Page 40 of Vervain

“Am I in trouble?” I ask him.

“Depends on what trouble you intend.”

I place the can on the fridge, then gesture to my bloody gown, and shrug my shoulders.

Serun sighs. “No, Saya. None will care⁠—”

“You. I care little about how others see me, but I am your consort. Someone you can kill whenever you want.” My eyes narrow. “Do you care?”

He twitches a smirk. “No. I do not care.”

With a nod, I smooth down my gown. “Those flowers that bloomed when you killed him. Does that happen often?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

He shrugs.

I’m not going to get any answers out of him, am I?

I point to the bathroom instead. “I’m going to wash this blood off me before I eat.”

“By the time you’re done, I suspect we will be at the Undercity.”

“And what happens when we arrive at the Undercity?”

“We will travel to my manor.”

I look out into the darkness. Instead of the sea, the view is now rock, as if we are back on land. Underground perhaps. “When we get there, could you contact your brother? I want to know if he has a lead on Cole.”

“Saya,” he says as he stands.

“Please,” I whisper.

Serun’s ears pull back, and the words I know would have been him telling me that his brother will contact him if he knows something wash away. Instead, he inclines his head. “If it will put you at ease.”

“Thank you.”

He looks away, and I smile, imagining his face going red. If there were any semblance of a beating heart inside that chest, it would glow.

Beautiful.

He reminds me of the red lilies that sprouted after the kill.

A pretty corpse.

PART TWO

THE UNDERCITY

Fallen humanity, where sunlight graces.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

TERMINAL

Saya Claymore