heir and Rune to Noah Creed or forfeit his life, and he can’t allow Cressida to learn Rune’s identity and use her to resurrect her sisters. The logical choice is to either kill her himself or turn her in.

Rune and Aurelia arrive at the harbor where Alex’s sailboat is anchored. She inspects it and realizes that they’ll need food for the journey. She decides to risk breaking into Gideon’s home for supplies.