Page 51 of The Dagger and the Flame
Get a grip.
She heard a softclick.Her eyes flew open as the clasp on her necklace opened beneath his deft fingers. Her hand dropped, and he grabbed her fist, working the teardrop free.
‘No.’ Sera would sooner lose her hand than the magic inside it. She struck out, slamming her fist into the wound in his side.
He cursed, grabbing her jaw.
She spat in his face.
He jerked backwards. There was a sudden clatter of footsteps, then a warning shout. A figure hurtled through the dark, tackling Ransom at the waist. They careened into a trash can, their fists flying so fast, it took Sera a second to spot the glint of silver hair. When they finally fell away from each other, Theo scrambled to his feet, his wild eyes finding hers.
He looked her over. ‘You’re bleeding.’
‘I’m fine,’ she said, shoving her necklace into her pocket.
Ransom leaped to his feet, rounding on Theo. ‘Who the fuck are you?’
Theo spat out a glob of blood. ‘Your worst nightmare.’
Ransom laughed. ‘OK, Drama. The theatre is two streets over.’
‘Keep laughing, tunnel rat.’ Theo pulled a switchblade from his pocket just as Ransom brought out a vial of Shade. It was like bringing a toothpick to a swordfight.
‘Leave him,’ she said, pulling Theo away. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
‘Go on, Drama.’ Ransom bit the stopper off his vial. ‘I’ll give you a head start.’
They bolted for the mouth of the alley, then across the street to where Bibi was running towards them. ‘Merciful saints!’ she cried. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I thought a monster took you!’ She swept her hair from her face and Sera saw that her cheeks were blotchy, her eyes swollen from crying. ‘When Theo found me, we ran up and down the river, shouting your name. Didn’t you hear us?’ Bibi looked at Theo, who was dishevelled and panting, then back at Sera, noting the blood on her sweater and in her hair. ‘What happened to you?’
Sera’s gaze darted back to the alley. ‘I’ll explain later.’
Sensing the urgency of the situation, Bibi reluctantly stayed her curiosity. They turned for home, their footsteps quickening as night fell and a gathering chorus of howls echoed through the city.
Chapter 17Seraphine
Over dinner that night, Sera confessed everything to her friends. After what happened in the alley with Ransom – after what hadalmosthappened to Theo when he came to save her – she couldn’t stand the thought of lying to them any more. And more than that, she had come to trust them during her time at House Armand. She owed them the truth. If not for her own safety, then for theirs. She was marked, and becoming a Cloak hadn’t changed that.
So, she told them everything about the day of Mama’s murder when she had witnessed the Dagger standing over her dead body. Then her showdown with Ransom at Villa Roman, when her necklace had glowed like the sun, shredding his Shade and saving her life. She recounted the moment she had managed to stick him with her letter opener and get away inone piece, even confessing that she believed she had killed him up until today. If Theo hadn’t found them in that alley when he did… She shuddered to imagine it.
But Saint Oriel had not yet deserted her. Once again, Sera had escaped with her life.
The others listened in horrified silence as she recounted it all, Theo’s gaze fixed on that golden teardrop hanging from her neck.
‘I knew there was something unusual about that thing,’ he murmured when she had finished. He scrubbed a hand across his jaw, absently stroking the bruise blooming there. ‘I wonder what it is.’
‘I was hoping you might know,’ Sera confessed. She had been wrestling with the idea of confiding in the Shadowsmith about it all week, hoping that the artificer might have some insight into its power.
But he only shook his head in bewilderment.
‘Iknewthere was something going on between you and that Dagger,’ said Bibi, leaning across her plate of roast chicken. ‘You could have cut the tension with a knife. Though I admit, I didn’t expect this…’ She frowned, searching for the right word.
‘Ongoing game of murder?’ said Val, who was sitting with her ankle propped up on the windowsill.
‘Attemptedmurder,’ Sera corrected her.
‘So far,’ she countered. Then she frowned. ‘You’re a Cloak now. He’s not supposed to go anywhere near you.’
‘Unless Dufort cares more about getting rid of me than he does about Mercure’s rules,’ muttered Sera. Dufort didn’t give a damn about rules that inconvenienced him.
