by Tee, Marian
Aurora cleared her throat. "I cannot speak for Lady Norwood, but..." She racked her mind for a way to help the marquis without betraying her oath as his heartkeeper's doctor. "There is power in speaking the truth, milord. At least take the chance, and even if she never loved you then or now, such is the power of what's true that it can still reshape the future even in the very last minute."
RHAPSODY FOUND HERSELF making up an excuse for the first time as she skipped on joining Peyton for lunch. Instead, she headed over to the school's registrar and asked for Emily's address. It was then she found out that Emily hadn't just missed classes today. She had submitted a letter of withdrawal yesterday afternoon, and Rhapsody couldn't shake the feeling that it had something to do with the Marquis of Sangre.
Emily wouldn't be the only girl in school to harbor hopes of becoming the marquis' pet, but what if her feelings went deeper than that? Heartkeeping always offered every woman and demon two choices, so what if... what if Emily was the other heartkeeper of the marquis?
After hiring another one of the school's carriages, Rhapsody set out for Sixpence, which was the only listed address that Emily had provided the school. Once there, she couldn't help but pull her cape closer, disconcerted by the shabby state of the shops lining the main street.
Bell chimes rang at the first dressmaker's shop she entered, and Rhapsody, after introducing herself, asked if they knew of a Ms. Emily Masters.
"Her mother is also a seamstress," Rhapsody added, "who has recently fallen ill."
"I wouldn't know anything about a daughter, but there's Miss Brown in the next block," the shop owner provided helpfully. "It's been weeks since I last saw her."
"Thank you so much." Rhapsody bought herself a bonnet before walking further down the street. The other seamstress had described Miss Brown's shop as one with doors that had been boarded shut and with its display window showing off a gown in purple ombré.
Her steps slowed to a halt as she came to stand before the gowned mannequin behind the display window. What exquisite beadwork,too, Rhapsody thought, and definitely not in line with what she had seen Emily capable of sewing.
"We keep meeting at random places, milady."
She spun around, and once again it was indeed Lord Erou striding towards her, dressed in an enforcer's uniform.
"This is not the place for a young lady to walk around on her own," Erou said reproachingly.
"I was—-"
"Breaking your word?"
She blinked in surprise. "I am not breaking my word."
"I received a tip about the missing tourist being seen frequenting this shop. Are you telling me that you are also here purely by coincidence?" Erou asked sarcastically.
"But it is a coincidence," Rhapsody countered calmly. "I came because I am looking for a schoolmate—-"
"In Sixpence?" Erou said skeptically.
"This exact shop, in fact."
Shit. That meant it was possible Rhapsody's schoolmate could be another victim to be added to the list. His gaze flicked back to the shop's boarded shut. "I can't leave you out here alone, but I don't have time to spare to take you back to your school."
"I understand, milord."
"I also have enough on my plate to worry about the Marquis of Sangre thinking I endangered his pet's life," Erou warned grimly. "You'll need to go in with me, but you need to promise you'll stick close at all times. Understand?"
"Yes, milord."
Placid as ever, Erou thought, but then again, had he really expected Rhapsody to show any kind of fear?
Rhapsody stood patiently to the side as Erou systematically dismantled the planks that had been nailed to the doorway. Did this mean no one had been inside the shop since...or there was another way in and out of the place?
When the last plank was disposed, Erou turned to Rhapsody. "Ready?"
Another sedate nod.
"Remember what I told you."
"I shall stick as closely as propriety allows."
"That's not..." Ah, fuck it. Rhapsody could be stubborn as hell every time she had a blasted bee in her bonnet, and this was probably one of those instances.
It was dark inside the shop, and most of the equipment and furniture had been left in complete disarray. Signs of struggle were everywhere, along with dried bloodstains on the floor. Fuck. Erou's senses bristled. He couldn't detect any otherworldly scent, but he could hear the faintest heartbeat.
Human.
No, two humans.
