Chapter 65: Entr'acte — Rune's Interlude

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Rune stands at the porthole of a cargo ship, watching the broken island shrink behind her as she sails toward the Continent. She feels alienated from herself, listing the losses that define her: Wintersea, her home; Lady, her horse; and Alex, her beloved friend who died gazing up at her with love and trust. She grieves the future they'd planned together—his studies, his music, their walks through Caelis—and feels shattered by his absence.

Across the cabin, Cressida sits with other witches, plotting their next move. Rune watches the botanical scars on Cressida's arms shimmer in the candlelight and reflects on the two years she spent trusting Cressida as Verity de Wilde, never suspecting her best friend was actually a murderess. Rune realizes she has been unwittingly saving witches for Cressida's army, and with the heir to the Roseblood line alive, more witches are flocking to her cause. The ship is bound for Caelis, where Cressida plans to bolster her forces and usher in a new Reign of Witches.

Rune has no allegiance to the New Republic, where her life is forfeit, but she also has no desire to return to the old regime. She knows what Cressida is capable of and wants no part in swapping one evil for another. Yet she has nowhere else to go: home means the Blood Guard, and Alex's death has left nothing waiting ahead.

Seraphine approaches Rune with tea and delivers blunt counsel: if Rune can tear a city in half, Cressida will want to know what else she's capable of. Rune recoils, but Seraphine insists it's better to be useful than dead. Rune then recalls Nan's dying request—to find Seraphine Oakes, who would tell her everything Nan couldn't. Rune tells Seraphine that Nan wanted her to train Rune, and Seraphine, surprised, acknowledges Rune has a lot of catching up to do.

Cressida catches Rune's gaze, and Rune feels a chill. There's something insatiable in the witch queen's expression—the look of a predator, someone who killed Verity de Wilde and stole her identity, someone who ensnared Gideon Sharpe and broke his spirit. Rune has been trying not to think of Gideon, but the Gideon-shaped hole in her chest feels like a bullet wound. He walks through her dreams every night, his dark eyes full of hate, his mouth cursing her name. She wakes weeping, crying out for him and the partnership she was deluded into believing he wanted.

Rune reminds herself they are mortal enemies, bound by hatred rather than love. The Blood Guard captain has hunted the Crimson Moth for so long that Rune feels lost without him trailing her. Gideon is her perfect rival, and without him she can only be half of her full potential. Deep down, she wants him to come for her—she aches for the challenge, needs to finish what lies unfinished between them. Staring out at the cold sea, she accepts that the future is shrouded in mist. Only one thing is certain: Gideon will come for her, and she will be ready.

Key Events

• Rune departs the broken island on a cargo ship, mourning the loss of Wintersea, Lady, and Alex.

• Cressida convenes with other witches to plan the new Reign of Witches, with the Roseblood heir drawing more followers.

• Seraphine warns Rune that being useful to Cressida is the only way to survive.

• Rune reveals Nan's dying request: Seraphine was meant to train her.

• Seraphine agrees Rune has much to learn.

• Rune recognizes Cressida's predatory nature and reflects on Cressida's manipulation of Gideon.

• Rune confronts her dreams of Gideon and resolves to be ready when he comes for her.

Character Development

Rune is in a state of profound dislocation. She feels like a stranger in her own body, stripped of the anchors that defined her—her home, her horse, her friend. Her grief for Alex is visceral; she catalogs the ordinary moments she'll never have again. Yet the chapter also shows her pragmatism emerging. She accepts Seraphine's counsel, acknowledges she needs training, and begins to think strategically about survival. Her internal conflict about Gideon reveals a deeper tension: she knows they are enemies, but she also recognizes that their rivalry has become part of her identity. Her final resolve—to be ready for him—marks a shift from passive grief to active preparation.

Seraphine is introduced as a pragmatic mentor figure. Her advice is blunt and survival-oriented, and her reaction to Nan's request suggests she didn't expect this charge. Her casting scar hints at her own history with magic.

Cressida is shown through Rune's eyes as a predator—insatiable, calculating, and capable of extreme deception. The chapter reinforces her as a threat rather than an ally.

Gideon, though absent, looms over the chapter. Rune's dreams and memories paint him as both enemy and obsession, and her acknowledgment that she wants him to come for her reframes their dynamic.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Loss and grief: Rune's catalog of losses—Wintersea, Lady, Alex—anchors the chapter in mourning. Alex's death is particularly emphasized through the future moments Rune will never have.

Identity crisis: Rune feels like a stranger in her own body, stripped of everything that made her who she was. Her question about what she and Cressida are to each other now underscores the collapse of her assumptions.

Betrayal and deception: Cressida's two-year masquerade as Verity de Wilde is the central betrayal. Rune's realization that she was unwittingly saving witches for Cressida's army deepens the sense of manipulation.

Moral ambiguity: Rune rejects both the New Republic and the old regime, but has no third option. Seraphine's advice—better useful than dead—forces Rune to consider complicity as a survival strategy.

Exile and displacement: Rune is physically and emotionally displaced, with no home to return to and nothing waiting ahead.

Predator-prey dynamics: Cressida's gaze is described as insatiable and predatory. Rune's position on the ship places her in proximity to a threat she can't escape.

Mortal enemies / obsession: Rune and Gideon's relationship is defined by hatred and rivalry, yet Rune dreams of him and weeps for the partnership she imagined. Their enmity has become a kind of bond.

Legacy and mentorship: Nan's dying request—to find Seraphine—connects Rune to her grandmother's legacy and sets up a training arc.

Determination and readiness: The chapter ends on Rune's certainty that Gideon will come and that she will be ready, transforming her grief into resolve.

Why This Chapter Matters

This is a hinge chapter. The Entr'acte framing signals a pause between acts, and indeed the chapter transitions the story from the island's crisis to the next phase: the voyage to Caelis and the looming Reign of Witches. It consolidates Rune's losses, clarifies Cressida's threat, introduces Seraphine as a mentor, and reframes Rune's relationship with Gideon as something she intends to confront rather than flee. The chapter also establishes Rune's moral position—she wants no part in either regime—and her pragmatic turn toward survival. Most importantly, it sets up the central tension of the next act: Rune's determination to be ready for Gideon when he comes.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Rune feel like a stranger in her own body at the start of the chapter?

Rune has lost everything that defined her identity: her home Wintersea, her horse Lady, and her friend Alex. She also discovers that her closest companion, Cressida, was never who she seemed. With her anchors gone and her trust betrayed, Rune no longer recognizes herself. Her grief and dislocation are compounded by the realization that she has nowhere to go—home means death, and Alex's death has erased her imagined future.

2. How does Seraphine's advice complicate Rune's moral position?

Seraphine tells Rune it's better to be useful to Cressida than to be dead. This forces Rune to weigh survival against complicity. Rune has already stated she has no interest in swapping one evil for another, yet Seraphine's counsel suggests that refusing to serve Cressida may not be an option. The chapter leaves Rune in this tension: she recoils at the idea of being useful, but she also accepts Seraphine's training, implying she may have to compromise her principles to survive.

3. What does Rune's desire for Gideon to come for her reveal about their relationship?

Rune acknowledges that Gideon is her perfect rival and that without him she can only be half of her full potential. Their hatred, she insists, is what binds them—not love. Yet she dreams of him nightly, weeps for the partnership she imagined, and feels lost without him hunting her. This suggests their enmity has become intertwined with her sense of self. Her desire for him to come for her is not just about rivalry; it's about needing the challenge that completes her, and about unfinished business she intends to resolve.

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