Page 47 of Her Cruel Dahlias
Juniper bit her lip as she furrowed her brow, seeming to mull something over. “I don’t understand the point of these notes being left behind. If the murderer wanted you dead, they would most likely do it. Why taunt? Unless it’s part of something bigger and they’re waiting.”
“Waiting for what, though?” Cricket wondered aloud.
“I don’t know, but it’s something for us to think about.”
Bram was questioning Mistress Eliza and two other performers. The necromancer’s eyes found hers, and she sighed. Cricket knew she must’ve heard about the third note and was holding a strong opinion that Cricket was more trouble than she was worth, that she was luring a murderer into the carnival over and over again.
Once Bram finished with Mistress Eliza, the necromancer limped toward her and motioned Juniper away.
“I can leave if you want,” Cricket said.
“I’m not going to yell at you, child. It seems, more than anything, you need to be protected. No one else has been hurt or threatened here, so we’ll do our best to take care of you. These sorry excuses for authorities need to move faster. Just watch your back and don’t bathe alone either,” the woman grunted. “You can stay now, but the same circumstance remains for when we leave for the next town, regardless.”
That was more than Cricket expected. “Thank you.”
Once Mistress Eliza went to talk with Autumn, Zephyr slid up beside her. “Seems she needs a good night of pleasure to rid herself of that sour mood.” He smirked. “In case you thought I was offering myself to be the one, I wasn’t. I have my sights set on the lovely blonde female standing beside me.”
Cricket rolled her eyes. “She needs her necromancy back is what she needs. But she’s allowed me to stay when most wouldn’t have.”
Wilder and a group of performers approached. “We’ll make sure you’re safe, Cricket,” he said. She’d rarely talked to any of them, but his kind words made her heart swell. Yet she felt as if she’d brought all of this on herself.
Bram pulled her aside, questioning her one more time alone. She had nothing else to give besides mentioning the yellow cloak again. She couldn’t even give accurate details such as height and body shape since she hadn’t been close enough. But they hadn’t appeared smaller than Cricket. It most certainly could’ve been either a man or a woman. If only she’d caught a glimpse of the hair color or part of their face.
“The person seems to be growing bolder, though,” Cricket said. “Since they left a note like this during the day.”
“I’m going to have more authorities monitor the roads here. We’re going to catch this bastard just as we did with Clancy. I swear it,” Bram vowed.
As he turned away, she promised herself that when the murderer was caught, she would be front and center to watch them hang, the way she hadn’t been able to witness Clancy’s death.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Your face is pinched,” Zephyr said, tossing his sword in the air and catching it easily by its handle. They’d been in their practicing spot in the woods ever since waking. “You don’t want to look like you’re holding back vomit.”
Cricket pinned him with a glare. “How about you keep quiet? You’re the one who wanted to come out here with me. I offered to bring Juniper.”
“I know what Mistress Eliza threatened, but you’ve been working yourself ragged ever since the authorities left yesterday. You will hone in on your curiosity when you’re ready. Mistress Eliza brought you back from death, so she has no right to make you lose a place in the carnival. I know most of the performers would side with me on that.”
Would they? They may have vowed to protect her while she remained here, but she didn’t think they would forever, not when she was a way for them to lose coin and food in their bellies. “It’s not for her—it’s for me.” Cricket pressed her palm to her chest, feeling the rapid pulse of her heart. “Besides, if I stay indoors, I may never catch sight of the murderer if they decide to show up again. Perhaps I should wander around alone like bait on a hook.”
“Don’t be foolish,” he chided.
“Look, if I can at least get my curiosity down, then I don’t have to worry about it being a liability if I were to come face to face with the murderer. This is for me—I need this.”
Zephyr placed the sword on top of one of the rocks and sauntered toward her. He lifted her hands, then pressed his palms flat against hers. She could feel every line, dip, and callus there, his warmth tamping down her raw emotions. “Will you try something with me?” When she nodded, he continued, “Look into my eyes and focus on your breathing. Slow. In and out.”
Cricket licked her lips and locked her gaze with his. She took deep breaths through her nose, inhaling the piney scent of the woods.
Rustling stirred as Zephyr’s thick vines unraveled from his bare back and curved around them, creating a barrier that made her feel protected. But then she realized something. He hadn’t placed a leaf into his mouth, his feet weren’t bare as they touched the grass, and she couldn’t see any other plant touching his flesh.
“You don’t have a leaf hidden in your mouth already, do you?” she asked.
Zephyr shook his head and smirked. “It’s because I’m touching you,” he purred. “I told you I’ve been feeling something inside you every time I touch you, and it started to make me wonder if your curiosity could draw mine out. It’s not death I feel inside you, but life. I feel the roses in your blood, pumping, aching to be set free. It’s your guilt, your melancholy, your fear, and every other harsh emotion you’ve felt that is making them resist. I’ve seen the single red one find its way out once, and I know you can bring it out again. You can make them all bloom if you don’t let your emotions consume you.”
Cricket couldn’t feel his curiosity the way he could hers, but oh did she wish she could. However, she pretended as though she did. Pretended she could feel his pull, that his vines were seeping beneath her flesh and grasping her roses. She watched as her skin became translucent, the layers drawn back to reveal her bones. When the scratching came, followed by the soft brush of petals, she kept her breath even. A bright crimson spot formed before a single rose blossomed at her wrist. Beautiful and ruby and shining like glass. Her heart slammed against her rib cage, and she let the power she held draw the flower back to the slumber it had awakened from.
Not breaking contact with Zephyr, she blinked away the tears pricking her eyes.
“Do it again,” Zephyr instructed. “Don’t let the darkness consume you, lovely Cricket. Think of something that makes you happy.”