Coming from below.
Rhapsody's heart thudded steadily against her chest as she followed the earl to the basement. She was aware that this situation should be a cause of fear, and she probably would feel afraid if her body happened to be capable of properly expressing such an emotion.
The stairs under their steps creaked as they began their descent. A greenish beam of light filtered from underneath a doorway at the end, and in front of her, Lord Erou gripped the hilt of his sword as if already anticipating a threat.
But when they finally made it to the other side, no danger existed.
Instead, they saw a strung-up pair of pin lights beaming down two badly mutilated corpses. The first one was Ms. Geraldine Joyce, the tourist that had gone missing, while the other body was of the seamstress Ms. Brown. There was, however, no sign of Emily in the basement or any other part of the shop.
Chapter Fifteen
Rhapsody had secretly been hoping for a distraction when she had gone searching for Emily, and it was this that reminded her of the old adage. Be careful with what you wish for...or it might just come true.
Morbid thoughts crawled all over her mind as she found herself mulling over recent events on the carriage ride back to The Progressive. In the past six months, an anonymous individual had been supplying Sangre residents with humans to torture but had managed to elude capture and escape into Asphodel. It was after this that Erou had been assigned to take over the case, and the earl was convinced that the individual had reopened his business in the seamstress' basement.
Since there had been evidence of someone making a hasty escape through one of the second-floor windows, it was most likely the individual now knew that the net was closing around him and made more dangerous by desperation.
As for Emily, while Lord Erou had promised to make inquiries about her schoolmate, he had also warned Rhapsody against jumping to any conclusions. She might or might not be another victim. She could also have simply run away or even be a daughter of another seamstress.
Rhapsody had just arrived back in school when a servant hurriedly came to her, saying that a gentleman caller had come to see her. It could only be Mr. Booth, Rhapsody thought, and so she thanked the servant sand quickly made her way to the drawing room in the students' dormitory.
Her steps came to a halt by the doorway, however, when she saw a stranger in Mr. Booth's place.
The gentleman rose to his feet in a movement of lithe elegance. He was tall and attractive-looking, albeit in a rather piratical sort of way, and with piercing gray eyes.
"Lady Rhapsody, is it not?" The stranger's voice was gentle but strangely icy at the same time. "I know it is improper to call on you without being properly introduced, but your guardian, Sir Isaac Booth, says this was a most urgent matter."
Rhapsody was still wary. Mr. Booth's guardianship wasn't exactly a secret, so this could be a mere ploy to gain her trust.
"Your guardian came searching for me." He took a letter out of her coat pocket and handed it to her.
She glanced down and recognized her guardian's seal. Her fingers shook as she broke the seal open, and they shook even harder as she read the first line.
Dear Rhapsody,
It is with much regret that I write this, and because I know you are not for drivel that is only meant to soften the truth, I shall go straight to the point. I received a letter some weeks ago from the Marquis of Sangre. He wishes me to find you another heartkeeper—-
She quickly refolded the letter, unable to bear reading the rest. I am a cowar
d, Rhapsody thought, but somehow she couldn't make herself regret this. Glancing up at the stranger, she said carefully, "The letter speaks of another heartkeeper."
"And that would be me."
Her heart leapt as soon as the words were uttered, but she couldn't even tell whether it was because it hurt or shocked her to hear the words. It was just...odd, the way she suddenly seemed unable to decide what to even think, much less feel, about the matter.
"Your guardian had in his possession a vial with a drop of your blood," the gentleman went on to explain. "It was enough to confirm the most essential facts."
"How remarkably cost-efficient." She saw the stranger smile and realized she might have been misunderstood. "It wasn't a joke," Rhapsody felt obliged to explain. "I am incapable of making jokes—-" She paused, realizing only at that moment she had yet to learn how to address him. Was he a plain mister, a sir, or a lord?
