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There were tined Webb to her team last year - to keep a close eye on her for him and the Council and to ensure the Order'scensure for insubordination by the Council eighteen o, it wouldn't surprise Mira to learn that Lucan had entrusted Webb to sh patches in her leadership of the unit But she hadn't worked her ass off, trained to the brink of killing herself to earn her place with the Order, only to throw it away

It was highly unusual - all but unheard of, in fact - for a feh the ranks with the Order and be awarded a place as captain of a warrior team Her pride swelled to think on that, even now She'd lived to prove herself capable, worthy She'd pushed herself ruthlessly to earn the respect of the Order's elders and the other warriors she'd trained with - respect she'd eventually won through blood, sweat, and stubborn determination

Mira wasn't Breed She didn't have their preternatural speed or strength She didn't have their i she, as a Breed of a Hoenetic origins - could obtain only through the e of a blood bond with one of the Breed Without that bond being activated, Mira and those other rare fee, and ultimately die, the same as mortals

At twenty-nine and un to feel the physical andcareer choice The wound she'd been carrying in her heart for these past eight years probably didn't help either And her "conduct unbecoo was likely n her to desk duty But he hadn't yet, and she'd be daave him further cause to consider it

"Stor," murmured the thirdabout the weather, Mira knew Like a lion taking stock of new surroundings, the big vampire tipped his burnished blond head up toward the cloudless night sky and drew in a deep breath A pair of braids woven with tiny glass seed beads framed razor-sharp cheekbones and finely chiseled features, an unconventional, exotic look for someone as expertly lethal as Torin, one that hinted at his sojourner past The glittering plaits swayed against the rest of his thick, shoulder-length aze toward Mira "Bad night to be down here So dark in the air"

She felt it too, even without Torin's unique ability to detect and interpret shifts in energy forces around him

The stor inside her

It had a name: Kellan

The syllables of his nah her mind like thunder Still raw, even after all this tirew more turbulent inside Mira, particularly around this ti to Kellan's memory with a furious hold Unhealthy to be sure, but hope could be a cruel, tenacious thing

There was still a part of her that prayed it was all a bad dream Eventually she'd wake frogering in from a mission, whole and healthy One day, she'd hear his deep voice at her ear, a wicked challenge while they sparred in the training roorowl of barely restrained need when their bouts of le of limbs on the mats

She'd feel the for and solid and unbreakable She'd gaze into his broody hazel eyes, touch the crown of tousled waves that gleamed as copper brown as an old penny and felt as soft as silk in her fingers She'd smell the leather-and-spice scent of him, feel the kick of his pulse, see the sparks of alint of his eidly betrayed itself to her despite his best efforts to contain it

One day, she would open her eyes and find Kellan Archer sleeping naked beside her again in her bed, as he had been the night he was killed in combat by human rebels

Hope, she thought caustically Such a heartless bitch

Angry at herself for the weakness of her thoughts, she picked up the pace and glanced at the intersection ahead, where half a dozen human couples had stu a traffic signal Across the street from them, one of the city's ubiquitous Faceboards took the liberty of scanning the group's retinas before launching into an obnoxious ad, custom-tailored for the interests of its captive audience trapped at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change

Mira groaned when the digitally rendered 3D iinald Crowe, one of the wealthiest men on the planet, addressed the couples by name and proceeded to hawk discounted stays at his collection of luxury resorts Crowe's face was everywhere this year, in press releases and interview progras and news sitesanywhere there was a webca to hear hiest science award of its kind It probably irritated him to no end that neither that story nor the announce Global Nations Council su the billionaire's recent divorce from Mrs Crowe the sixth