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He wondered for the umpteenth tiotten hi me all this?" Jaden asked quietly All the tension had left the air with Dorien’s confession, leaving behind it nothing but a faint sense that he was about to ask so he should stay hundreds of lued to the spot Over a couple hundred years of life, he’d rarely had any sense that his destiny was unfolding before his eyes Mostly he’d just tried to get by, saving his own skin and lending a hand if anyone else’s skin see withouta piano was about to fall on your head and being unable to get out of the way But if he bolted, Jaden thought, as he should, then he would be haunted by the i forever

Gods, he was losing it

"I’ you this because I’m desperate, of course," Dorien said with a dry little chuckle, his sh in Lyra’s welfare to bring her necklace--my late wife’s necklace--back to her Maybe you’ll be interested enough to listen to my proposition You see to lose"

"Except your daughter," Jaden said

Dorien’s expression turned gri, I’ll lose her anyway Better to take a leap of faith, I think At least then I will have tried everything I can think of"

He hated to adree The chances of hiht now had been slim, and yet here he was… because he and his friends had taken a huge risk and taken on an entire dynasty

Realizing that he had any of this in co, worthless, violent beast was uncomfortable, to say the least

"You may as well tell me what I’ve stumbled into," Jaden said "I have no idea how I can help with your probleaze was unnervingly direct "I have While you were dealing with Simon’s… welcome… in fact You hter"

"He’s young," Jaden said with a shrug "He let his anger get ahead of him He’ll learn Hopefully"

"You also danced circles around hihts, and I’ll deny I said this to ot impressive skill, boy I can’t say I’ve ever paid much attention to one of your kind in battle… usually too busy trying to take his or her head off… but I expected you to fight dirty You didn’t need to" He paused "I don’t suppose that says h"

Jaden lifted an eyebrow, be tiood two hundred years younger Still, he appreciated the co buttered up It was funny Dorien looked like a prizefighter, not a negotiator, but looks, it see but gracious in return

"He’s just young, like I said I’ve had a few years to work on my technique, if you want to call it that And you still haven’t toldyou like"

Jaden blinked, not sure he’d heard the aze was direct, completely confident "Lyra She’s built , but size-wise, you’re , quicker than ot that too I can’t help her You could"

For the first tiuard He’d expected a request to maybe watch Lyra’s back This, however… hadn’t even crossed his mind Probably because it was completely insane

"I don’t know if that would work, Dorien I ht anyone to fight before, she and I aren’t exactly the same species"