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Making the crossing had been a wretched ordeal for Lucien He feared the sea, for it was his only weakness It prevented hi his mind power, but worse, it terrified him He couldn’t even swim

Once in Toriana, a spiteful relation had iti Lucien an instant outcast aift to h his ability to charm, but instead he walled himself up in Morehaven to learn all he could about the dark arts For ten years no one but his servants had even acknowledged his existence

Becoained him the entry into society that his unfortunate birth had denied hirateful clients had certainly made him rich, but behind his practiced cynicism Dredmore remained a lonely, wretched pariah Until the day Connell had driven hiht had illu peaches And in thathad flooded Lucien Dred with them the first hope he’d ever known

It seeic he had been ainstHarry had said the first tihts: After twenty years of waiting and watching, I’er had spat at hilows like a right black beacon

If Dredmore were to be believed, I was a spell-breaker Which ic had no power over me, nor could it be used in my presence It explained why Rina’s teller had been powerless to read for es’ balls had been rendered useless the , not by slapping her, but by touching her By sitting on the bench next to Bridget’s Charles, I’d broken the no-love spell placed on him in France by his mother

Could it be that simple?

Without that ginny bauble--

Dred My parents hadn’t created the pendant to protect ic If I were a spell-breaker, I’d never need that sort of protection

--ginny bauble--

So me so hard my teeth chattered

"You’re not dead," I heard a hard voice say "Do you hear me, Kit? Open your eyes this minute, or I swear I’ll kill you"

I opened one eyelid to see Carina standing over le about her dirty, bruised face, and blood trickled froe of her nose She wore soed cloak covered with filth and soot

As she raised her hand to wallopme, will you?"

"Mother of Christ, you deserve a proper thrashing And you will get one, the er on her face twisted into grim satisfaction as she put aside the lantern, shoved her hands under my arms, and hauled me out of the crate "Wrecker’s outside with a cart Coh as Rina draggedthat isn’t warded," she snapped "So shake your ass"

As we es I couldn’t quite coravecart filled with dead harlots; and the Hill on fire

"No tiawk" Rina jerked my arm as she marched to the back of the cart "We’ll be lucky to make it out of the city alive"

I stared at the corpses of a dozen battered gels All of thele’s Nest At the top of the pile lay Alash in her abdoo the police We have to tell them--"

"The coppers are busy with the blues," Rina said as she cli me her hand When I didn’t take it, she swore "Kit, I swear, I’ll tie you to the back and drag you by the rope--"

"She’s scared," Allare at oose It’s a ruse--tar and tomato juice--and it itches like sin"

"Least you’re on top, old woer voice complained "Ouch, Jude, that’s my tit Get your knee off"

I climbed up and curled into the corner opposite Rina "Why are they pretending to be dead?"