Here is a summary with spoilers of Rebel Witch
Two months have passed since the events of The Crimson Moth/Heartless Hunter. Cressida has reclaimed her power, killed Alex, and driven a wedge between Rune and Gideon, turning them into enemies. Gideon is on a mission to assassinate Rune, and after tracking her for some time, he finally finds her. As he spies on her, he discovers that she is engaged to Prince Soren of Umbra. Gideon watches her closely and sees that she is in a bad state—drunk and brokenhearted. Despite his mission, he feels torn between sadness for her and jealousy as he watches her with Soren. He’s conflicted, unsure how he can follow through with the assassination.
Inside Rune’s mind, the pain is even greater. She’s playing her role, but she is deeply depressed, missing Alex. She doesn’t love Soren—she’s with him only because Cressida ordered it. The engagement is a means to secure Soren’s army, which Cressida will use. Rune needs a break from it all, and she locks herself in the bathroom to escape her overwhelming emotions. But Gideon is there, gun aimed at her.
They have an intense conversation, but Gideon can’t bring himself to pull the trigger. Their tense moment is interrupted when Cressida arrives, binding Gideon with a spell. She orders Rune to leave, and Soren takes her to her room where she’s kept under constant guard. Cressida then places another spell on Gideon, forcing him to obey her first in command, Ava. Cressida attempts to rekindle their past relationship, promising to win back Gideon’s heart—willingly or not. She briefly mentions a dark plan to raise her deceased siblings. Meanwhile, Rune struggles with the thought that Gideon might die at Cressida’s hands.
Determined to save him, Rune sneaks out while Soren distracts Cressida. She finds Gideon and kills Ava in the process, making a deal with him: in exchange for saving his life, he will help Rune get back to her room unnoticed. As they make their way back, Gideon reveals the shocking news—Cressida plans to raise her dead siblings. Rune, terrified, hadn’t known about this. They part ways as enemies once more.
Gideon reports to his handler, Harrow, that the mission is incomplete. Harrow informs him that someone else will finish the job, but Gideon doesn’t trust that. He hunts Rune again, but this time, she is prepared. Rune offers a truce: she’ll break off her engagement to Soren, thus withdrawing the army he gave to Cressida, if Gideon helps her escape to the New Republic. He agrees, though he’s already thinking of betraying her once they get there. When Soren arrives, Gideon pretends to take Rune hostage, and they flee together, narrowly escaping their pursuers and board a ship.
On the ship, Rune and Gideon must pretend to be a newlywed couple. Their past betrayals make it difficult, and they constantly bicker. But things become more complicated when Abbie, an old lover of Gideon’s, appears on the ship. Suspicious of her, Gideon keeps a close eye on her, and Rune becomes jealous. During a fight, Rune accidentally admits that she would have married Gideon, and that she only accepted Alex’s proposal because Gideon was out of reach. Later, at a party on the ship, they share a passionate kiss, but Gideon experiences intense pain at the spot where Cressida’s curse marked him, which prevents him from fully touching Rune. Rune assumes it’s because he remembers the past, and thinks that she is a monster: she runs off.
Gideon, struggling with the curse and his feelings, is confronted by Abbie. They kiss, and he realizes that the curse only affects Rune, not other women. He starts to suspect that someone named William has been following Rune, and finds him pointing a gun at her. Gideon saves Rune and tells William his plans to betray her once they reach the New Republic. But unbeknownst to Gideon, Rune overhears everything.
Back in the New Republic, they lay low at Gideon’s apartment. The Blood Guard arrives to take Gideon prisoner. Rune stays hidden while Gideon is interrogated by Harrow. She brings out a sybil named Aurelia, a witch who confirms that Cressida has a secret sibling, and she needs the blood of this sibling—the Roseblood Heir—to raise her dead siblings. Cressida must sacrifice herself to complete the ritual, or she will die. Harrow gives Gideon two days to kill the Roseblood Heir and turn Rune in. If he fails, he will be executed as a witch sympathizer. In exchange for her help, Aurelia demands that Gideon free her daughter.
Gideon enlists Rune’s help to kidnap Aurelia’s child. They break into her home and while searching, they finally talk about their feelings. Gideon admits he’s cursed, unable to touch her without pain, and he proves it with a painful kiss. But they’re interrupted by the baby’s cries. They manage to steal the baby, but guards chase them. In the chaos, Rune has a vision of Gideon’s future, with three children. Gideon sacrifices himself so Rune and the baby can escape. He’s captured again, but manages to talk his way out.
