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“Exactly”
He turned back to face the run-down building, which blared souitars, and a quick beat
Marguerite, his woe , blood-red nails and short platinum hair
He’d followed her to Mortal Earth because he’d had no choice in the oddaood sense froht the breh-hedden was a myth; then Alison had shown up and knocked Kerrick on his ass—Kerrick, the one who had vowed never to ain Three other warriors had followed, like doo Jean-Pierre
Noas his turn
And Greaves had decided this was the hour to let the world know that he’d built an ar ready to launch his takeover bid of both Second Earth and Mortal Earth
Fucking great
He turned again, to once more face away from the bar He felt the call of his world, of Second Earth, and of so in the center of his brain He lived with two aches now, the heavy pounding in his head and the stiff pulsing in his groin
He was a man torn, now more than ever, because of the implied threat of a spectacle-based military review Damn, there’d be fireworks and massive orchestral eese Second Earth lived for spectacle and Greaves knew it The daenius
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think Alison, thank God, had fallen silent, giving him space, the usual She’d been a counselor before she ascended She kne to let a moment breathe
Finally, he said, “I’ here But I can’t leave Marguerite right now and it isn’t just because of the breh-hedden Because she’s obsidian flame, Greaves wants her dead She’s unprotected if I just take off You know Endelle was counting on her e power to make a difference in the war At the very least, I need to bring her home with me”
“You’re right,” Alison said, sootten so wrapped up in this review, I’d forgotten about Marguerite’s power Don’t worry I’ll talk it over with Marcus He’ll understand More than anyone, he’ll understand” Marcus was four thousand years old and had only recently returned to Second Earth and to the Warriors of the Blood after a two-hundred-year absence, his own form of desertion
Yeah, if anyone would understand all the dile Thorne, Marcus would
“I’d better go,” he said
“I alot, what did you call for?”
“Nothing I h his hair and all but dislodged his cadroen “I ot a situation in El Paso Two”
Alison’s voice dropped “Oh, shit, Endelle just walked into o”
The line went dead
A military spectacle review Jesus H Christ
He returned his phone to his jeans He lowered his chin and went back into the bar He sure could use a drink right about now, but for this ride he’d stopped with the Ketel One Everything was cos just as they were, not through a vodka haze Still, it sure didn’t help that Marguerite was flashing a s Mexican