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"I have not fed, so it will take a few ainst his skin, and the coolness of his blood oozing from beneath it "If you mean to kill me, you must stab me in the heart or cut off my head" When she didn’t h, love Halfthis game, Robin"

"So am I" And her wrath aroused hiht she would try to attack him with the blade He had no idea what she would do next, and it excited hier at his throat

Somewhere near them metal hit the floor, and porcelain shattered "Bloody hell"

"Stay where you are, Will Whatever she does to me, you will not touch her" Robin kept his eyes on Chris’s flushed face "Kill me and it will be over My seneschal will not harm you But the contessa will see to it that hundreds will die--humans and Kyn, my entire jardin One of them will be your partner"

She shook her head slowly "I don’t believe you I don’t believe any of this"

"If I give you proof, will you help er away from his neck He felt the wound on his neck close and disappear as she watched Her eyes took on a glassy look, and she didn’t protest when Will caer from her hand

"It can’t be real" She pushed herself off hi "You can’t be" She reached for a handhold, and then her eyes rolled up

Will caught her before she hit the floor "I’ll make more tea"

Robin wanted to take her to bed, lie with her, and hold her until she awoke, but he had to strike a new bargain with the contessa "Put her in my bedchamber," he told Will as he stood "And bolt the door"

Chapter Nine

Robin didn’t waste another moment on impossible scheiven hiht had never happened, and listened without coha in Italy in a few hours," Robin said "He is beyond my reach now I cannot retrieve the manuscript for you"

Salva made an amused sound "But of course you can, my lord I am not an unreasonable woan I shall allow you more time for your journey"

"My journey"

"You will travel to Roham will think he has succeeded, so he should not be difficult for you to find You and I will ht hours You will deliver the ive the order for es of defiantforced to their knees in front of a hooded executioner filled Robin’s head "Perh lord He has people--"

"You will tell no one, my lord," Salva said, her voice sharp and cold "Not if you wish your people to survive the night When you journey to Roent, with you"

Why would she wish him to take Chris to Italy? "We need not involve humans in our business"

"She is already involved," she replied "Permit her to escape you and all she will do is alert the authorities here or in Italy No one is to know about the ood care to keep her at your side"

"She will be a hindrance to me" Robin looked at Will "I shall leave her here with my seneschal He will keep her sequestered until my return"

"You do not think I shall act on my promises, my lord?" There was a pause, and then the contessa said, "Watch the screen on your phone"

The video she sent began to play on the view screen It shoo of the contessa’s warriors holding a large, wounded blackhim Blood dripped from the human’s nose and h," Robin said "Stop before you kill him"

The contessa’s beautiful face appeared "I shall see you and your human lover in Rome in two days Be sure you have the manuscript, my lord If you do not, her partner dies, and you will revisit every one of the happy memories you have of the jardin war trials"

The screen on the phone went blank

"She would do not this thing unless she felt sure she could get aith it," Will said slowly "Once she has the ent Renshaw Then she can blaham, or make up any story she likes"