Chapter 19
The morning mist in the Hermit’s Hollow had yet to clear when Seraphine was jolted awake by the cold bite of the golden lock on her wrist.
Lucien’s specially crafted golden cage hung in the center of the courtyard, and she was bound to the golden pillar, unable to move.
“Do you like it?” Lucien’s fingers traced the cage’s bars. “It was made from the gold bangle you wore back then.”
Seraphine sneered, the golden chains rattling with her struggles.
To her shock, the chains were laced with meteorite iron, tightening with every effort she made to use her energy, already leaving bloodstains around her wrist.
“Prince Valmont!”
Vivienne, her belly slightly swollen, stormed into the courtyard, her brocade dress sweeping over the dew–covered grass.
“You promised me that this child would never see this wretch before birth!”
Lucien frowned. “Watch your tongue.”
“Did I say something wrong?”
Vivienne suddenly grabbed Seraphine’s long hair. “A whore who survives by bedding men…”
A flash of cold light cut through the air as Seraphine pressed the blade she’d hidden beneath her tongue to Vivienne’s throat.
Though her internal energy was sealed, the art of killing had long been etched into her bones.
“Sera!” Lucien barked sharply.
Vivienne smiled strangely and thrust Seraphine’s hand toward her own abdomen with brutal force.
Blood instantly soaked through her yellow dress. As Lucien rushed to catch Vivienne’s limp form, the silver needle in her hand silently pierced his neck.
“You…”
Lucien’s pupils contracted as the toxin paralyzed one side of his body.
“You always said I was stupid.”
Vivienne coughed up black blood from the corner of her mouth. “But I’ve known all along. You wanted to use this child to brew medicine for that wretch…”
Her bloodied hand pressed against her abdomen. “Now, no one will get it!”
Lucien’s pupils shrank in horror.
“Vivienne, you’ve killed the child, but don’t you realize you can’t survive this either!”
“So what? I won’t let the child die alone. I’m not like you, so heartless!”
The next moment, she collapsed in a pool of blood.
“Even dead, I’ll haunt you!”
In the chaos, Seraphine caught a familiar scent of sandalwood.
The golden chains snapped with a loud crack, and Alistair, his eyes covered by a veil of sea silk, caught her falling form with perfect precision.
“Your eyes…”
Seraphine trembled as she reached out to touch the silk band that covered his eyes.
“It’s nothing.”
Alistair’s sword swept through the guards, forcing them back. His palm, however, felt unnaturally cold. “We need to leave.”
Lacien struggled in the grip of the deadly poison, clutching at Seraphine’s skirt.
“Don’t leave!” he coughed up black blood. “The antidote is…”
“You lunatic, don’t touch me!”
Seraphine jerked his hand off, then left with Alistair.
Chapter 19
20.001
In the carriage leaving the Hermit’s Hollow, Seraphine finally noticed three bone–piercing needles embedded in Alistair’s back.
This fool had blocked the hidden weapons with his own body and had held on until now.
“Hold on.”
She tore away the blood–soaked fabric on his back, and after awakening her medicine–bloodline, her saliva could heal wounds.
As her tongue traced the injury, Alistair’s muscles tensed sharply.
“Don’t…” he gasped, pressing her neck. “Not now.”
Seraphine teasingly licked his palm. “What are you thinking, uncle? I’m healing you.”
The carriage jolted suddenly, and she fell into his arms.
Through the fabric, the sound of their heartbeats was deafening.
The moonlight over the Shadow Court soaked in the medicinal scent, and as Seraphine prepared the medicine, she received Lucien’s blood–soaked letter.
Unfolding the silk, she found a piece of broken lock inside.
It was the same manacles that had once shackled her ankle.
“What did he say?” Alistair looked up from the mortar, his blindfold swaying in the breeze.
Seraphine held the blood–letter close to the candle’s flame. “He wants me to meet him at the cliff in three days, or he’ll reveal the secret of the
medicine–bloodline.”
The mortar suddenly split in two, and Alistair’s fingers, stained with medicine, gently brushed her cheek.
“Don’t go.”
“Did you see it?” She grasped his hand in surprise.
“With my heart.” He pressed her palm to his chest–where his heartbeat raced for her alone.
Chapter 19
