Page 157 of Moonmarked

We sat alone at a round table, but there were others close,too close.And though most were watching Lyall, some had their eyes on us, too. Whispering. Waiting.

The queen had left, though. She and the seer both had retreated when I had still been hyperventilating over Hessa.

Now I thought maybe I should have gone to speak to the seer while she was there.

Now I thought maybe I should have gone back to see her after that first time when Lyall basically tricked me into speaking with her.

Rune didn’t even know about it. I hadn’t had the time to tell him, and now we were stuck sitting here in this hall surrounded by fae and gold and glitter, and so muchpowerit shimmered in the air like dust under sunlight.

Regret made its way through my veins, rushing with my blood—my blood that was still in liquid form, though I was certain it should have frozen over by now.

Fuck, it wasso coldunder my skin, even if nobody could tell. Rune had his hand on mine, and he hadn’t once commented that my skin felt cold to him because it was all on the inside. The layer of frost that I couldfeelcovering my heart was invisible to the rest of the world.

I should have spoken to the seer…

“Look at me,” Rune said. It was easy to see that I wasn’t comfortable by how I was fidgeting in my seat, turning to look at Lyall and at Hessa and at the guests who stared at us every few seconds.

So many people. So little air.

So much danger.

“I should have spoken to her again,” I whispered, so low my lips barely moved.

“Who?” he mouthed.

“The seer.” This, too, surprised him, but he didn’t dare react. “Something’s wrong with me, Rune. In here. Something’s wrong.” I touched my stomach with my free hand because he held the other the whole time.

“Do you want to leave right now?” Rune said.

Yes!I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, but… “He’s going to get pissed off.”

“He’ll live,” Rune whispered. “Just say the word and we’ll go.”

I knew he meant it. I knew that if it came to it, he’d argue with Lyall right here and now to get me out of here, and then…what if Lyall called for the guards?

Too many risks—but I never got the chance to even speak before a cold hand closed over my shoulder, and a woman stopped at the side of our table.

“There you are,” Hessa said, her smile painfully big, her eyes bloodshot, and her skinice-coldthe way mine wasn’t. “I hope you’re enjoying your evening as much as I always enjoyed kicking your ass in training, bastard.”

Had I not heard her speaking before, I wouldn’t have noticed anything at all, but her voice was strained now. She sounded different—and Rune could tell, too.

“Hessa, I need to—” I started, and I was going to ask her to come with me to the restroom or something, somewhere private where we could talk, but…

Suddenly, she let go of my shoulder and leaned in toward Rune’s other side, and whispered something in his ear lightning fast, that fake smile still on her face.

Then she turned to me again, like the second hadn’t even happened.

“Oh, and you, too, Lady Dune! With that face of yours, I’d be having a blast, too,” she continued, and when she touched my shoulder this time, she dug her fingers into my skin just slightly. “A word of advice, though?”

Her smile never left her face when she leaned closer to my side now, those wide eyes locked on mine, and…

“Run,” she whispered.

Run.

Everything came to a halt suddenly. Even my heart didn’t beat, and my lungs didn’t expand. I didn’t move at all as I looked at her, saw thehorrorreflecting in the specks of gold in her eyes, saw the regret flashing as certainly as I’d seen the sun and the moon in the sky earlier.

Then Hessa straightened her shoulders. Laughed. Blew us a kiss. “Enjoy your night, lovelies!”

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