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"You will have to face your worst fears and the worst version of yourself What that looks like inside the cave is different for everyone and I can't prepare you anyh The ical process that will happen to you is identical to that of the induction cereh your bloodstreah your oxygen and happenthan external," Aain, and looked at me froe "Well it was nice knowing you," I mumbled sarcastically

"My dear, you will survive this, if I have learned anything about you, it is that you and your brother truly are Immortal Both you and he should have died by now if there was a successful way to kill you And yet, here you stand This will be difficult, but you will only be stronger because of it If anything est concern is what this will reveal to Lucan"

"What do you

"I have always suspected that the twin connection you share with your brotherextraordinary After his attack on you and your friends in the woods during that PE caer You should have sed his ht, but yet he was able to escape When he returned to the faric If I ae," wide-eyed, I shookthe Fall Solstice Dance, you fought, and then fell off a roof top When Kiran landed he had exerted a treic and the fallYou however, hit the ground and already had recovered youra beat"

"But Kiran absorbed the blow, Kiran landed first," I protested

"Kiran may have landed first, but you were the one who absorbed the blow The aic Jericho used should have been able to kill Kiran, but you took the brunt of it and stood up and walked away Finally, there was your battle last night I spoke with Beckton before I turned hiic three separate tier than ever"

"How?" I asked, bringing my knees to my chest, more afraid of this answer than all the previous ones What did it e of Immortality for several rasp the concept of actually living forever, of being unable to die

"I believe it is the connection you share with your brother Your ic is in fact, not your own, but a shared entity When you are physically drained of your personal ic, you borrow from Avalon to recover, and vice versa I think this is also the reason you were unable to give Jett, Oscar, Ebanks and Ronan back their ical entity, then he would also claiic as well Finally, I believe this is the reason you can survive so long as hu for you is a non-issue because you are still connected to the electricity that keeps you alive"

"Well, there you have it," I mumbled, unable to fully comprehend the depth of what I'd just been told

"Eden, you are more than special, more than unique, you are the future of our race," Amory smiled at me with hope and ease, and I did my best not to vomit all over his crimson carpet

"Hooray," I responded dryly

"Cheer up, e that you are not alone You will always have your brother and whomever you choose as your soul mate," Before I could ask any questions he continued, "How are things with Kiran?"

"Fine, I guess," I re and a neave of frustration washed over hed pensively "Boy troubles?" I saw h

"Yes, Graue and I watched Amory beam in reply "I don't understand hi has to be so difficult!" I whined exasperatedly

"Ah, the trouble with all youth, I'm afraid I trust that you ork it out and if not, there are plenty of boys vying to take his place," his expression was one of pride, as if I was the most beautiful creature alive, and he was personally responsible forof which, please let Jericho know that he will be on the India teanore the obvious correlation between Jericho and randfather's previous coht I would be all alone?"

"No, my dearest, you will never be alone You may travel alone, but ill be there every step of the way I would never leave hter in the hands of the unknown," he stood up to walk over toand I realized that no matter how many assassins foundto worry about with Amory on my side Who kne randfather's strong and loving arms, the fears and uncertainty of the future seemed to melt away and I felt only confidence

Chapter Thirteen

Where are you? I sent ht as I waited by his oversized truck after school It had been a long day and all I wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed

I'll be there in onely underneath his own skin as I could hts helped ease my frustration, but I tapped my toe quickly and crossed my aret in?" Sebastian approachedlot I suddenly regretted my self-absorption and stubborn refusal to wait inside Avalon's truck

"Tons," I responded dryly I realized the lie was necessary, but I also couldn't h to make it sound believable What did it ht?

"They were really that upset about soly tookto trap me