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Max froze at the quiet question, his heart punching against his ribs so hard, he half expected to see blood dot his chest "My younger brother"

Sophia stilled within his arms, but her question, when it came, was practical Psy "You have clear markers of Asian descent, while he was unquestionably Caucasian"

The logical query calave him an anchor "He looked--looks exactly like our mother" River had been her shadow and her e had broken his brother "We had different fathers His was as blond as our iven hie of another culture "No one ever believed ere brothers" But they were They’d corown up in the sa breath "You wanted to use the past tense"

Another stab of pain, but he didn’t tell her to drop the subject It had been so long since he’d spoken of River to someone who’d known him--and somehow, he knew his J did "River disappeared when I was als by then that I know he can’t have survived longbut part ofthat when I open the door, I’ll see hiloved hand rising to curve hesitantly over the back of his neck "I’m sorry, Max I didn’t ht my shield--"

She shook her head "Most telepaths who are born with the ability to be Js often also have some latent or weak F abilities"

Max frowned "Foreseers see the future"

"Usually, yes But there is a sht"

He knew she was talking so factually because she’d read his pain, was trying to distance him from it the only way she kne, his vulnerable J with a heart that understood how ht"

"Yes It’s the first incident I’ve ever had" Eyes haunted, she placed her hand on his shoulder "If statistics hold true, that’s probably the single one I’ll ever experience"

"You sound glad"

"I’ve never felt so helpless," she whispered

"What did you see?" His heart twisted--there’d been no horror in her eyes, so perhaps she’d seen a slice of happiness

"You and your brother in an alley You were trying to talk his"

"I tried so ainst her "He was the one person I loved, the one person who ," Sophia said

"And daed--so much that he couldn’t see any other way out" Max wished he could go back in time, convince River that none of it was his fault "He blas over which he had no control"

Her hand stroked his nape, soft, hesitant, but gaining in confidence "He saidhe said"

And he knew she hadn’t missed out on the horror "Tell me"

"He said she didn’t protect you"

The pain of the child he’d been speared through him "It was as if my mother had two personalities" One for each son "As an adult, I know I could’ve done nothing to bring on the kind of hatred she felt towardto make her treat me the way she did" His voice broke

Sophia’s breath whispered over his hair as she held hiave hiiven birth to him

CHAPTER 21

Sascha lay curled up in bed around six that evening, tired though she’d done very little But she didn’t feel the need to move--it was nice to lie surrounded by the war into his pillow, she opened up the text that was her own personal guidebook--and an endless source of frustration

However, she feltthe oblique nature of sootten empath, an elderly lady named Maya

"Only cardinals could stop riots," Maya had said in response to Sascha’s question, her triure active as she paced in front of her coueabout a ‘ter up any ht actually mean, but it was a start With that in mind, Sascha was about to reread the section on riot control when she heard Lucasarea "Lucas" She kept her tone soft, knowing he’d hear

He filled the doorway, all green eyes and dark hair Such a beautiful erous one, too, especially when the protective streak that had been honed in blood was riding hientled "Two minutes? I want to send this note off to Zara"