Page 80 of The Dragon and the Dove

All hell. Now he’d have to thank him.

‘You’ll have to surrender your grudge.’ There was a teasing note in her voice. ‘Bigger fish and all that.’

There was no bigger fish than a Versini with a secret. But he could admit, at least, that he owed the Shadowsmith a debt. ‘We’ll see.’

He got out of bed and nearly careened into the wall. Bracing himself against the dresser, he waited for the stars in his vision to clear.

‘You need to rest, Bastian.’

‘I’ve rested enough. I need to find Seraphine.’

‘We will find her,’ said Anouk. ‘Mercure’s spies are at work as we speak. Those Strix will have to land somewhere. They won’t be able to hide from us for much longer.’ She got to her feet, tugging him back to bed. ‘You won’t do her any good if you show up like this.’

Like he gave a damn. ‘I’ll go as a corpse if I have to.’

‘Charming.’

Anouk didn’t get it. She couldn’t feel it, that sharp tug in his chest, the thread that bound him to Seraphine telling him that she needed him. That time was running out.

There came a sharp knock at the door.

Versini, still dressed in his suit trousers and crumpled shirt. ‘Hale. You’re awake.’

Stiffening his spine, Ransom tried to look like he wasn’t about to keel over. ‘Surprised? Anouk says you got me out of the Appoline.’

He shrugged. ‘You would have done the same for me.’

Don’t count on it.

Anouk nudged him. ‘This is the part where you say thank you.’

‘Thanks,’ said Ransom, stilted.

‘Impressive,’ drawled Versini. ‘You almost sound sincere.’

There was a tense silence. While Ransom was grateful to be alive, he was not in the mood for awkward chit-chat, and something about Versini’s nearness still made his magic prickle.

He shifted on his feet. ‘I need to see Mercure.’

‘At least drink some water first,’ pleaded Anouk.

At the same time, Versini said, ‘I know where she is.’

They whipped their heads around. ‘What?’

He remained on the other side of the threshold. ‘I didn’t come up here to tend you back to health, Hale. I came because I know where Darius Mondragon took Seraphine.’

Shadows seeped from Ransom’s fingertips. ‘And you’re just telling me now?’

‘I woke up ten minutes ago. And by the looks of things, so did you. Andreas went west. He’s at Bellevue Castle. That must be where he’s keeping Sera.’

‘How do you know that?’ said Anouk.

He raked a hand through his hair. ‘I… he told me.’

‘Who told you?’ said Ransom, sure he had misheard.

‘Andreas.’