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I braced for the ice pick of pain Instead, all I felt was darkness - like a blanket over my mind

Sohteen whihter, and suddenly the shadoere gone

Jack stared at me in confusion He appeared exactly the saed fifty years He didn’t sport deadly wounds he could no longer heal The only thing that was different were his eyes There was no longer a delanced around the clearing, flinching at the carnage "Where am I?"

"Get him out of here," I told Edward

"Not so fast," he murmured "Perhaps we should perform one final test"

"What kind of test?"

"The full ht approached I had been in the Land of Souls longer than I’d thought

A hum filled my head, a desperate need; thirst pressed at the back of my throat I was both different and still the sa in my pocket, I found the spare vial of seru call of thefor blood receded

"When the e, he is healed" Edward glanced at me "If you have cured him, you will have e You will not have time for kissy-kissy with the FBI"

A flash of annoyance at the man’s audacity caused me to speak more sharply to him than I ever had before "That’s all you have to say? No words of wisdoize? For what?"

"My hter"

I could have sworn I saw hi sunlight through the dappled trees Edward Mandenauer cared for no one and nothing but the hunt

"I had no choice," he said

"You had a choice with me You could have told me who I was Given me some affection"

"No I couldn’t" His bony shoulders slumped, and he turned toward the horizon "I’ve lost too many women I love Every time the monsters took another, a part of me was destroyed"

"He must have lost a lot of women," Jessie muttered

I ht behind the randfather

"I didn’t knohat you would becoht have to kill you someday How could I bounce you on ht? Wouldn’t that have been a bigger lie than all the others?"

I wasn’t sure, but I saw his dile a child on his knee was ht

"When I shifted, why didn’t you kill me?"

"Every time I looked at you, I saw"

"Who?"

"You have your grandhtened his sloping shoulders "I was right to keep you You were the key to everything"

"Funny how that worked out"

"Life has a way of coh time"

"You could have told me the truth after I came back from Stanford"

"By then it was too late Too many lies And I didn’t want anyone to know"

"How hter who turns furry"

"Yes, it is"

He walked aithout another word Soed

"Well, that was interesting" Jessie shifted her gun toward Jack, as so confused he appeared in a near-catatonic state

I stared at Edward, who had gotten as far away fro the ravine

"He’ll come around" Nic touched my shoulders "Somewhere inside his icy cold heart he loves you"

"I doubt that" I turned in his ar to be the way I am, and he’ll never be able to love what he hates"

I paused and considered the rest I had to tell Nic the truth There’d been too

"I had a choice in the Land of Souls I could have become human instead of" I lifted my palm

"And left the world to rot?" He shook his head "I don’t think so You ht choice, Elise"

Some of the tension slid out of me "Thanks"

The sun inched below the horizon, and I shuddered as the silver glow of theout of Nic’s embrace, Ilight into the shadow, spilling e, but I did

Instantaneous and without pain I becaht My beast at one with myself, I felt a peace I’d never suspected could exist within ined

As dawn filled the sky, I returned to the cabin All was quiet Edas gone, along with Jack Will was back I was certain Jessie had already called Leigh, and soon I’d be able to fix Daood

I slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower, then I stared at the brand-new me in theto er, probably because the lines of worry and stress had flown, along with the shadows

I didn’t think I’d ever wear a suit again, to hell with panty hose, but I’d have to get soive up

My days in the lab were over, which was lucky since there wasn’t any lab I had places to go, olves to find, and I knew just who I was going to take with hts had conjured him up, Nic slipped into the roolanced into the mirror

"You okay?" he asked

"Better than okay What about you?"

"Same" He laid his cheek on top of my head "Or at least I auys are dead Everyone on our side still alive Sometimes that doesn’t happen"

I hesitated Nic wanted me, that much I knew, but he’d never mentioned love I still didn’t want him to leave - ever

"I have a proposition for you" Nic wiggled his eyebrows and I laughed "Not that kind A job"

"I’ve got one"

My hopes fell It really wasn’t fair to ask hiood at

"Edward hired me"

My head came up so fast I nearly clipped him in the nose

"Hey! Take it easy"

I spun around "Really?"

"He pointed out that I couldn’t go back to the tame old FBI now that I’d seen the true nature of the world He’s right"

"You’re sure?"

Now that I kneas going to becoet killed a whole lot easier that way

"I accepted the offer, although I think Edas just trying to be nice - "

"He doesn’t kno"

"There’ll be a lot of legal issues to work out"

"Like?"

"Are cured olves responsible for the actions they cohie

"I’uess you’d call it - between the J&ued "Soh of relief That sounded safer than blastingNic wasn’t going to stay in the office 24/7

"As long as that’s what you want"

"After all these yearsto come in handy" Nic tilted his head "I still think Edward is trying to make up for his mistakes"

Nic didn’t knoard Thealso never Still -

I stared at the pentagraed