Chapter 57

Chapter 57

It was just two words—I’m glad—but Rose’s heart thumped wildly in spite of herself.

“It’s July, no wonder it’s so hot!”

She flailed her fan in front of her face with comical urgency, trying to blame the blush on the weather. Anything to avoid blurting something stupid in this suffocatingly close carriage.

As she tried to steady her breathing, the window view shifted, revealing the vast arch of Romberton’s Central Station.

It was the busiest hub in all of the Endor Kingdom, bustling with a dizzying variety of people from every class. Even upper-class families with servants in tow crowded the concourse.

I can’t believe I’m back here so soon. I thought I’d never set foot in Romberton again after I boarded that train to Linden…

Rose eyed the great arched entrance with complicated feelings. She’d barely had time to catch her breath since returning, only to be heading off once more.

The square out front was an organized chaos of carriages, street vendors, and yelling hawkers.

“Peanuts! Fresh roasted peanuts! Best travel snack!”
“Oranges! Sweet, juicy oranges—take some for your trip!”

James scanned the chaos calmly.

“One bag of peanuts, please.”

“Oh! Thank you, sir!”

James Dautryche buying peanuts from a street vendor?

Rose stared in disbelief. She wouldn’t have imagined him touching common snacks with a ten-foot pole. Did he actually like peanuts?

But then he handed the warm paper bag to her.

She blinked in confusion.

“Do you want me to just hold it?”

“It’s for you. You seemed like you wanted some.”

“Well… I did, but how did you know?”

She swallowed as the toasty smell made her mouth water.

“You were practically burning holes in the peanut vendor from inside the carriage.”

“Ah… thanks.”

James’s mouth twitched.

“For a second I thought you might have been interested in the vendor himself.”

“Excuse me?”

“But then I remembered you prefer good-looking men.”

Rose let out an incredulous laugh.

“Ha! And how exactly do you know what kind of men I like?”

James raised an eyebrow, perfectly calm.

“Didn’t you tell me yourself? You chose me because I was good-looking and didn’t hold grudges—”

“Aaaagh! Don’t say it!”

Mortified, Rose lunged to slap a hand over his mouth. She regretted it immediately when he simply caught her wrist and pressed a kiss to her gloved palm.

“H-Hey!”

The soft lace of her summer glove did nothing to block the heat of his breath or the gentle press of his lips. It was a butterfly’s touch, tinged with that electric prickle of magic she’d come to recognize.

All the shouts of porters, merchants, travelers, and clattering hooves receded until it felt like only the two of them existed in this pocket of the world.

Rose felt dizzy from it.

A station attendant’s voice broke the moment.

“Southbound express! Dautryche Rail Southern Express departing soon!”

Passengers began hurrying toward the platforms.

Rose yanked her hand back, face flaming, and snapped her head away.

“W-We should go. Didn’t you say first-class platform?”

James’s mouth curled in amusement.

“Good memory. Don’t rush. You’ll trip if you’re not careful.”

He guided her toward the first-class entrance. From the outside, the special compartment looked no different than the rest of first class. But Rose knew better.

Inside, it transformed into an opulent private salon designed for the company’s owner himself.

She gasped the moment they stepped in.

“Oh my goodness! This is… wow!”

James arched an eyebrow.

“Not the reaction I expected. You like it that much?”

“It’s nothing like the special car we took to Linden!”

That train’s private car had been upscale, sure—but it still felt like a first-class compartment. This?

This was a traveling palace.

The walls gleamed with polished mahogany. Silk damask curtains and cushions glowed with understated richness. The imported carpets were thick and plush.

Even the chairs were less seats and more like anchored luxury sofas. A gleaming liquor cabinet sat tucked beside a polished table.

James pulled aside a heavy curtain to reveal a separate sleeping chamber, complete with a hotel-grade bed.

“Identical to the one in my Belmont suite. There’s a full bath behind it.”

Rose gawked.

“This is… this is literally a deluxe hotel room on rails!”

James chuckled at her awed expression.

“The route’s longer, so it warrants more amenities. Egarde is a full day away even on the express.”

Rose sat on one of the plush armchairs, fingers trailing across the fine embroidery.

“I thought we’d be dozing in a cramped berth… this is incredible.”

The whistle blew outside, and the train lurched into motion with a rumbling clank of gears and pistons.

As the scenery began to slide past, Rose realized James hadn’t stopped watching her.

She flushed and quickly cleared her throat.

“Ah! Sorry. I still haven’t told you what I saw in the ring.”

James’s gaze softened.

“Take your time. There’s no other magic in this car but ours.”

She blinked.

“You can tell individual magical signatures apart?”

James shrugged.

“Maybe.”

She stared at him.

“That’s… that’s amazing. Even skilled Mythos have trouble with that.”

He raised an eyebrow, amused at her earnest wonder.

“Well, it let me find those surveillance charms in the house.”

“That’s seriously impressive. It takes Mythos years to do that!”

James only gave a small, self-conscious cough.

Rose frowned thoughtfully. Even with his damaged Umwelt, his ability to generate magic endlessly—and to distinguish signatures—was remarkable.

But this isn’t the time to think about that.

She pulled herself together.

“Anyway. Let me tell you what I saw.”

James studied her face carefully.

“You don’t have to push yourself right now.”

She shook her head.

“It’s been three days. I’ve replayed it so many times in my head I can recite it in my sleep.”

She took a slow breath and began.

“It wasn’t just Betty. The two other Revis we found in the mortuary… they were killed by the Ouroboros cult too. They put those memories in the ring deliberately. To show off.”

James’s expression darkened.

Rose swallowed hard before continuing.

“After that, I saw something else. A basement. They were performing… rituals.”

“Rituals?”

“Sacrifices. Live offerings. Animals, birds, sometimes human blood or body parts.”

James’s jaw tightened at once. He remembered the victims collected by Robert Burns.

Rose’s voice dropped.

“And… there were children. Locked up. I don’t know why.”

James’s face was usually so hard to read—but this time the revulsion was clear in his eyes.

“Kidnapping. Goddamn monsters.”