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They'd been orphans living on the streets, trying to stay together, when the girls had been taken Danny had refused to give up on his sisters and had gone after thee labyrinth of tunnels and rooms, a city below the city Emeline shivered at the memory She tried very hard not to think about it, to close the door on the horrors of what had been down there She first encountered Danny in a dream and then, later, in reality when his sisters had been taken Despite knoould happen to her, she had aided hiirls She'd seen her fate enough tiet the children out or they would have died in that htmares

She understood street children; she'd been one herself and she kne much they craved the stability of a close fas, gardens and lake bordering one side, the high fence surrounding the property on the other three sides, and all the ae offered It was still a prison No matter how beautiful, none of them could safely leave Not even the children Maybe especially the children

"Cranberry and pistachio biscotti?" Genevieve put her book down She'd gone to the bench under the tall oak where she could keep an eye on the children "You made them?"

"This ," Emeline enticed She wanted Genevieve's company She needed to feel normal even if it was just for a few ed, she could resist the pain longer, not be afraid for just a few minutes and pretend that she would have a life like everyone else She needed that today--one of the reasons she'd spent all

"You can ride on," A into that of a woman's Her hair was thick and often tousled fro with her brother She had beautiful eyes and a killer smile Emeline adored her and the way she loved her sisters and brother

Eet an offer to ride one of the dragons Made of stone, the five dragons--each with a unique color--sat off to one side of the play yard They looked as if they were statues, just that Nothing else Eon had been made specifically for one of the children For their aons, crouched so lifelike in the s and fly as well as breathe fire Ae and she loved it dearly E neck with her ar it with affection

E the children, especially Amelia or Liv, the ten-year-old, but she didn't dare chance leaving the porch

"I'd love to ride your dragon, A here, drinking tea and watching all of you" That was strictly the truth "Coons like them, but you can feed him one and tell him it's from me"

Aled and crossed the yard to the house at a much more demure pace than her brother The Victorian was a ser one that was Tariq and Charlotte's horound, just beyond the play yard E at it as well Tariq'sables, rock-faced square towers, archivolt and transom s in a ribbon pattern, all classic Richardsonian Romanesque

Water from the lake lapped lazily at the shore The sun poured down into it, so that droplets disturbed by fish and birds appeared as dazzling dias that spread across the surface E Soe

r human but Carpathian, the ancient race of people capable of as With a wave of their hands they couldsound up so she could concentrate on it rather than the pain racking her body

Amelia threw herself into the chair across froht up a cookie and leaned forward "E at all I could do for you, I'd do it"

God She loved the children They were all so arateful she'd o into that labyrinth, the charet that decision, noit every singles better" That was a lie The pain was getting worse Pain and fear She kept a close eye on the sky Sunset was fast approaching and she'd go immediately into the house once the sun dropped out of the sky

"No, you're not," Amelia whispered "You're not, Emeline Please let Tariq or one of the others help you A couple of the scariest ones are good healers"

Emeline couldn't help the automatic withdrawal, the way her body went smaller She wrapped her arms around herself, as if she could cloak her body, make herself invisible The ancient race could heal She'd seen it She wanted to be able to go to the at all to stop the pain She shook her head "I'm fine I don't need them"

"Are you afraid of theo with you"

Amelia reached out and touched her wrist and followed the line of bruising up to her elbow Her touch was light, but it still hurt Emeline forced herself to remain still Around city She didn't need to worry about E she could do Eh, realistically, she knew there was no going back for Amelia

"It's such a beautiful day, isn't it? I love the rain, but this is gorgeous, everything fresh and shiht as she casually reached for her teacup, the action giving her a legiti her arm out of reach When she settled the teacup back into its saucer, she put her hand in her lap, surreptitiously tugging on the sleeve to cover the bruising

A, but in the end, she just took a bite of the cookie "These are still warm"

"Right? They're so good I love them with ice cream"