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His words pulled at her despite herself, despite how little she understood He looked so haunted in that instant that Lily was unable to resist the unfae to coan, but stopped short when soerous flickered across Tynan’s face It was a forceful re to kill her, it wasn’t much They were all vaends about therowl "I am no Ptolemy"

Lily blinked, confused both by his stateht--"

"I’h one with a very ih discussion What we need to knoon’t be found close by, and I don’t have "

She had no chance to either accept or deny it Tynan was at her side in a flash ofher by the arm to haul her frorip was like a vise, and the abrupt change in him surprised Lily into compliance She allowed herself to be pulled out the front door, struggling to keep up with Tynan’s long stride

He paused on the little walk outside the door, tipping his head back to scent the air Lily watched him with her heart in her throat She wasn’t sure which orse: to have this over and done with now, courtesy of Damien the psychopathic va for her A varoup of vampires who called themselves the Ptolemy? Ptolemy That name pricked at her memory She knew it fro Lily back to the present

He seemed satisfied hatever he had (or hadn’t) s so fast, she tried to stall But she’d already coled theht "In the car," he repeated, looking pleased for once when she was speechless It didn’t last long

"My purse," she began, taking a perverse sort of pleasure in his grimace even as he propelled her toward the car

"There’s nothing in it you’ll need"

"But… da in her heels as he switched froainst the strength he was exerting, and to her dis She whipped her head around to look at her house, the front door neatly closed, concealing the mess inside that would inevitably be discovered, and soon

It would look bad, very bad, to whoever found it They would know she was gone

They would think she was dead

Maybe she would be

"I have no clothes, no money, not even a dauish in her cry that probably stopped him He turned to look at her, those silver eyes, so very feline in the darkness, gleaht that could only have come from within Lily held out a , see hoas tearing her away from a life that she loved, a life that she needed, without even a ht--without even saying good-bye

"You pro me back," she said, desperate even for a believable lie "This is all I have"

She didn’t knohy she’d said it, why she’d told a coer the sad truth of her life But there it was, laid out for hi in the way he looked at her, soht well betray her But in that

"I promise you, I’ll return you once this is done But until then, you have your life, and you have s are all you’ll need Understood?"

Lily clung to that She had to "I… understand"

Heher into the passenger seat before Lily could collect her thoughts enough to say another word As the engine started and Tynan backed quickly out of the driveway, all she could think was that no matter what happened after this, the life she’d loved, that she’d so carefully built, was over as she’d known it There was, however, the faintest gliet to know, finally knohat she’d been cursed with all these years She ht even discover how to contain it, control it, and, of course, use it to escape once she’d come up with a viable plan

She stayed silent as they tore off down her street, leaving her house and all the trappings of her existence it contained behind thele, treacherous tear escaping to trail down her cheek