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"The three biggest ones, bébé" He put a hand on rown so accustoloves that there was a new intihI told you ould not find your friend overnight"

"So no one’s seen anything? At all?"

He let go ofhis ar to say? ‘Oh, bonjour Been buying any illegal slaves? Because I would like to take one back Without paying And I won’t tell anyone about the butchering slavers who kidnapped her Brigand’s honor’ " One finger crossed an X over his heart and then went to his lips to led despite uess not But there has to be so I can do"

His eyes skittered away, uneasy "Besides rise to stardoet kidnapped yourself?" He shook his head bitterly "I still do not like this idea Are you sure you have nothing of value to sell?"

I crossed ainst the brick wall I wouldn’t give him "

"You have no rease some palms, open some doors And you could drink fresh blood and sleep on a pillow Oui?"

"So to sell, we are at an i a curl that had fallen from my updo "I would offer to sell your hair to the apothecary, but I think you will need it to beco closer, he whispered, "Also, I like the way it curls"

I shook rateful that he’d given me an outand a compliment I would sell reed with him; short hair didn’t suit me, and it definitely wasn’t the fashion in Paris The way Vale was looking athe wasn’t telling ht laugh, he patted my shoulder I immediately felt I’d failed Cherie with my fear

"Don’t worry about it, bébé You won’t start earning until you’re onstage, so you’ll just have to put on a brave face until then Oh" Vale reached into his vest pocket "It’s not hthard wrapped in a handkerchief, voices came down the hall, and he whispered, "Keep it hidden"

I felt around e, and he stepped away to a less personal distance as a group of daiirl! Madenize any of the arms, but I nodded and thanked the pink-skinned daiht of hiirls circled hirin slid frohow quickly his attention had shifted

"Wait, bébé!"

I just held up a glove, wondering as the Franchian equivalent of talk to the hand ’cause the face don’t wanna hear it He didn’t call to ive him the chance to catch up, no hand landed on h it was childish and ridiculous I had grown used to Criandry, in which he held the utave the world the face of an outlaw Even though we’d barely shared a few hours of each other’s coone deadly, I had no real reason to feel that Vale owed , much less loyalty His relationships with the dai, warm, and real Who was I, one desperate Bludwoman, to suddenly show up and turn the world on its head?

That’s what I told ht have been the predator, but I wanted to be chased, damn it all

"Idiot, coant foot beside a rope ladder I walked to her, chin high I wasn’t going to start by apologizing--not to her, not to anybody

"You’re hard to kill, which means you’re a natural for the catwalk Climb up and replace the cold bulbs, oui?" Blaise scurried out frolass I was unsure how they could possibly expect even a Blud a box, but he showed me how to hitch it onto my back with tide leather straps

"Yes, Made list of mundane tasks, the sort of manual labor that had been done by subservient humans in Criminy’s caravan, mostly Vil Maybe I was spoiled, but it seemed counterproductive to wastehigh above the ground if it wasn’t related to an act I watched the dairoups, then, after noon, when they ran a rehearsal for the night’s show in full costuhter than Criminy, who had mostly allowed his carnivalleros to control their own acts More than one daiirl was rewarded with a whack frohtly enough Watching Charline’s face, I couldn’t tell which sort of daimon she was, the sort that thrived on success or on pain She seemed to enjoy a perfectly executed act asthe catwalk, this ti cobwebs, when I bent too far and felt the package Vale had giventhe handkerchief, I found the glowing green pendant he’d worn in the catacoht, givenat his friends