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"Touch her and I will kill you"

"She is from the surface," he spat

"She is my mate"

"She is-"

"My mate," he said firmly "Therefore, she is one of us"

A childish part of Grace wanted to stick her tongue out at Brand She hadn&039;t forgotten that he&039;d once called her a whore

Brand considered those words, and his fierce expression softened He even grinned "Tell me what you learned"

"Gather the others andhall I will tell you when I tell thelance in her direction, he rushed off

"I ath had returned in its entirety the h the mist, and now he breathed deeply of its fao experienced Three hundred years, in fact "I need you to deun and vests to my warriors"

She shook her head "Not unless you&039;re willing to compromise with me"

"I do not compromise" His tone was as stern as his expression "Co hall The dragon warriors were gathered around the table, standing with their arms locked behind their backs and their feet braced apart When they spotted her, they each glanced to Brand ore a sroup offered her a s of teeth a sain," she said

Darius squeezed her hand "Do not be scared," he told her, then glanced pointedly at each le hair on your head"

In the next instant, questions were hurdled at Darius "Why did you take a huone? What happened to Javar?"

"Give him a minute," Grace told them

Darius sasped "Did you see that?"

"I did I saw," Grayley said, awed

"A human female has succeeded where we failed," Renard said "She h, too," she pronounced

Darius rolled his eyes "Show theht"

Despite his failure to compromise, she did as he asked His safety, and that of his people, came before her sensibilities "This is a Kevlar vest," she explained, de how to maneuver the Velcro fasteners

"You s will be trapped by its wrappings However, it will protect your chest against the enemies&039; weapons"

"I have a more important part I&039;d like to protect," Brittan said with a shter followed

"Now deun," Darius said

Grace nodded and withdrew the gun from the waist of her pants "This expels bullets, and those bullets cut through clothing and skin and bone, and soe themselves inside the body You can&039;t see them, but they leave a hole andthem out Let me show you" She walked over to the nearest warrior "If he had been shot in the shoulder, I would take his knife and dig like so" Sheat his neck and dened as they considered her words and actions

Each of the un She double-checked to make sure she&039;d removed the bullets, then passed it around "They coer than this, so be prepared"

After everyone viewed the weapon, Darius returned it to her "Guns such as this were used to destroy Javar and his arasped Some hissed Some blinked in shock "So they are dead?" Madox asked sharply

Darius didn&039;t flinch his gaze "Yes Both humans and vampires seized the palace"

Their fury beca around each of thehter the vaart shouted

"Had you approached them, you would be dead," he said flatly "Vampires are already powerful, but aided as they are by the huon ar his head "It hardly seeeance this day," Darius said "We will reclaio to war!"

Cheers of anticipation erupted

"Gather what you need," Darius finished when the cheers died down "We leave within the hour"

"Wait!" Grace called as the warriors shuffled out of the roolanced back at her "There&039;s a man, a human with red hair He&039;s my brother Keep him safe"

They looked to Darius He nodded "He is to be protected and brought to me"

The men filed out All except Brand He approached Darius&039;s side "The uard the mist"

"Thank you," Darius said, and clapped him on the shoulder "You are a true friend"

When they were alone, he turned to Grace "Come," he said, an order he&039;d obviously become quite fond of

She didn&039;t protest as he led her to the entrance of his roouard your back?" she said as he hustled her inside

His golden eyes darkened "I do notinto battle"

"Darius-"

"Grace" He closed the distance between theue swept inside, conquering She wound her ar hi

"Darius," she whispered again

His heated gaze ive her those words!

"Tell me what I want to hear," he dehed

He nodded, satisfied, and gave her one final kiss Without another word, he left her in his room Alone The doors slid firmly shut behind hi, not froh her body; that was always there and would never go away This ti fear caused her tremors Fear for Darius For her brother They needed her

And she wasn&039;t about to let them down

She could deal with Darius&039;s fury, but she couldn&039;t deal with his death

In her hands, she cradled the inary bullet she&039;d reht, deter, but he had never seen what a gun could do Yes, he had the vests, but that didn&039;t ease her fear for hiun to protect him