Page 57 of The Rebel and the Rose
‘And what about Lark?’
Larkagain. ‘You already know what happened with—’
‘Did you go to his grave?’
Surprise cut through her frustration. ‘What are you talking about?’
He chewed on his response. Where once the carriage had been too close to think straight, now it felt cold.Shewas cold. Outside, the sun was dimming as heavy storm clouds rolled in from the east. She reached for her cardigan.
He watched her shrug it on, a muscle working in his jaw. Was he really so disgusted by the idea of her accidental sainthood, or was he wrestling with his sworn duty to the king? He was, after all, Betrand’s appointed saint-killer. And here she sat, within choking distance.
She watched his hands twitch.
Let him try it.
She’d go down swinging.
‘Why would I go to Lark’s grave?’ she pressed. ‘It’s bad enough that I killed him. Every time I think about that night, it makes me sick.’
‘Someone disturbed it.’ He drew out each word, carefully studying her reaction. ‘The grass there… it smelled just like lemon blossoms.’
‘Like magic, you mean.’
‘Likeyou, Seraphine.’
For goodness’ sake! She rolled her eyes. ‘Like I don’t have better things to do than go around vandalizing people’s graves.Saints, Ransom. Give me a little credit.’
‘They took his body.’
She froze. ‘What?’
‘They came in the night and stole his body,’ he said again. ‘His grave is empty. Nadia nearly lost her mind.’
Sera’s stomach lurched. Her mind turned to Fontaine’s tarot cards, the same ones she and Theo had been poring over in the carriage that very morning. They were burning a hole in her pocket. Her fingers itched to draw them out, to look upon one card in particular.The Necromancer– Death’s right hand. Was Fontaine’s fortune telling holding true? Was there another saint prowling around Fantome, yanking bodies from their graves?
The silence thickened. Ransom was still watching her in that calculating way, like he was waiting for her to break.
All hell…Was this how he truly thought of her? Some depraved graverobber who would wrench the body of his dead best friend from the earth just to screw with him? Words failed her. She couldn’t think past the storm of her own confusion and anger… herhurt.
‘I want to pull over,’ she managed. ‘You can switch places with Theo.’
He jerked his chin. ‘Why?’
She had to work to keep her voice steady. ‘Because apparently you think I’m afucking graverobber.’
‘Your eyes are glowing again.’
‘Good,’ she hissed. ‘Wait another minute and they might actually incinerate you.’
Right now, it didn’t feel like the worst outcome.
‘You wouldn’t,’ he said.
‘You have no idea what I can do, Ransom.’And neither do I.
‘But youclearlyhave a wild imagination,’ she added.
‘Calm down,’ he said, raising his hands. Now that she had passed his little graverobber test, he was all sunshine and smirks again. Too bad. She was not about to forget the insult. ‘It was a misunderstanding. The lemon blossoms… I had forgotten. I just needed to be sure.’
