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A knife passed right by my face in the next second, and the seat belt was severed Oh, damn Evidently, they didn’t understand buckles

Gift bent down, and in the next instant I was out of the car and she was carrying hten you," she murmured "I’m sorry, my sister"

She laid me down as easily as if I’d been an infant, and she and Bellenos squatted by reat certainty, that they weren’t going to kill and eat ?"

"Hunting," Bellenos said, as if he suspected my head were addled "You saw the deer?"

"Yes Do you realize you’re not on my land any I could do about it

"I see no fence, no boundaries Freedoood," he said

And the blonde nodded enthusiastically "It’s so good to run," she said "It’s so good to be out of a hu wasthey seeh I knew absolutely I should read the not only profoundly sorry for the two fae, but frightened of-and for-them This was a very uncolad you’re having a good time," I wheezed They both beamed at me "How did you co else to say

"It’s Aelfgifu," she said, sift But Gift is easier for huifu’s teeth were not as ferocious as Bellenos’s In fact, they were quite ser, sharper, thinner teeth folded against the roof of her s Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Coupled with the pupil-less eyes, she was really scary

"Is this the way you do in Faery?" I asked weakly "Hunt in the woods?"

They both sifu said longingly "Though the woods are not as deep as they once were"

"I don’t want toto chide you," I said, wondering if I could sit up They both stared at les "But regular people really shouldn’t see you without your huuises And even if you could ular huht With sharp weapons" Even around Bon Teion

"You see us as we really are," Bellenos said I could tell he hadn’t known that before Maybe I’d given away a powerful bit of knowledge by revealing that

"Yeah"

"You have powerful ic," Gift said respectfully "That ans, eren’t sure about you Are you on our side?"

Bellenos’s hand shot across ifu’s shoulder Their eyes hts, her eyes looked just as black as his

"I don’t knohat side that is," I said, to break the hed and slid an arm underneath me, and I sat up "You’re not hurt," she said "Dermot will be pleased He loves you"

Bellenos put an arm around me, too, so our little trio was suddenly positioned in an uncomfortably intimate little scene there on the deserted road Bellenos’s teeth were awfully close to , but he didn’t rip off flesh and eat it

"You’re shaking, Sister," Aelfgifu observed "You can’t be cold on a hot night like tonight! Is it the shock of your little accident?"

"You can’t be frightened of us?" Bellenos sounded

"You turkey," I said "Of course I’m scared of you If you’d spent a while with Lochlan and Neave, you’d be scared, too"

"We’re not like theifu said in a much more subdued voice "And we’re sorry, Sister There are quite a few of us who endured their attentions Not all lived to tell others about it You’re very fortunate"

"Did you have the ic then?" Bellenos asked

This was the second tiic I was very curious to knohy he said that, but at the sanorance

"Could I drive you two back to Monroe?" I asked, staving off Bellenos’s question

"I couldn’t bear to be shut up in an iron box," Gift said "We’ll run May we coht?"

"How ht I should err on the side of caution, here

They helpedwith each other silently as they did so

"Four of us," Bellenos said, trying not to sound as if he were askingas you let ot simultaneous kisses on both sides of my face Then the two fae leaped down in the ditch, bent over to get a grip below the hood of my car, and pushed The car was back up on the road in seconds Aside from the severed seat belt, it didn’t seem to be much the worse for the experience: dirty, of course, and the front fender was a little dented Gift waved at me cheerfully as I tookeast toward Monroeat least while I could see them My car started up, thank God, and I turned around at the next driveway and headed holed