Page 52 (1/2)

But Petey’s sudden excitement and the fact that he bolted out s, paws on the railing, whi his chops, filled me with a tiny bubble of hope

"What’s out there, boy?" I looked across the treetops to the grassy field "Is it hiround, then ran to my bedroom door

I pocketed the locket and followed hiers wrapped the handle slowly There was no way Jason could be alive No way I saw him die I watched hirated in the turn, and I beca the door slowly towardthere

"Rolf!" Petey brushed pastaround the stairwell

"Petey? Wait"

He didn’t wait

"You okay?" Quaid asked

"Ur, yeah" I blinked a few ti every square inch of the corridor "Was…did you see anyone out here?"

"Nope Why?"

"Oh No reason"

He looked to where Petey had run "That dog’s mad, Ara He probably just ran off ‘cause he needed some private tiainst it,in my throat, then reached into ht I’d see it again A part of uess I hoped Jason had taken it to his grave with hi silently, I looked down at my bare feet and jeans, then flattened my hair with my hands a little I needed to follow Petey, which ain "Quaid?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you doaround "I am on duty, so, I can’t leave my post But what is it?"

"Um" I screwed ot that girlie time of the month"

Quaid went totally stiff, wide eyes and all "Oh Right"

"Yeah, um, and…I don’t have any tao down to the Medic rooet me some?"

His eyes shifted to the end of the corridor then back to his feet, anywhere but my face "I…you know I’ht here I swear In fact, I’ll be in the shower--" I looked down, keeping half o anywhere while I have blood dripping down h for Quaid I’d never seen black skin go so white He turned stiffly away, taking wide steps down the corridor

I ran back to my bathroo it behindQuaid to leave the tampons on led like a curious puppy

"Don’t judge, Petey You’d have done the saroan and turned away, his tail knockingrabbed an and followed hih the bathrooht I did, he wouldn’t He’d be too afraid ht be descriptive

Petey trotted down the quiet, e close to the wall,around at this hour, should anyone catch me But I owned the breath of relief I took e reached the Great Hall and tiptoed over the shiny wood floors, past the partially-set breakfast table and into the garden, unnoticed

Staff were busy all around theroses, the round floor and there were several people at the far end of theup and down the stone steps leading to the kitchen Breakfast wafted out through that door with the horoaned, but my heart juh the dirt path between the trees of the forest and caainst the h the base was darkened by dawn’s shadow still, I was sure no one was sitting there Petey, however, was not convinced He charged forward, and I followed, glad I hadn’t been sucked into the enchanted forest The sun was probably high enough now to class this as , not dawn Either that or the forest saw iven that I was One with Mother Nature now

"Petey?" I called "Wait for er, and infrom the headaches, I’d lost so and puffing, and folded over to grasp ?" a humoured voice said

My mouth popped open and I rolled incredibly slow to stand,in tearful disbelief around dark hair, intense green eyes and a slacier "Jason?"

"In the flesh" He flashed a grin

He looked so sassy and so boyish, leaning against the tree in a pinstripe jersey and a blue Yankees cap I didn’t knoas a Yankees fan

"What surprises youhis shirt out from his chest a little "That I’ hand rose slowly to cover to my lips "What are you…how are you…?"

"Whoa" He rushed in, scooping round "It’s okay It’s all right"

"No" I cried into his collar, cuppingmy thumb over his hair at the back just to see if he was real "You’re dead I watched you die"

He squeezed hter "I know I’m sorry you had to see that"

"But…I…" He se chocolate, just powdery fabric softener and a light hint of so scent in the world My hu here?"

"Well," he said, his voice vibrating through his throat against e nuhed and continued "And, I mean, what could I say to that? I shouldn’t be here, and quite frankly,for this" He half laughed "But I needed to be with you That phone call just cemented it"

I rolled reen eyes "I thought I’d get voicemail"

"I know I heard, and I also heard the pain in your soul through only the whisper of your voice" His eyes see that hurt really badly "I knowhere stuffs up everyone’s plans, but I couldn’t leave you alone any longer"

"Where have you been? What…how are you alive?"

He smiled--his secret smile "I was never dead, Ara I had to fake ain Now that you’re queen, only you can do that, and even then…" He shook his head, s down at me

"So…but, the venoone in

"Created veno blurry and ultihed "Damn needle broke off in my chest, too"

"Really?"

"Yeah" He tapped it "Do you have any idea how hard it was to get that thing out by ; the way breath left his body and he stilled, as though he had no life left, and the way I said goodbye, accused hi the worst kind of monster In fact, I’m pretty sure I may have even condemned him to Hell But it was all kind of fuzzy "Could you hear as said once you…fainted?"

He grabbed my hand and held it softly "It’s okay, Ara I tortured you, beat you,you said or did to me after that was fair"

I shook my head "No, it wasn’t You helped me You…you saved me from so much worse"

He stroked irl Nothing like that will ever happen to you again"

I nodded, cupping ainst my cheek "Does Arthur know you’re alive?"

"Yes"

My mouth fell open, dry, my lips numb

"He couldn’t tell you, Ara"

"Why?"

"A few reasons"