Page 85 of The Rebel and the Rose
Ransom glared at him.
‘It’s true,’ Val piped up. ‘Bram was a pig. When I went outside to get some fresh air, he followed me.Corneredme… I couldn’t get free of him.’ She inched closer, her haunted gaze on the dead man’s face. ‘When he pushed me to the ground, I screamed.’
‘And I killed him,’ said Caruso, looking pointedly at Val, like he was expecting her to saythank you.
She cut her eyes at him. ‘Ruthless motherfucker.’
There was something in it that almost felt like a thank you.
Nadia rolled to her feet. ‘Well, he’s definitely dead. The question is, what do we do with him?’
Time to salvage the situation. ‘Grab your things. Drink some water. Sober up,’ Ransom announced. ‘We’re leaving. Now. We’ll take a single carriage and continue north to Marvale.’ He felt Seraphine bristle, all too aware that they were still at odds about what would happen once they got there. There wasn’t time to get into it here.
‘We’ll take turns sleeping on the road, find a new inn by morning.’ He turned on Caruso. ‘Youcan help me with the body.’
‘All right,’ said Versini, coming around. ‘That’s a plan.’
Brushing past him, Seraphine said, ‘Fine. Let’s get going then.’
Ransom chewed on his frustration. A few moments ago, Seraphine was grinding in his lap. Now he was cleaning up a damn murder scene. Ordinarily, the best thing about being a Dagger was neverhavingto clean up afterwards. But a dead soldier spelled trouble for all of them. Not that Bram was worth mourning. On that, even the Flames agreed.
For two warring factions, they worked together with remarkable efficiency. Nadia and Versini went to fetch the carriage, while Seraphine and Val volunteered to gather everyone’s things, leaving Caruso and Ransom to deal with the body.
Caruso flung it over his shoulder like a sack of grain.
‘Wait!’ said Val.
Caruso spun so fast, he swung Bram into an oil lamp. It shattered on the ground.
Val stepped over it, rushing up to the body. For a bewildering moment, Ransom thought she was double-checking his pulse to make sure he really was dead… Until she snapped his gold watch off and slipped it into her pocket.
‘As you were, Daggers,’ she said, skipping after Seraphine.
They turned to watch her go.
‘Little menace,’ muttered Caruso.
Chapter 21Seraphine
Ransom was wavering. Not just about the king’s quest but the changing of the kingdom and his own place within it. Sure, they had argued on the roof, but he had listened to her too. In sharing her truth – herfearsabout what they were about to do – Sera had rattled his resolve. Pricked a pin in that careful ruthless façade.
But as they absconded from the Bellflower in the middle of the night, leaving a dead soldier in their wake, she sensed the Dagger’s will harden again. Time was running out, every mile bringing them one step closer to the People’s Saint. Closer to the answers she had so desperately been seeking about herself, and the fear that Ransom might swipe them all away before she could get through to him.
On the way out of Ornaux, the carriage almost crashedthree times. Not bad considering Caruso and Nadia, who had volunteered as temporary coachmen, were hopelessly drunk. And had no ideahowto drive.
‘At least the horses are sober,’ said Theo, digging his hands into the leather bench as they swerved their way into the wilds beyond. The town’s flickering lights soon faded into the distance, leaving the silvery moon alone to guide them. In the darkness, all the trees looked like skeletons, creaking in the midnight breeze.
Val, who had stuck her face out of the window to vomit, shrieked when a branch slapped her in the forehead. ‘VEER LEFT, YOU FOOLS! WE’RE IN THE DAMN TREES!’
Ransom, who was holding on to the back of her shirt in case she tumbled out, released her as she slumped back onto the bench beside him. Val was sitting opposite Theo, while Ransom was sitting directly across from Sera. Not for the first time that night, they locked eyes.
What she wouldn’t give to be back on the roof of the Bellflower, where, for a moonlit moment, everything between them had been so perfectly, achingly simple. Nothing but dreams and desire. Even now, she felt the shadow of his broad callused hands sliding up her back, his hot mouth against her neck, his throaty words in her ear, promising more. Promisingeverything.
By the way his throat bobbed now, she imagined he was thinking about the same thing.
Take me back.
And leave me there.
