Rebel Witch (The Crimson Moth, #2)

by Kristen Ciccarelli

The bloody symbols—one for Witch’s Armor, the other for Everlasting—still lingered on his cheeks. “Alex loves you,” she blurted, wondering where the words had come from. “The day he died, he made me promise to tell you. But I … I never did.”

“There’s nothing to fear anymore. All you have to do is be yourself.” That’s what I’m afraid of. “What if I disappoint them?” she whispered, avoiding his gaze. “What if they don’t like the real Rune Winters?” He laughed. “Beloved.” He took her chin between his fingers, trying to drag her gaze up to him. “That’s not possible.”

She glanced wistfully back in the direction of her casting room and the open window. Noticing, Gideon leaned in and whispered against her cheek, “How about this: when these aristos are gone, you and I will reconvene. Naked. In the sea. Deal?” Rune bit down on her smile. “Deal.”