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Riley’s severe head shake cut hiirls--"

"Will turn their backs Stop stalling You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before, you big baby"

Aden glanced over at the girls, and sure enough, they’d turned their backs So, with a sigh and flushed skin, Aden stripped Riley looked hiain Growled low in his throat

"Damn," he said as Aden hastily dressed "No wards"

"Did you check everywhere?" Victoria asked

Meaning his family jewels? Aden’s cheeks flamed

"Yeah, I checked there There are a few h" Riley checked behind his ears, in his hairline, under his ar

With a push to his shoulders, Aden flopped back into the seat Riley sat and lifted one of his feet, then the other Bingo, Aden thought, because Riley was shaking his head and studying both as if they held the secrets of the universe

"How?" Aden demanded "I would have known afterward, even if I wasn’t aware during" Wouldn’t he? "Walking would have hurt"

"No You arded twice, and one of them prevents foot pain After you woke up, you never would have felt a thing"

Dear God There really was a ward for everything "Youyou froainst mind manipulation Which means whoever warded you wanted your mind malleable Wanted to control you Probably has controlled you And if you’re having ood that he’s the one who did the warding"

Shock swept through him Shock and fury Hoould Hennessy have known to ward hi? What would he have wanted me to do?"

"We’ll pay him a visit tomorrow and find out"

If they were still alive, he didn’t add, but they were all thinking it

"As for now, I’ the words Then I’ll give you another anti your wards That way, he can’t negate ours like we’re doing to his Warning, though Notward because it et later, permanent And if another ward is ever added without your consent… Anyith you, with our circumstances, it’s worth the risk"

"Thank you" Aden was still numb with that shock, still on fire from the fury The dual sensations created havoc inside his head, the souls now equally nu answers "Will there still be time for the death-prevention ward?"

"We’ll make tionna need it" With that, Riley got back to work

TWENTY-FOUR

TUCKER HAD NEWS TO SHARE News he knew Vlad would hate, but share he would He had to His blood vibrated with a need he couldn’t fight

Why are you doing this? Stop, hisHe flew across thearound black rose bushes In the center of the property was a wide ring of cen Ale electrical pulse rose from it, and birds and insects stayed as far away as possible Like I want to do

As he had done a thousand ti, unnoticed by the few va in the dirt They saw only the golden sunshine around hie he projected at thele one of thehtened and sniffed the air

Hurry Tucker planted his feet inside two grooves of cerooves, the swirls around hi He continued to project sunlight, glaring bright…brighter…until the vaan to descend, slowly, slowly, lowering him into the earth, into the darkness No one would see the opening he left behind; he ht illu pit below, he sahat awaited hiround In fact, when the , one of those bodies was crunched, bones snapping The smell…metallic, as if blood had sprayed Rotten, as if the bodies were already deco

He wanted to vomit Was this the fate that awaited hi inside Without his weight, the platfor the circle above Darkness swathed him Such darkness He reminded himself that when he was ready to return, he had only to flatten his palain Until then…

"Who are these people?" he whispered

Vlad, always awake, never sleeping, heard him "They were unimportant slaves who outlived their usefulness, and you will dispose of theer, far less raspy than it had been during their other ht of them offends

"And you will bring me more"