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But this, Fiona having conversed telepathically with Marguerite without ever havingfroence always oddam baptism

He needed to tell Endelle that they were in for it but if he did then he’d have to explain about Marguerite Revealing his woman’s Seer poould blow his life all to hell And yeah, he was being selfish, but he just wasn’t ready to do that

He uncrossed his arulps he downed the rest of the Ketel

"What do I do, Warrior Thorne? Jean-Pierre ant to know s with each other He’s uardian, after all"

"Shit," Thorneof obscenities, but for Fiona’s sake he kept his trap shut "Well," he said at last "I think you’d better tell hi that both of you keep all that we’ve discussed, especially anything concerning Marguerite, close to the vest Okay?"

"Of course Of course"

He supposed that if anyone would understand discretion and restraint it would be this woman She was really lovely, her complexion like milk, her eyes a silver-blue, her brows arched and so pretty

Suddenly all he could think about was that she’d been used as a blood slave "I’m so sorry, Fiona I’ trapped like you were, your blood harvested like some kind of farm animal I’m so sorry If we’d knoould have come for you I proasp, a faint sound froaze He hadn’t meant to upset her, and it didn’t surprise him that Jean-Pierre picked up on it and et to her side and put his hand on her shoulder

He glared at Thorne "What have you done? What did you say to her?" He let loose with a really long string of French It couldn’t have been a compliment

Fiona put her hand to her forehead

"What the fuck did you say to her, Thorne? Why is she so unhappy? Merde"

"I … I said I was sorry that she’d been used as a blood slave I didn’t mean to cause her pain"

Fiona turned toward Jean-Pierre and put her hand on his cheek "It was kindly meant He just took me by surprise and sos, at unexpected moments, have the power to take me back there I was back there But I’m not now It’s okay Alison said it would happen and it does, but Thorne was expressing a great kindness, nothing ain and again, but now he feared that another I’m sorry would once more have the opposite effect and reaze flicked to the ratty brown leather sofa against the back wall adjacent to the bar Luken, the biggest of the warriors and as le He had a beer in one hand, propped on his thigh His eyes were closed The beer listed sideways and Luken snapped awake, righted it, then closed his eyes again

Santiago was slumped on one of the bar stools, and Zach was stretched out on the floor yawning

Thorne shook his head They’d battled all night, stayed up a little longer to be at baby Helena’s baptisht, you men," he called out "Head holed to their feet and with each lifting an arm, they disappeared Luken took his beer with hi or whatever the hell this is We’ll see you at ht, Jean-Pierre" The warrior worked a split shift so he could stay on guardian duty, so yeah, the brother had circles under his eyes

His gaze once more met Fiona’s "I’ht, okay?"

"Thank you, Warrior Thorne"

He got that sick feeling again but hell, he needed some sleep, too First, however, he had topicnic Okay, maybe one or two more belts before he folded to administrative headquarters

Endelle leaned her hips against heracross her ass but hardly h the thick boar’s-hide skirt she earing The thing was bristly as hell but she loved it In the past five ed much about her wardrobe except to add a little eh Administrator of the Superstition Mountain Seers Fortress, had actually inspired her; the oin’ on He made her feel like a fashion slacker

Other than her admiration, however, of the last leather enseuts He was a narcissistic care-for-nobody and she still didn’t have access to his Seers, the only Seers on the planet she was supposed to have access to

A century ago, COPASS had started establishing the rules of warfare between her faction and Greaves, but had sonty over the fortress She’d been future-blind for ten decades and it was thethe goddam war

Of course, all that wasn’t what troubled her in the here and now

She sighed, and the sound was a rush of wind through her administrative office Even the door rattled Yeah, she was just a little upset

And it was barely noon

She stared at the zebra-skin rug closest to her desk and flipped the edge with the pointed toe of her black stiletto

She alore stilettos