Page 113 of The Dragon and the Dove

She was distracted by a sharp tug in her chest. The sudden awareness that they were not alone.

‘Not as much as you’re about to,’ came a growl from the doorway. ‘Get off your fucking knees, Versini.’

Ransom filled the threshold to the cloakroom like darkness incarnate. Shadows swarmed him. His eyes were gold and full of that same promise: death, swift and lethal.

Theo rolled to his feet, just as Sera slid from her stool, letting the hem of her trouser fall. ‘What are you doing down here?’

Without tearing his gaze from Theo, he said, ‘Making sure our resident soul-eater isn’t about to devour you.’

Theo flinched at the word.

Sera sighed. ‘I asked Val not to say anything until—’

‘It was Caruso.’ Briefly, his ire flicked to her. ‘He knows the weight of a secret doesn’t come close to the value of your life. I thought you knew that too.’

‘Relax, Hale,’ said Theo. ‘We were just talking.’

‘Do you always talk to Seraphine on your knees like a dog?’

‘Fuck off,’ Theo spat, reaching the end of his temper. ‘And get those shadows out of here. You’ll taint the Lightfire.’

‘Too bad you’re not afraid of them,’ said Ransom, stepping over the threshold. ‘I can still kill you with my hands, you know.’

Theo sneered. ‘Once a Dagger, always a Dagger.’

‘Exactly.’

The air crackled with tension.

Sera slipped in front of Theo. She was reasonably sure Ransom wasn’t going to try and murder the Shadowsmith in his own workroom, but lately his moods were as volatile as his magic. And there was so much darkness in the room it was choking out the light.

‘We don’t have time for this right now,’ she said, but Theo was already moving around her.

‘Get the hell out of my cloakroom, Hale.’

Ransom bared his teeth. ‘Make me.’

Theo swung first, slamming his fist into Ransom’s jaw. Ransom’s answering strike sent him back down to his knees. He lunged after him and they fell to the ground, cursing and swinging. Shadows plumed, staining the floor black.

Sera stomped through them. ‘Stop fighting, you idiots!’

Spitting blood, Ransom tipped his head back to look at her. ‘This will only take a second.’

‘Not if I rip out your fucking soul,’ snarled Theo, from below him. His eyes flared gold, and for the first time since she’d come down here – since she’d known the Shadowsmith – she found herself afraid of him.

‘Get off him!’ she yelled, grabbing Ransom’s collar.

He reeled backwards, narrowly avoiding Theo’s grasp. He leaped up, rounding on the Shadowsmith. ‘Here you are at last, Soul-eater.’ Hatred dripped from every word. ‘Welcome to the game.’

Theo scrabbled to his feet, those devouring eyes trained on Ransom. ‘I’m about to claim my prize.’

‘Enough!’ Sera cried, but Theo was lost to his power, and Ransom’s taunts weren’t helping. She stepped between them, raising her hands. ‘Theo, enough.’

He wiped the blood from his chin, glaring past her.

Forcing him to concede a step, she pressed her hands on his chest to calm him. The second her fingertips ghosted his skin, his magic slammed into her. The blow was deep and primal. It snatched at the edges of her soul, knocking her backwards.

Ransom caught her, and with a roar of fury, swung her away from the Shadowsmith. She clutched his arms, feeling like her soul was flapping in a violent wind.