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"That doesn’t mean you’re safe" A blue blood was a verwulfen’s natural eneth wouldn’t help her if there were enough of theo near the city again--don’t show your eyes"

Ingrid’s shoulders swelled, a look of burning indignation narrowing her eyes "I’ve as rowled softly "I’ve hidden these bloody eyes half my life, down here in the dark Now that the blue bloods have signed a truce with the Scandinavian verwulfen clans, I don’t have to hide anymore" Her expression turned stubborn "I won’t It kills me to be cooped up down here, in these bloody tunnels"

Rosalind clasped Ingrid’s hand between her own--one of the feould dare when Ingrid was in thishot The loupe virus that rid what she was had done"I know" Rosalind’s voice softened "I’m just worried that the truce is still too new The blue bloods have long memories and some of them are so old they still live in the past" She squeezed her friend’s hand "If you go above, take several of the rid tossed the cheroot to the floor and ground it beneath her heel, expressionless The very blankness of her face told Rosalind how upset she was Ingrid had long since learned to keep her te someone, and her control showed in the stiff line of her shoulders

"Truce?"

Ingrid glared at her h shake, squeezing with her iron fingers Ingrid’s nostrils flared, but she squeezed back The seconds dragged out, then Ingrid shoved her away, cursing under her breath

Rosalind hit the wall and laughed--an old ritual that never failed to soothe Ingrid’s savage terab through her forearm where the steel cables met tendon

"If you’ve broken my hand, you’ll have to pay for it," Rosalind warned with a smile

Ingrid rolled her eyes "I’ll kidnap a master smith"

Rosalind’s mirth faded at the reoing after these e htened so of shivery anticipation

She was so distracted she didn’t even notice the sharp look her friend gave her

Ten

Rosalind yawned as she entered her study at the guild She’d spent half the night searching for the n of them anywhere in the blacksht be working steel There were plenty of whispers about thethe door, she blinked Soness became immediately evident Her desk was piled with aprecariously froht

He’d found her note Rosalind took a step forward, surveying the scene of devastation In the wake of all that had occurred last night, she’d quite forgotten it

Poor tih she’d been unable to help herself at the ti she could never quite escape

Control helps, she told herself, eyeing theto smother her first instinct, which was retaliation Balfour had taught her that, and while she hated hiiven her toorder in this chaos, however… She sighed and reached for the top sheaf of paper The writing was barely legible, an iet the words out swiftly enough

Mrs Marberry,

Since you evidently have so little to do, I have found some old case files for you to sort Some of thes in the city I want those files on my desk by noon There are also lists of the blacksainst thebio-uild records are…somewhere in the pile

Sincerely,

Lynch

PS I rarely sin, and when I do, it is co

Rosalind’s lips parted as she stared at the enormous mess in front of her and then curved up in a rare s Eyes narrowing, she reached for a piece of paper and her pen

The clock on the mantel ticked twelve

Rosalind put down the last of the files and stared at it There’d been no sign of Lynch allIt left her with ti the mechs and Jeren of him somewhere, so She’d know Wouldn’t she? He’d practically been hers to raise

It was the first time she’d ever considered that possibility All the bodies had been accounted for, according to the newspapers But what if the newspapers hadn’t been allowed to know the full body count? What if, for some reason, the true body count had been kept quiet?

Her breath quickened The unfamiliar corset cla, and heat sprang up behind her eyes Don’t She shoved away froht that strea Keep hunting him You’ll find him

Rosalind rubbed at the knuckles of her false hand, feeling the sloves that stretched to her elbows It ached sometimes, as if the limb were still there Noas one of those times