Heartless Hunter

Rune arrives at Oakhaven Park—the former home of Seraphine Oakes before she lost the favor of the previous queen, Cressida’s mother, and was banished. Now, Oakhaven is home to Octavia Creed and her husband Nicholas Creed, the Good Commander. In the forest surrounding the estate, Rune changes into a ball gown and slippers she packed in her saddleback. She braids her damp, windblown hair and hastily bandages the wound to her arm where the shallow bullet graze still bleeds before covering it with silk gloves. She tucks sheets of paper and a pen inside her bust, which she plans to use to trace the prison maps in Octavia’s office.

Rune successfully sneaks into the party late and acts like she’s been present all along. Alex leads her to Octavia’s office. Rune traces the prison maps while informing Alex of the night’s events. Alex is unhappy with the risk she took and urges her to accept his offer to with him to Caelis for a month. Rune doesn’t seem inclined to do so because there are still witches to save. His insistence raises Rune’s suspicions, and she correctly assumes he’s moving to Caelis permanently and hopes for her to join him.