"I apologize," the stranger said right away, apparently sensing her predicament. "I am William Domnescu—-"
"The Earl of Impietri," Rhapsody realized, having recognized the name. He was a half-demon from an ancient line of lions and one with vast properties in both Lunare and Brimstone.
The earl's gray eyes glinted. "You know me then?"
"Only what I've read from The Chalysian Peerage." Rhapsody hesitated. "However, there is also another matter..."
"The Marquis of Sangre?"
She was about to nod when she noticed the way the earl's features had suddenly turned stoic.
"You know something," Rhapsody guessed.
"I know only of what your guardian told me," William said finally.
"Tell me what it is."
"I cannot vouch for its veracity—-"
"Please." And when she saw that he was still about to refuse, she said again, "Please, William." And in this, the power of names still held true, for after a moment, the earl began to speak, his voice tight as his words proceeded to break the last pieces of her heart.
"I was told that I have the Marquis of Sangre's blessing in meeting you."
"You do." And how oddly painful it was to admit this. So very...odd.
"You appear in shock."
"I think so."
The earl stepped towards her but ceased his advance at the shake of her head.
"I would like to speak with you more about this, but...not here."
"I am a guest at The Regent," the earl said after a moment. "Perhaps we can have supper there..."
"Yes." A strange, rare sense of cluelessness had stolen her ability to think or feel, and it was as if she were speaking on automaton as well. "If you would be so kind to wait, I'll only need a moment to change..."
"Of course."
She remembered to curtsy to the earl even as her mind wavered between blankness and chaos.
Odd. So, so very odd.
She headed up to her rooms.
The marquis must have come to realize she was inadequate, Rhapsody thought. And that was fine...was it not? Had she not been prepared to break their arrangement herself for that same reason? Granted, at that time she had imagined a different sort of inadequacy, but that was far beside the point.
It's probably because I am Not Normal, Rhapsody thought. The marquis had assumed it was something he could live with but eventually realized otherwise. That was all there was to it, Rhapsody concluded, and when she entered her room and saw Emily of all persons waiting for her...
Her lips pursed.
Did this mean she was right about Emily, too?
Could the other girl be the reason why the marquis had wished to be done with her?
"Hello, Rhapsody."
It was Emily who finally broke the silence, and Rhapsody, after a moment's hesitation, decided to close the door before speaking. If there was laundry to be aired, then it must always be kept privately.
"You must be surprised to see me," Emily remarked as she perched herself on the writing desk and crossed her legs.
"I am not, actually."
Emily's eyes narrowed.
"I know who you are."
"Then I suppose there is nothing else to be said, is there?" When Emily's lips stretched into a smile, it was then Rhapsody saw the other girl's fangs.
Emily was a vampire?
Then...Emily was not her Master's other heartkeeper?
"My sincere apologies, Emily. It appears I was mistaken. I thought you were someone else."
"Very funny," Emily sneered. "Also, nothing you're going to say will make a difference." The other girl jumped to her feet, and as Emily moved towards her, Rhapsody moved to the other side until they started circling each other like dancers about to take the floor...or fencers about to duel to the death.
"I saw you with that enforcer this afternoon, do you know?"
"Is that why you wish to kill me?"
She came to a halt by the dresser, and Emily halted in her steps as well.
"That was another reason for me to kill you," Emily clarified, "but what signed your death sentence was being the Marquis of Sangre's pet. Sooner or later, he'd find my scent on you, start questioning where it's from...and that would've been it." Emily saw Rhapsody uncapping a bottle of perfume. "What are you doing?"
Rhapsody sprayed it at the other girl.
"What the—-" Emily stared at her incredulously. "Are you mad? Or do you think perfume kills—-what the fuck?"
Because this time, Rhapsody had tossed the contents out of an ink bottle at the other girl's face.
"You are mad," the other girl screeched.
Rhapsody backed away but only so she could reach for the bottle of lotion in her dresser and uncap it. She took aim at Emily's face and squeezed hard. The cream squirted out and landed on the other girl's cheek, but this time it only had the other girl shaking her head.
