Page 92 of The Dagger and the Flame
‘Yes.’ But she hesitated.
‘Thisis the part you can’t do?’ he said, leaning across the coffin. ‘Do you want me to—?’
‘No.’ She rolled her shoulders. ‘Keep your hands to yourself, Dagger.’ He watched her prise the journal free, her skin taking on a definite greenish hue as she tried desperately not to touch the skeleton.
‘Stop smirking at me,’ she said, without looking up.
‘I’m admiring your technique.’
She bit back her smile. When the journal came free, she leaped backwards, clutching it to her chest, just as Lucille had done.
‘I did it,’ she said, as if she couldn’t quite believe it. She yanked up her sweater, tucking the journal into the waistband of her trousers, and Ransom stilled at the sight of her bare midriff. A familiar heat roared in his blood.
You lust-addled Neanderthal. You’re standing in a fucking tomb.
‘We should move the lid back into place,’ she said, shoving it towards him. But the angle was off and now the lid had been loosened, it wobbled as she pushed.
‘Careful!’ He lunged to steady it, but skidded on her discarded cloak. He careened into the coffin, and the entire lid tilted. They tried to force it back into alignment but the stone was too heavy. It listed to the side, sliding to the ground with an earth-trembling thud.
The entire passageway shook, the lamps on the wall flickering as dust streamed down from the ceiling. Somewhere overhead, a chorus of shouts rang out. It was followed by the thrum of footsteps.
Seraphine swiped her cloak off the floor. ‘Now what?’
He grabbed her shoulders and shoved her towards the door. ‘Now, we run!’
Chapter 34Seraphine
Seraphine flew out of the crypt so fast she lost her footing. Her knees had barely touched the ground before Ransom caught her, yanking her up by the waist.
‘Move,’ he hissed in her ear, but there was nowhere to run. There was only one way up and there were already footsteps coming down the stairwell.
She whirled on her heel. ‘We’re trapped.’
His gaze darted, then he tugged her down to the left, where the passage narrowed before ending at a stone wall. He swung her around, pressing her back against it and covering her body with his own. Sera tilted her chin up but she couldn’t see beyond him, just the flickering dark and the warning in his eyes.
‘Don’t move, spitfire,’ he said, peering down at her. ‘Or we’re both dead.’
Better to tilt those odds in their favour, then, thought Sera. She unfurled her cloak and flung it around his shoulders. He pulled the hood up, shadows falling across his face as he curled his arms around her, folding her into the cloak’s magic. He walked her back into a shadow, where a breath of cool wind caressed her skin, raising the hairs on the back of her neck.
His arms tightened around her as the footsteps drew nearer. She looked up, caught in the firelight of his gaze. The tension thickened, her heart beating so hard she swore he must feel it against his chest. She opened her mouth, but he raised a finger to her lips and kept it there.
Behind them, there were footsteps. Then voices.
‘What the hell happened in here?’ demanded the first.
‘Maybe Lucille’s got unfinished business,’ said another.
‘You don’t believe in ghosts, Nadia.’
‘Good thing, as we’d all be screwed, living in this place.’
‘Body snatcher, if you ask me.’
‘Hardly, Caruso. What would someone do with the rotted corpse of Lucille Versini?’
‘Says the girl who used to sneak skulls into other people’s beds just to mess with them.’
‘That was Lark, you prick.’
