Page 178 of The Dragon and the Dove

Nearby, someone groaned. ‘Ransom.’

He jerked upwards as Versini whipped his head around, both tracking the sound of Seraphine’s voice.

There, by the outer pillar of the arch, Ransom spied a spill of blonde hair. She was trapped under a dead Strix, her pale hand reaching for him across the stones.

Ransom didn’t have to push Versini off. The Soul-eater was already on his feet, but instead of going for Sera, he ran to Andreas, who had alighted on the nearside of the bridge.

Ransom crawled to Seraphine, shoving off the dead Strix to reveal her bruised and battered body. She was barely conscious, her eyes fluttering as she reached for him. Blood striped her chin.

‘I’m here, spitfire,’ he said, wiping it away. ‘I’ve got you.’

‘Not for long,’ crowed Andreas.

The Silver-tongue sauntered across the stone circle, with the Soul-eater at his side and his Rose-bearers spilling out behind him.

For the first time in his life, Ransom felt the staggering weight of the odds stacked against him. He was fresh out of allies. Weapons. Prayers. His dragon could not be in two places at once, and it held no power over the saints before him.

There was nowhere to take her. Nowhere to hide her.

He reached for the sword of a dead Urnican, and came to his feet, making a shield of his own body.

The prince’s smile was mocking. ‘Thank you for digging her out for me, Nightmare. I’d hate to get all that sticky Strix blood on my armour.’

Ransom curled his lip.

‘I was hoping you’d be dead by the time I crossed the bridge,’ Andreas went on, glaring sidelong at Versini. ‘My soul-eater is not as impressive as he thinks.’

Versini bristled. ‘The dead Saint of Warriors says differently.’

Andreas cast a dispassionate gaze over Caruso’s body. ‘Hmm.’

‘Maybe Versini likes me too much to kill me,’ said Ransom.

Versini snorted. ‘The obsession is all yours, Hale.’

His voice was mocking, his cruel smile confirming everything Ransom had thought about him long before today, and yet there was something off about it.

Why hadn’t he killed Ransom just now? Versini had claimed the advantage the second he’d grabbed Ransom’s jaw. Under the battering ram of his power, Ransom had felt the answering weakening of his own magic. Why had he let go? Why surrender his advantage so easily?

Andreas’s eyes roved to where Seraphine lay crumpled at his feet. ‘There she is. My darling rose.’

Ransom sank into a fighting stance. ‘If you want her, you’ll have to go through me.’

‘Oh, Nightmare. It will be my pleasure.’ He raised his hand, and behind him, ten thousand soldiers stomped to attention. The world shook. A shiver raced down Ransom’s spine as he sensed his oncoming doom, death notched like an arrow he could no longer outrun.

As the Silver-tongue opened his mouth to give the order that would surely end his life, the Soul-eater’s hand shot out.

Versini grabbed Andreas by the throat.

The prince jerked, the words dying on his tongue.

The soul-eater’s eyes turned gold. ‘Drop your weapons!’

Thousands of swords clattered to the ground.

‘Kneel!’ he yelled, and the soldiers fell to their knees.

Ransom stared at Versini.