Page 99 of The Dagger and the Flame
Her spine tingled as an idea unfurled, and she wondered if it had been there all along, hiding in the recesses of her soul, waiting to be discovered.
‘We’ll use the Aurore,’ she said, looking at Theo.
His eyebrows rose, and he stared past her as he made sense of her idea, drawing a picture of it in his mind: the great towerof Fantome, a monument to the lost age of the saints, burning again with new magic. Three tiers glowing with Lightfire, and all those monsters turning their faces to it, finding their salvation.
‘You are clever,’ he murmured, a smile curling on his face.
Seraphine grinned right back. ‘All we have to do is find a way to get them all to Primrose Square.’
A furrow appeared between his brow. ‘I’ll think of something. Just give me a few days.’
Sera nodded. A few more days and, if Saint Oriel smiled on them, it would all be over. The monsters would be destroyed at last, and Mama’s legacy would be fulfilled.
Except… except that wasn’t quite true.
There was one part of the plan that still needed to be… finessed. After all, Mama hadn’t made all those monsters just to free them. She had made them to kill an even greater one:
Gaspard Dufort.
Seraphine did not yet know how she would deal with the Head of the Daggers, but one thing was cold and sharp and certain: for as long as Dufort drew breath, she would never truly be free. That meant he had to die, along with the monsters.
And one way or another, she would see to it.
The door flew open and Bibi hurried inside, unwittingly yanking Sera from her spiralling thoughts of revenge.
‘The birthday girl is here!’ she announced, just as Val stepped inside, looking rather embarrassed about the whole affair.
Sera grabbed the cake, holding it aloft. There wasn’t time for candles, and if they chanced the Lightfire in its current crude form, the cake would probably explode.
‘Happy birthday, Val!’
‘Let’s sing!’ said Bibi, clapping her hands.
‘This is so embarrassing,’ said Val, but she couldn’t fight her smile as they launched into song. When it was over, she pulled her curls back and mimed blowing out the non-existent candles, while Bibi produced a knife and several forks from her back pocket.
‘The test is the taste,’ said Val, shooting a smile at Sera as she cut the first slice. ‘Let’s see if it lives up to your word.’
‘Just know that it’s made with love,’ said Bibi. ‘And a sprinkling of my incompetence. There might be a few eggshells in there.’
‘For luck,’ added Sera, feeling a flurry of nerves as she watched Val take a bite. In such a short space of time, these people had become unimaginably important to her, and maybe it was silly, but she felt like this cake was her way of trying to show them that.
Val closed her eyes, licking the caramel from her lips. ‘It’s so good, I think I might levitate.’
Sera beamed. Theo and Bibi grabbed their forks, digging into the cake with gusto. They clustered around the island, feasting and chatting, and teasing Val, who despite her protestations, seemed to be enjoying her birthday – and the corresponding attention – very much. Theo fished a bottle of sparkling wine from a nearby cupboard, and sent the cork bouncing off the ceiling.
Val swiped the bottle, taking the first sip. ‘You were right about that cake, farmgirl. It’s the best I’ve ever had.’
‘Don’t tell Alaina that,’ said Bibi, going for her second slice. ‘I’ve been enjoying her good mood lately.’
‘I know,’ said Val pointedly. ‘My room is right next to yours.’
Bibi’s blush was so violent, it swallowed her freckles. ‘Moving swiftly along… How goes the Lightfire?’
‘See for yourselves.’ Theo set the bowl down in the middle of the island, and they all leaned in, peering at the gold dust, as if they might find their futures glittering inside it.
‘Whoa,’ muttered Bibi.
‘What are we going to do with it?’ said Val, poking her finger inside the bowl.
