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"When was the last time someone saw Limone?" I asked

"The day after she pushed you"

"She went to the Moulin Bleu, didn’t she?"

He nodded "There’s dark ulped and shivered but didn’t ain

I could feel Limone’s cold presence in the room with me, and I spun suddenly, certain that I would feel her hard hands pushing allery was e shadows I looked fro to sense if perhaps it was only my history with Li irl stretching in a tutu and a pink-skinned girl laughing But I couldn’t remember their na finger "I know those girls"

"Jess and Edwige They went ether" His voice was dark, torn between anger and sadness "Neither painting shows the artist’s name, but at least it was not Lenoir" His fists clenched at his sides

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked

Vale put an arm around my waist, and I shuddered as he pulled me close and led me from the rooallery There was so here the duke wanted to see"

"Ugh I don’t knohy I feel like I need to go wash in boiling water or so atto get back to normal "Do you knoho painted it?"

The hall outside felt ten degrees warhter and pulledthe back of my head

"I do not know, bébé Many are by Lenoir but not that one He takes on protégés and students sometimes I will try to find out Do you feel"

He trailed off, and I wrapped my arms around hilad to give hi had inspired such horror inhates us," I whispered, and he nodded as he rubbed my back

"I did prohten you into closeness" He pulled away and held ets the hunt when one is hunted"

"Wait" I wanted to look through the door again but couldn’t bring s of Cherie? Of a Bludray eyes?"

"So far as I know, there are no humans in the cabarets, and if there were another Bludhed heavily and slumped over "Then this whole trip was a waste of tirave;re" He slipped his hand intoWe also know that there is so the day, ask around See who painted it, and the ones of Jess and Edwige, too Some ideas take more time to bear fruit, but youand coy I felt more than a little like a princess in a palace, surrounded by the dripping gilt and excess of the grand , the better I felt "You’re right It’s not like Cherie was going to be here and ere just going to walk in and find her And it’s not a wasted trip" I blushed and looked down, tracing the marble in the floor "I mean, I’ve alanted to see the Louvre"

He stopped walking backward and sh to say "Oh, you have alished to see the Louvre? I think perhaps I can help with that"

Before I could protest, he’d sweptoff down the grand hall at a run I started to shriek but slapped a hand over h the Louvre like a little boy chasing a soccer ball, pointing out unhelpful things such as "Here’s a statue of a naked ’s petticoats" I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt, and when he finally stopped and placed h away froone

"Did you see everything?" he asked

Without thinking, probably because of the lack of blud in ot his attention He was instantly focused onin the darkness "Did you now, bébé?"

"Oh, well, I" I looked down and fidgeted, very un-Bludht hands settled on my hips as he stepped into ht up to the line and kick dirt over it and laugh, yet you won’t step over Do you think aadmired?"

"Of course not I just"

"Are you asha?"

"What? No! Vale, come on" My cheeks were red, my insides all twisted up "Your butt isawesome I justI didn’t break into the Louvre with you to talk aboutthis"

"This?"