Tearing his eyes from Cressida, Gideon fixed them on Rune. Placing her hand over his heart, she said, “I want you to know I am so grateful, so lucky, to have loved you.” Her voice wobbled. “Even if it was only for a little while.” Gideon’s jaw clenched. “What are—” Rune shook her head. The tears prickling her eyes made the sight of him blur. “If I have to die, I want to die like this.” Rune took his hand and wrapped it around the pistol as she pressed the barrel against her heart. “Right here. With you.”
