phin
ammed open and then shut behind me. The sharp click of t
n't move. He just stood by the door, his chest rising and falling in deep, ragged breaths, hi
pered wall until my shoulder blades were pressed flat. He slamm
refused to acknowledge. "Why are you doing t
he confusion in his eyes, the genuine, pathe
calm. "This sham of a relationship? This family that
te against the wall. "Down there, in the conser
amily started. You don't get a medal for that. Where were you this morning, when y
, almost imperceptible shi
"I knew about the tea," he mumb
an cold. "
s words coming faster now, a desperate attempt to expl
ng suspicion dawning in my m
him in a torrent of misplaced self-righteousness.
d. "What are yo
me features into something ugly. "Her health is so fragile! The healers said
g in the air, obsc
as if this were a perfectly reasonable solution. "A variant of wolfsbane. It's harmle
fsb
een pois
tematically
doctor. The shame. The feeling of being broken, of my own body
otect
ted to
nded part of my soul. It was the sound of the last, final piece of my heart shattering into dust. I laughe
in his eyes now. This reaction was not in his playbook. He
ords, slapping his hand away wit
e chest. He stumbled back
spered, the soun
taring at me, his mout
, pointing a tremblin
ama, a frantic pounding
voice was tight with panic. "It's Lilith! She's coughing
Damien was i
away by a wave of pure, unadulterated terror for her. His mate bond t
n't he
n't lo
say anot
locked the door, and
. A cold draft snaked into the room, carryi
d the laughter finally died in my throat.
A pale, tear-streaked face stared back at me, but
dead end. The law o
ower in this world h
ur-poster bed to a loose floorboard I'd discovered months ago. Beneath it was a sm
al bills. Two fake passports with two differen
ck. I pulled on a dark, hooded windbreaker and a
other with
e back gardens, the ones that were never guarded. I slid th
ting into the darkness of the man
he capital. I was h
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