Rune waits for Gideon at the apartment. When he returns, he brings Aurelia with him. Rune reveals she is the Crimson Moth and plans to help Aurelia and her daughter escape. She also casts a spell to find the missing Roseblood Heir, hoping it will keep them safe from Cressida. As the spell works, Rune realizes that Gideon had overheard her plans, and she warns him not to follow her.
While casting the spell, Rune falls asleep, and when she wakes, no heir has appeared. She hopes this means Cressida won’t find the heir either. What Rune doesn’t know is that she is the Roseblood Heir. Only Gideon knows the truth as he watched the whole ritual not falling asleep.
Rune takes Aurelia and her child onto a boat to escape. She has a final encounter with Gideon, who gives her his gun and warns her not to miss. Just as they’re about to be caught by guards, they narrowly escape thanks to Gideon’s intervention. However, his commanders learn of his actions, and he is imprisoned for being a witch sympathizer.
Five days later, the witches arrive, and Aurelia makes Rune get off, gives her a piece of jewlery from Gideon; which says he hopes she finds her freedom. Than Aurelia takes the boat, and leaves to find somewhere else safe for her and her child. Rune starts a new plan, she will find a new ship, and she will go back for Gideon. But first, she needs some new spells, so she goes to Cressida’s home, and managages to find her spell book. In it, she finds True Love’s Curse, a spell that will keep you away and in pain from your true love. It hits Rune what Gideon is to her. The only way to make the curse reversed is to spill the blood of the victims true love in a sacrificial act. Rune is too late to escape, Cressida is there. She takes her to a room to punish her for her act of betrayal. Cressida whips her, as her blood is being spilt, Rune realizes this could be a sacrificial act; she draws a ruin to stop Gideons curse. As Rune is about to pass out from the whipping, Serephena shows up and claims that Rune is the missing heir.
Rune wakes up in pain and on a ship. Cressida begins her attacks on the New Republic, using invisible soldiers to take over the city. Gideon is freed and joins the fight, though he feels betrayed by Rune. He believes she didn’t keep her promise to break off the engagement. As Cressida wins, Rune escapes with a friend’s help, but not without confrontation. She shoots Soren when he tries to convince her to return to him, then helps Harrow escape. Rune tries to collect spell books from her old home, but it’s overrun by guards. She’s captured, but Gideon finds her in time to help her escape, though not before he’s shot twice.
With the help of old friends, Rune and Gideon break into Bart’s house to hide. Gideon insists they start a resistance to fight both Cressida and the New Republic. Rune wants to run, but the two argue. Rune leaves, and it’s revealed that she’s still healing from her brutal whipping. Gideon finds her, and they have a long conversation about their feelings. Eventually, Rune gives him an ultimatum: stay with her and leave the rebellion behind, or fight for his home. Gideon chooses to stay, even though it tears him apart to leave Rune behind.
Rune heads to the train station, determined to leave, but when she sees a soldier aiming a gun at Gideon, she jumps off the train to save him. They jump onto another train to escape, and finally confess their love for each other. Rune tells Gideon she wants to marry him and have children, but only if they fight together. Gideon agrees.
Back in the New Republic, Rune continues her research on Cressida’s spell, trying to find a counter. Meanwhile, Gideon receives a letter from Harrow that leads him to Cressida’s hidden sister’s bodies. Rune discovers that Cressida’s spell will kill the sacrifice and do soul damage to the caster. The two rush to destroy the bodies before Cressida can use them, but it’s a trap. Harrow has betrayed them.
Rune realizes she is the key to stopping Cressida. She asks Gideon to shoot her to prevent Cressida from using her blood. He hesitates but ultimately agrees. As Rune dies, she thinks to herself that she’s glad she added a protection spell to Gideon during her whipping—one that would prevent Cressida from ever touching him.
Gideon seizes the opportunity to kill Cressida, but Serephine, revealed as an ancient goddess, intervenes, killing Cressida herself. Using magic, Serephine brings Rune back to life. The group burns Cressida’s body and her sisters’ to ensure they can never rise again.
Three months later, Gideon is Captain of the Guard, and Rune has been elected to represent her region. Their world is changing for the better, even though Rune still doesn’t quite know what she’s doing. Rune and Gideon are happily married, and together, they look forward to the future.
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