"Oh, just go on with it," Emily dismissed irritably with a wave of her hand. "You have obviously gone mad, and it amuses me to see what else you would try to save yourself."
That much was true, Rhapsody thought. She had no one else to rely on but herself. She had no blood bond that would link her to the marquis, and if she were to scream for Lord William's help, the shapeshifter would surely come to her rescue...but not before Emily had already killed her.
Thank goodness then, Rhapsody thought, there appeared to be an advantage of Emily underestimating her because she was Not Normal.
Emily raised a brow when she saw Rhapsody reach for the paper knife. "You plan to kill me with that?"
"I plan to cut your cheek," Rhapsody found herself uttering a small lie for the first time, "to make you appear unattractive."
"A petty desire before dying," Emily mused. "It makes sense, even though I wouldn't have expected it from you."
"Did you also kill Mr. Walker?"
"Is this your way of delaying the inevitable? Or do you really think anyone would come to your rescue fast enough before I can kill you? It's not possible, you know."
"I know it's not possible."
"And your heartbeat tells me you're not lying."
"Yes." She saw how this made Emily even more complacent and her gratitude grew. Thank goodness she was Not Normal!
"Fine, then," Emily said airily. "I shall answer all your questions before I kill you. Yes, I killed Mr. Walker."
"Why?"
"I needed a fake identity here, so I seduced Mr. Walker into forging my papers for the school. After that, I made sure he would remain permanently useful by making it seem as if a human had killed him."
"So that when other people went missing," Rhapsody decuded, "the authorities would be looking for a human suspect."
Emily laughed. "Clever, was it not?"
"It was," Rhapsody agreed. Rather cold-bloodedly cruel, too, but that was another story.
"Any other questions before I kill you?"
"May I cut your face first?" Rhapsody asked politely.
Emily rolled her eyes. "You truly are as odd as they say you are. Or maybe just mad and out of your mind with fear." Sh
e crooked her finger at Rhapsody. "Come then." She turned her head sideways to offer her cheek. "Go ahead and take your best—-"
Rhapsody swung her arm up without warning and made a deep, straight cut at the other girl's cheek.
Chapter Sixteen
Mr. Whyte frantically waved his arms in the air as soon as he saw the Marquis of Sangre striding past the school gates. "Milord, a moment!" He ran to the marquis, and unused as he was to physical exertion, was panting by the time he reached the nobleman.
"I had just come back from town," Mr. Whyte wheezed. My assistant..."
"Do get to the point," Mihail said impatiently.
"No letter," the steward managed to gasp out. "But...gentleman...called..."
Fuck.
It could only be Sir Isaac, come to finally speak to his ward.
"Where is he?" he demanded.
"The dormitory..." Mr. Whyte had barely finished speaking when the marquis strode off, a look of grim resolve on his face. Lady Eleanor's orders were only for the missives, he tried to convince himself. It was not his fault that a visitor was allowed to see Lady Rhapsody, and besides he had done his best to inform the marquis as soon as possible about it. That should be enough...hopefully.
Mihail stopped dead in his tracks when he saw an unexpected but familiar figure waiting in the dormitory's drawing room. "William Domnescu?"
The earl was about to answer when both of them picked out a strange smell permeating the air.
Fire.
A moment later, they heard a woman's agonizing screams—-
It wasn't Rhapsody, Mihail realized with relief.
But then another sound reached his ears-—
A soft, gasping sob...
Now that was undeniably Rhapsody, and both men moved at the same time and towards the same direction, too. The earl and marquis leapt out of the windows and scaled the walls, both noblemen having seen this as the quickest way to get to Rhapsody.
They crashed into another window as they followed the trail of Rhapsody's scent...and her tears.
The sound of shattering glass had Rhapsody dropping the blood-tipped paper knife in her hand just as a shadow fell over her, and large, strong hands that were slightly shaking cupped her face.