“You have been very kind to me,” she said. “Is there any way in which I can pay you back?”
But he shook his head.
“I do not think you could give me anything tangible, but perhaps you yourself will be able to suggest something.”
Rosalie flushed to the roots of her hair. “I haven’t anything,” she answered.
“Not even a soul?”
“What is that?”
“That part of you which under certain conditions becomes immortal.”
“That part of me belongs to the Serpent.”
“The Serpent passed you on body and soul to me.”
“The Serpent did nothing of the sort,” she answered vehemently, if slowly. “I—I—I—”