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I let my eyes float back to the booth in the corner where they stopped abruptly on the most attractive, most evilan extre solden brown hair ept back from his eyes and he had a five o’clock shadow that could have seduced any woaze was locked on me from across the space between us and I felt myself sink back from the waves of pure hed from across the restaurant like we knew each other intimately "Stella? Is that you?"

I sed down the fear, anger, and wrenching disgust and plastered on a hardly believable smile "Oh, hey," I forcedI needed to play along in order to protect my friends

"Saul, look who’s here," he turned his head to address his accoe, muscular man with jet black hair and black eyes as if when he fell from Heaven, the Darkness not only tainted his soul, but his features as well

Saul didn’t say anything to his friend, just grunted in my direction as if that was an appropriate response for a public place But then his eyes raked over me as if he knew every inch of me already A hthis particular brand of evil extinct

Seth walked back to the table at the exact rateful for his reassuring presence He put a hand on the sainst me He stared down the two Fallen atched us with unht as if he too couldn’t wait for the privacy of the back alley

"That was"I need to get hoht away" He turned his head at the last minute and addressed our table where everyone had fallen silent at the weirdness between us "I’h"

"But hoill you get home?" Tristan demanded, not at all fooled by Seth’s cover story

"Do you two need a ride back to that sweet little farm town?" The first Fallen asked from across the roo aze

I tried to pretend it was perfectly norer’s conversation from across the roo questions

"We do," Seth answered "Were you headed that direction?"

"Well, we’ve beento pay Jupiter a visit for a while now, haven’t we Saul?" the first Fallen asked, and a protective tremble shook my core "If you would just call him and let him knoe’ll take you home so he doesn’t worry, we’d love to offer you a ride"

"I can do that," Seth replied robotically

I tore aze back to my friends I was desperate to protect them, to save theuys? These are old friends of our faet a ride home with them" I forced my lips to twist into a smile and my eyes to meet Piper’s and Tristan’s Piper looked concerned while Tristan looked… like he was going to fight this battle for et the to be Ok?" Piper asked as Seth hung up the phone and suys and ain," Seth pro o, or you’re going toup so that ainst the floor loudly

I held oodbye to Piper and Lincoln and politely nodded to Bree Tristan stopped though, right inside the door where nobody else could hear him

"Who are they, Stella?" he demanded, his voice barely a whisper When I didn’t respond he filled in the blanks "Bad guys?"

I noddedyou," Tristan prohtened and closed with the fear that he was serious

"Yes you are, Tristan," I begged, o "They will hurt you if you stay, maybe even kill you… probably even kill you and I cannot let that happen Go with Piper, I’ll call you when I get ho behind ainst the wall "I can’t leave you"

I cupped his face withthat the evil I was going to face tonight was greater than anything I had met before "You have to leave Tristan I can’t worry about you while I face these guys, I won’t be at et Piper and Lincoln out of here You’re the only one that knohat’s going on and you need to get the happens to you," his voice broke fro on, for the first time in my life I hated that he knehat I was and what I had to face

"Nothing will happen toTristan I ah to defeat these guys, I swear to you I’ll text you as soon as I’ I believe in, everything that’s in h I knew he believed I would win this fight, I also knew that it broke hied,