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"Sarah - "

"Who is thisSarah a narrow-eyed once-over

"My naraceful curtsey "I am Portia&039;s oldest friend I also happen to be an author, and aht they had a slight chance of working, but Portia was absolutely skeptical, disbelieving there even was such a thing as a faery ring"

"This is all very interesting, but hardly has relevance - "

Sarah shook her head and interrupted Disin before she could continue "It does have relevance Once we discovered that Portia had inadvertently become a virtue, I did some online research into the history of virtues One of the things I discovered was that, although virtues are rarely summoned, it can be done, most commonly by means of an invocation"

There were a few snorts of disbelief, but out of the corner of

"What Portia used was a general su for a virtue According to my research, the spell could have suaped at my friend "Why on earth didn&039;t you ed "It didn&039;t seeravy, woether

Theo took advantage of their inattention to drive hos us back to the point whereby you knew that Portia had used a general su spell, rather than the more common invocation How do you explain that?"

"We are curious as to that point as well," Disin said as the mare sat back in their respective chairs She pinned Milo back with a look I was thankful wasn&039;t, for once, turned upon lance descended uponfor a contrite look

"You will now explain how you knew in detail whatused to summon the virtue Hope"

Milo looked decidedly nervous I sent Theo a private smirk, and watched as Milo squirmed under the combined attention of the mare

"Ithat is, weI"

Carol leaned into hiaze was shifty, but he nodded a couple of ti out his chest "By virtue ofin the Court of Divine Blood, I deasp behind us, then utter silence

He can&039;t do that, can he? Overthrow the hierarchy like that?

I think he just did

Thein a tableau that reminded rounds do you demand the renascence?" Disin asked, her voice deceptively soft

Milo pointed at me "The Court has been compromised A non-ainst the laws to which the hierarchy of the Court is bound"

"Portia is not yet a virtue," Theo argued, his ar around my waist I leaned into hi had spiraled so far out of control That I could be used as an excuse for the overthrow of the Court was unthinkablewasn&039;t it? "She will not claim that title until she co to do now," I added

Milo smiled It wasn&039;t a nice s about?

I have a bad feeling it&039;s about so Terrin was about to tell me when you showed up with Carol in tow

"You are unfamiliar with our laws, nephilim When a renascence is called, all scheduled business is completed before the Court is disbanded and rehtened into a small wad of unhappiness

"The seventh and final trial of theis scheduled for today, if I am not rounds for renascence will be satisfied, and by the laws that govern the Court, it must be destroyed before reformation"

"Well then, I simply won&039;t do the seventh trial," I told hi me at this easy way out of the situation

"You cannot stop the trial fro," Milo said "As it is scheduled, it must be enacted"

"Fine Enact away I will simply do the opposite of whatever it is Erwhat is the seventh trial?"

"Faith," Terrin answered, his eyes unreadable "It is a trial of your faith"

I laughed without the slightest shred ofto be difficult forto rounded in a lifelong battle rather than a slight against the Court itself "I grew up in a religious cult, one that required its members to show absolute, unbreakable faith in the leaders and religion itself Anyone questioning the religion was severely punished I believe I spentmy childhood locked in a closet, ordered to examine my sins and renounce my disbeliefs, than I did out of it Faith is not a commodity I have in abundance Because of this, I can just about guarantee you that I will fail the seventh trial"

"If you do so, then you throay all chances of an exculpation for Theo North," Milo pointed out "He will never be a member of the Court of Divine Blood He will remain a nephilim, an outcast, tainted by the sins of his father, for the rest of his life He will never have a soul"

I openeda member of the Court, but stopped, stunned at Milo&039;s words

What was that about a soul?

Theo&039;s sigh echoed throughto tell you this, since it puts more pressure on you to obtain my exculpation, but members of the Court of Divine Blood cannot be soulless If a ranted when the membership is made official

You knew this and you didn&039;t tell me? I wanted to whap Theo on the ar soaround for an opportunity for et your soul back just by beconized virtue!

It&039;s not quite that sihts rich with emotion

Theo, I knohat it means to you -

No You knohat it meant to me That was before I found you, before our lives were bound together An exculpation is no longer as desirable as is a future with you, htly, and settled back, but it was changed I was changed I stared at Theo, stunned by his words, by the feelings he had shared with led to cope with the revelation he laid open forfor that exact moment in time, the moment when I knehat it was to truly be loved above all elseand the knowledge that I would literallynext toanyone has ever said to me I just can&039;t believe how much I love you, Theo

As much as five to the tenth power? he teased

Oh no, , my love for you can only be described in terht, but I shook with emotion as, deep in the back of my &039;s rights to refuse to participate in the seventh trial," Disin said after a brief consultation with the other mare "Furthermore, we feel it important to point out that even if she does successfully complete the trial and is accepted as a member of the Court, any exculpation she seeks is not autoether and tried to regain control of myself We still have the Beloved path of soul redemption Hoould you feel if I ditched the virtue business? Could we get along just fine without the Court?

More than fine, he answered, and allowed me to see the truth in his words It&039;s you I want, Portia Not reparation, not even my soul, is as important as a life with you

My knees turned to jelly under the look he gave me I didn&039;t think it was possible, but I fell even more in love with hi lost Theo had shown me the path that I needed to take

I looked at Milo "Theo has decided not to pursue his exculpation I will pass on the position of virtue The seventh trial will be conducted without iven ram"

Suria and Disin nodded

"So nice try, Milo, but your little sche to fly"

Milo&039;s laughter rolled with sickening intensity down the length of the ballroom "You have chosen not to pursue exculpationdo you hold Theo&039;s soul in so little value?"

"On the contrary, I&039;d do just about anything to retrieve itjust about anything, but not this"

Milo stopped before us, his head tipped to the side as he looked at me "Consider this, Belovedyou have co, but you have yet to finalize it bya sacrifice You look surprised that I a Dark Ones, but this plan has been a long tio to the trouble of arranging for Bael to curse Theo if it was not ie for just such a situation as this?"

"You bastard," I screa forward to throttle hi Milothat and the sense of calmness and love he poured into me "You planned this?"

"Of course The downfall and subsequent co to be undertaken without soh a whole lot of trouble for nothing," I spat, still wanting badly to attack him for what he&039;d done to us "There is another way for et Theo&039;s soul back I will not becoh "You still don&039;t understand, do you? Even if you refuse to beco the Court, you will have damned Theo to an eternity without his soul"

"I&039;m his Beloved All I have to do is et it back - " I started to say

"Exactly" Milo smiled, and my stomach turned over "You see it at last You can save the Court of Divine Blood, or you can save Theo&039;s soul - but only the act of sacrificing the forrant the latter"