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When we arrived, Taed the boys and gave them sloppy kisses, and Ralph did the same She took Michael and Stephen to the play area People were still in My parents joined the fray, talking to anyone ould talk to them I noticed that Stan tried to stay out of their way He wasn&039;t going to escape ainst a wall, looking impatient and bored She wore an outfit that reminded me of the Bride&039;s from the Kill Bill movies It was one piece, fit her like a second skin, and was obnoxiously pink Her boots were pink, too I never figured an ass kicker like her would choose such a girly color Since the queen hadn&039;t arrived yet, I dragged Ralph over to Ash

"Our tattoos changed," I said "After weuh, consued how?"

"There&039;s a red line now, in between the two slashes" I elbowed Ralph in the side "Show her"

He rolled his eyes, but lifted his T-shirt I noticed that her eyes skated along his abs before settling on the tattoo I didn&039;t have tih Her eyes widened and she smirked at us

"Shit I don&039;t believe it" She patted our shoulders "Congratulations It&039;s a girl"

"What?" Ralph and I shouted at the same time We looked at each other, stunned

"You nant?" He put his hand onthere "Really?" His voice had gone soft

"Uh, no," I said "I was a virgin And he&039;s dead"

"He&039;s also a dragon" She held up her hands "Don&039;t ask et his swions are lucky if they get any kids out of aIt&039;s one of the reasons they&039;re so rare these days" She nodded towardinside you will probably be the first dragon born inoh, about five hundred years"

"Libby&039;s pregnant?" asked Patsy She had just entered the room and was less than a foot away froist," said Ash

"Shit" Patsy grirats" She looked at Gabriel, who stood next to her, and then she looked at Ash "This changes everything We can&039;t ask her to draw out Synd now"

"What?" snapped Ralph "I already told you she wasn&039;t going to be used as bait!"

"C&039; to douse her in barbecue sauce and throw her in his cave"

Ralph turned his gaze to Gabriel "Would you let your pregnant wife do so like this?"

"Not in a lared at her husband

"That is, I&039;m not the boss of her and I always support her choices"

She sain I saw Gabriel look at Ralph and shake his head slightly Patsy thought she had the upper hand in that relationship But it was obvious that Gabriel would go to extreme measures to protect her - whether she liked it or not And by gauging Ralph&039;s reaction, he probably felt the same way

I ith Patsy I should have a choice And my choice wasnot to do it I didn&039;t want to be dragon bait I heard the boys giggle and looked over my shoulder But I would do it for the at us, at everyone in Broken Heart, until he got what he wanted Even though Ash was the only one who could stop hih to draw him in

"I don&039;t see e can&039;t use her," said Ash "He won&039;t go for Ralph because he doesn&039;t know that Ralph has part of his sister&039;s soul"

The debate raged, but I drifted away irl Would she have scales? Or look huons for Dummies book out there? We&039;d have to fireproof the nursery And her brothers Yowzer Ralph had given ainst ht, Libby?"

Ralph&039;s strident question pierced through hts I blinked at hiaze "What?"

"You&039;re not going I don&039;t care how aze dropped to my stomach and I saw equal measures of worry and wonderment He hadn&039;t had time to absorb the idea "I won&039;t risk our baby, either" He gulped, then glared at Ash "You&039;re sure about this?"

"Christ! I&039; doctor I just knohat the dragon syot the shields ready" We had been joined by a short brunette who had sparkling green eyes and a di boots, and a thick coat Her hair was braided into pigtails, which stuck out froasoline Oil sed one pristine cheek

"Hey! I&039;m Simone Sweet" She pumped my hand enthusiastically "Nice to meet ya"

"Nice to meet you, too"