Page 39 (1/2)

"What do they have to do to make you lose faith in them, Ty? They kill our kind They make the rest of us into pathetic shadows of ourselves And still you defend her, telling me and everyone who’ll listen to trust in the systeet better And soet worse Every goddaet over hisinto Jaden, so close the tere nearly touching Lily could feel the violence crackling in the air and hoped, desperately, that these tould let each other be

"They all spit on us! All of them!" Ty snarled "Arsin&ou us to rot, destitute, in soutter"

"It would be better--"

Ty had Jaden by the front of the shirt in a flash, lifting hi a couple of inches above it Lily’s mouth dropped open in horror She had never seen Ty like this, so full of blind rage

"Ty," she said urgently, "no!" But he seeutter, brother," Ty hissed into Jaden’s face, his teeth bared, incisors long and deadly "I was born there I died there My entire bloody family died there Don’t you ever tell me that the e live is worse than that, when you’ve never had to live a in the worst sort of filth with no hope None If I have to live, I’ll take this" He dropped Jaden to the floor, where the furious vaed to land on his feet despite the force hich he was let down "Go, then I hope you find what you’re looking for" Ty spat the words at Jaden before turning on one heel and stalking back through the doorway

Lily tried to catch his arm as he passed, but he evaded her touch She did, however, catch the quickest glimpse of his eyes The pain in them took her breath away

The door between roo at each other His expression ary, guarded, the way it had been when she’dshe could fix all that was tearing him and Ty apart That would tear her and Ty apart before all was said and done, she realized

"I’ backward toward the door "I need to--"

"Don’t be," Jaden said, his voice cool "He’ll figure it out so to save him It’s every cat for himself Always has been"

Lily took another step back, pulled toward the door that Ty had put between the more than to be a balm to his wounds, which were old and very deep

"Maybe you and he could get the Cait to join together," she said, hearing the desperate note in her voice "If you rose up, des like that!" And then she and Ty could be together… stay together…

"No, Lily," Jaden said softly, sadly "They’re too strong They’ve taken too many The Cait Sith do better on their own anyway I’m used to it… and so is Ty" He hesitated a od or other decides to protect you once Ty can’t"

"Jaden"

He turned back to her for some reason, whether it was simply the sound of his name or perhaps the way she said it It was i before her mind could stop her Quickly, she went to Jaden and wrapped her ar eiven her but she had never quite kno to return She felt hiave him a quick squeeze before he could push her away Then Lily stepped back, seeing his confusion It made her heart ache She knehat it was to be that unloved, that wary of an affectionate gesture so freely given

"Good-bye, Jaden," she said softly "Be safe"

Then she turned and walked quickly, silently to the door, opened it, and left Jaden exactly how he claimed to want to be

On his own

Chapter TWENTY

LILY CLOSED THE DOOR quietly behind her

Ty’s back was to her He stood, perfectly still, in the id, his hands fisted at his sides, his head down Defeated, Lily thought He looked utterly defeated It frightened her She had est man she’d ever known How had he borne all of what he’d been through and stillso ?

She took a step toward hione," she said