Page 139 of The Dragon and the Dove

Ransom jerked his chin down, alarmed at himself for missing the dark rusted pools. It was all over the cobbles.

‘Someone died here,’ whispered Anouk.

Ransom scanned the arrows littering the square. All that blood so close to the church. To their sanctuary. His thoughts flew, as they always did, to Seraphine.

He ran for the steps of Our Sacred Saints’ Cathedral, throwing himself at the heavy oak doors. They were locked. He banged his fists against them, impatience jolting his magic awake. Shadows streamed across the steps.

Paola came up behind him. ‘Easy, Nightmare. You’re leaking.’

He reeled his shadows in, crushed them down, down, down into that bottomless black well.

‘Move aside,’ said Anouk. ‘I’ll rip the doors apart.’

‘Don’t you dare!’ barked a voice from inside. ‘You’ve done enough damage today.’

Fontaine.

Ransom pounded again. ‘Open the fucking door!’

‘Or what? You’ll send a dragon to devour me? Hold your horses, Hale. I’m going as fast as I can.’

When the doors finally groaned open, he marched right past the old Cloak and her withering glare, and into the main chamber of the cathedral.

The church smelled like incense and blood. It was quiet but nowhere near empty. There were Cloaks and Flames everywhere. Most were scattered across the pews in groups of twos and threes, talking low among themselves. Others sat alone, praying to the marbled statues on the altar.

Ransom stalked up the centre aisle, searching for her bright hair in the dimness. Cloaks peeled away from him on instinct, Mercure eyeing him as he passed.

‘Well, here he comes now: the terror of Fantome.’ Caruso hopped out from a pew, with a half-eaten sandwich. ‘Is that insane dragon of yours perched on the roof?’ He made a show of looking up at the ceiling. ‘I hope it knows we’re the good guys.’

Ignoring the taunt, Ransom said, ‘Where’s Seraphine?’

‘She’s here.’ Caruso took a bite out of his sandwich. ‘Take a breath, yeah? You look constipated.’

‘Don’t rile him,’ snapped Val from over his shoulder. ‘I don’t want that damn dragon in here!’

Judging by all the dried blood on her, she’d had one hell of a day.

‘What happened to you?’

Swallowing his mouthful of sandwich, Caruso said, ‘Daggers ambushed us on the roof. Ren. Then Marishka and Alonso. It was gruesome.’

‘Worse for them, I gather?’

A tight nod. ‘They stuck her with an arrow. Got her back here just in time. That’s when we ran into…’ Caruso looked uncomfortable. ‘Well. You’ll see.’

Ransom’s attention shifted to the woman sitting on the far side of Val. Her hair was long and dark, and though she was facing away from him, her knew her by the spikes of her black leather boots.

‘Nadia?’

She turned at the sound of her name, peering up at him with bright golden eyes.

Saint.

No.

No.

Ransom stared and stared, his breath shallowing in his chest.