Page 101 of The Rebel and the Rose
And he just kept prodding.
‘You know, if you really cared about Sera, you’d find it in yourself to stop constantly threatening me, Ransom.’
‘I’m wary of you for good reason,’ he shot back. ‘You’re a Versini.’
Tensing, he bit out, ‘So what?’
Was he really so obtuse? ‘So you’re adirect descendentof Hugo Versini, the most notorious figure in the history ofValterre. Your ancestors changed the face of this kingdom for ever, and for the worse. They bastardized Fantome, sucked all the light out of it. They plunged the City of the saints into darkness, all because of their own insatiable ambition. The need to be better, richer, grander than everyone else.’
‘I know the history,’ he said curtly.
‘Yourhistory.’ Ransom made a point of clarifying it. ‘What’s to say you don’t have that same streak inside you? The slow-creeping urge to be greater than your Order? Your friends? Your kingdom? What’s to say that’s not the real reason you want to save the prince, so you can watch how he trains Seraphine, and then find a way to use it to your advantage?’
Versini’s nostrils flared. ‘You’re reaching, Dagger.’
Now it was Ransom’s turn to smirk. ‘Then why are you getting so worked up?’
‘Youare the assassin here,’ Versini hissed. ‘You murder for coin and then kiss the king’s ring. You would sooner laugh at the will of the saints and raise a knife to the throat of one of their own than actually consider what might, in fact, be best for the kingdom, or indeed the woman you claim to give a shit about.’ He huffed a mirthless laugh. ‘You’re the Head of Hugo Versini’s depraved little Order and you have the gall to judgeme, you morally corrupt prick.’
Turning his back to the prince, Ransom rounded on the Shadowsmith, training all his ire on him. ‘I became a Dagger because I had no other choice. At ten years old with no food and no coin, it was the catacombs or the bottom of the Verne for me. You had a family, a thriving village in Halbracht. Youchoseto become a Cloak. To spend every day with that blackdust between your fingers, because it made you feel powerful, and important. Then someone even more powerful came along. Someone in possession of a kind of magic so alluring you just couldn’t resist. You followed it like a trail of breadcrumbs.’
‘I followedher.’ Versini raised an accusing finger, bringing it dangerously close to Ransom’s chest. One more inch and that vial was coming out. ‘Whileyoustayed behind to murder your way through the city. Over and over again. Killing rebels who have the nerve to picture a better life, a safer, brighter kingdom than the one you try to ruin every day of your miserable life.’
Ransom spoke through his teeth. ‘Every choice I make is about survival.Hersurvival. Her freedom. That includes when I kill someone. And when I let them breathe a little longer.’ He gestured behind him, towards the prince. ‘Youare a slave to your own ambition, Versini. The question is, just how far will it take you?’
Slipping out from under him, Versini jutted his chin. ‘You don’t know me, Dagger.’
‘I don’t have to know you.’ Ransom’s smile was cold. ‘As long as there’s power in play, a Versini can never truly be trusted.’
With a derisive snort, the Shadowsmith took a measured step back. ‘Keep stewing, Tunnel Rat. When she leaves the prince tonight, you’ll still be wearing her dead father’s ring, and I’ll be the one she confides in.’
He sauntered off without a second glance.
When Ransom turned around, Andreas and Seraphine were on their feet. Stepping way too close, the prince leaned in to murmur something in her ear. His eyes flicked to Ransom, hissmirk slow and taunting, as he trailed a possessive finger down her cheek.
This fucker.
Ransom was already moving. Crossing the dance hall like a bullet, a vial in one hand and a knife in the other.
Looks like there would be murder tonight after all.
Chapter 26Seraphine
Ransom was vibrating with rage when Sera reached him. She lunged, pressing her hands against his chest. ‘Don’t you dare.’ She had to shout over the music to be heard. ‘Remember our deal!’
Grimacing, he paused to look down at her. ‘He put his fucking hands on you.’
‘A finger,’ she said, pushing him back.
He conceded a step. ‘That’s one finger too many, spitfire.’
The prince’s overfamiliarity had taken her by surprise too. But she was not about to murder him over it. ‘There was nothing in it. Andreas has a flair for dramatics.’
Ransom’s lips twisted, all that latent anger still thrumming against her palms. The prince had slipped away with his mercenaries but there was no telling when he would return,or what Ransom might do with him when he did. Yanking the silver chain on his waistcoat, Sera dragged him into a nearby alcove, where they were hidden by a teeming bouquet of pink roses. ‘Calm down. You’re like a volcano that’s about to erupt.’
‘I am calm,’ he said, working to keep his voice even. ‘I’m so fucking calm.’
‘Andsoconvincing,’ she teased, working the dagger from his grip and sliding it back into his pocket. He let her do it, watching her hands with rapt attention. ‘I told you I would be all right.’
