Page 98 of The Dagger and the Flame
Gunpowder and bloom.It was beautifully, blessedly simple.
A manic laugh bubbled out of her. ‘I think we’ve cracked it, Pip.’
Pippin blinked once, then promptly fell asleep. Still fizzing with the triumph of her discovery, Sera ran to the window and peered out into the night. All was quiet, still. She reached for her pen and paper and scribbled a note.
Are you out there?
The dart soared over the hedge. She waited for ten minutes, then ten more. His reply never came. Ransom was not there, and his sudden yawning absence might have unsettled Sera if her thoughts weren’t already turning to tomorrow, to the beginnings of hope rising before her like a new sun.
But when she dreamed, it was not of Lightfire, but the solid darkness of the catacombs and the feverish heat of his lips moving against her own.
Chapter 37Seraphine
Sera was sitting cross-legged outside the cloakroom when Theo came down after breakfast the following morning.
‘Well, this is unnerving,’ he said, by way of greeting.
She grinned up at him, and said, ‘Gunpowder.’
He stared down at her. ‘I haven’t had enough coffee for whatever this riddle is.’
‘The secret ingredient is gunpower!’ said Sera, leaping to her feet. ‘I found Lucille’s journal last night. I read it cover to cover.’ She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close. ‘I’ve cracked the recipe!’
Theo blinked slowly, taking in her words. Then he braced his hands on her arms to stop her from shaking him. ‘Please wait for my breakfast to settle. And how do you know I’m not busy today with other important top-secret business?’
Sera frowned. ‘Are you?’
‘Obviously not,’ he said, grappling for his keys. ‘Let’s make some damn Lightfire.’
Sera skipped inside after him. The Shadowsmith had every tool and herb and powder at his disposal but when he opened the safe, revealing rows upon rows of Shade vials lined up like soldiers, Sera’s fingers didn’t itch to take one.
The darkness no longer interested her. Now, she sought the sun.
As Theo set to work, mixing and measuring, she drifted around the cloakroom, trying to find somewhere to settle. When he retrieved a small jar of gunpowder, she peered over his shoulder and immediately sneezed into it. It sent a cloud right up into his face.
He turned to glare at her. ‘You don’t have to sit on my shoulder like a parrot, Sera. I know what I’m doing.’
‘Right. Sorry. I’m just trying to support you. Morally.’
‘Why don’t you morally support me by passing me a cloth?’ he said, as politely as he could manage with a face full of gunpowder. ‘And maybe get us some snacks. It’s going to be a long day.’
Sera gasped. ‘That reminds me, I have to make a cake! I’ll be back in a couple of hours.’
‘You better bring me a slice!’ he called after her.
Sera was in such a good mood, she skipped upstairs, where she found Bibi practising the piano in the music room. She roped her into helping, both of them giggling like children as they clattered their way through the kitchens, searching for cake tins. Bibi borrowed an apron from Alaina, whoonly surrendered it after they disappeared together into the storeroom for a suspiciously long time.
A couple of hours later, Sera sprinkled a final dusting of cocoa powder over a slightly lopsided fudge cake filled with chocolate buttercream and drizzled with ribbons of caramel. She carried it down to the cloakroom, while Bibi went to fetch Val.
When Sera nudged the door open, Theo was standing with his hands braced against the island. He was leaning over a clay bowl full of gold powder that was sparkling all on its own. Sera set the cake down. ‘Is that—?’
‘Lightfire,’ he murmured.
She came to his side, not daring to breathe as she peered into the bowl. ‘Can you hear that?’ she said, leaning in. ‘It’s crackling.’
‘Careful,’ he said, tugging her back. ‘It’s raw. Which means it’s volatile. I’ve already burned my fingers three times. We have to figure out what to do with it. And then how to use it to get rid of all those monsters.’
Absently, Sera reached for the ghost of her necklace, her mother’s words ringing in her head:And when the time comes, you will rise far above this wicked city and become a flame in the dark. You will be the Aurore, Seraphine.
