Page 68 (1/2)

We both sat silently for a second I pictured , dark hair, blue eyes--just likehiross, Drake! You’re her uncle"

"Separated by generations of genetic interference"

"It doesn’tanywhere near her"

He closed his eyes slowly, breathing out long through his nose "My dear, sweet niece I did not cootiate You are bound by law to have this child, and she will one day knowyou can do to stop this"

"I can take her away, far away, so she’ll--"

"If you do that, you will be signing your own death warrant"

I stopped mid-sentence and frowned at hi fro eer of Yahanna

"It’s the dagger you’ve all been driving yourselves crazy over these last few months"

"But that’s--"

He knocked rab it "In the weapons rooet that?"

"Well, without the astonishing talents of Jason Knight, it would still be in Arthur’s possession" He winked at ift-wrapped it for me"

I silently cursed my own so-called brilliant plan

"I have not been brave enough to atteht from under Arthur’s nose, and I ed an i his hand away froht there on the table in front of h his heart "Go ahead," he offered "Pick it up Jah h er in the hopes that soeful vampire, one day, would return it to me"

"Or try to kill you with it"

"Precisely At which point I’d take it froot it in your heart first"

"Did you miss the part where I said I made up that entire story? Parchment and all"

"What do you er severs the connection of an immortal soul fro of the sort"

"Why would you er had been stolen by a woman I trusted I needed it back, and the best way to acquire so valuable is by hand-delivery Unfortunately, I sent Arthur to find it, knowing it was here so doistfully at the table, "--it seems even my oldest and most trusted friend fell victim to the appeal of er, its shi suddenly dull as all hope faded from its blade "It won’t kill you?"

"Not even when steered by the hand of a king" He laughed "But it is very i the handle "Inside this hilt is a very vital piece of a puzzle--one that is key to finalising the terive birth and the child is safe, I will uphold reement"

"Which is?"

"To resurrect Lilith"

"What?" I sat forward excitedly "You can bring her back?"

He nodded once, laying the dagger down again

"And the dagger is the key?"

"It is"

"Wow So, that’s what you agreed to restore in the contract: Lilith?"

"It is"

I sat back in er "So hed "Yes, I heard you even went as far as to give yourself to the king’s brother"

I made a weird, aard kind of face "Yeah, I kinda did"

"Ha-ha-ha!" He patted ed after all these centuries"

My tongue dried up a little, stuck on a word "Did you just calls "That is your name or, at leastwas"

"I" Gravity sunk my shoulders "I don’t really understand"

"My little sister, bless her heart, gave up her soul to see Anandene reborn We needed a pure worow the child--one not marred or tainted by any man before But Lili had had several children by this time, so we created a curse or, rather, a spell that would see her bear only females--soulless females, since our contract, and my Anandene, was bound to Lili’s soul When the child was born, Lilith’s soul was placed into the vessel and, sixteen years later, bred with noble blood to give rise to Anandene"

"Okay, whoa, hang on So, you had to wait sixteen years?"