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"You need not be so greedy YouAlthough I cannot guarantee either of the tiain and, as before, she seemed calm and lucid Not a hint of madness Just cold calculation "And the old man is likely to attract quite a bit of attention upon arrival"

The e was clear, and Victoria’s stomach contracted The vampires would be on Kritanu the moment he arrived She looked at Max and read the comprehension in his expression He, on the other hand, would be relatively safe

Until Lilith got her hands--and fangs--on him

Victoria’s mouth dried The deter at the first opportunity Even before she had a chance to arrive with an item to barter And even thenit was impossible to believe that Lilith would release all of the

"Take me instead," Victoria said, suddenly calm She was the one ore two vis bullae; she was the one best equipped to hold off the va for her soul And the one who knew of the secret passageway "Take le syllable exploded in tandenored them, even as Sebastian jolted the table and chair to which he was bound, trying to use brute force to pull free She looked at Sara "I am more valuable than he is," she said with a nod at Max "He’s useless and weak now Lilith won’t want him without his power And I ahting her eyes "An interesting idea"

"Victoria, no!" Sebastian jerked harder at the table A pool of blood splattered to the floor "Don’t be a fool Victoria" His last as an agonized co there in the room, in the taut silence that had descended

Then"Dah he had no breath His eyes were black pits, and she could see the renewed tension in his arms as he steadied Kritanu there "You cannotbe so foolish"

"I cannot retrieve the ring without your assistance," Sebastian added suddenly "You et to it"

Victoria could see the calculation in Sara’s eyes, could fairly hear herWhich would put her in the best favor with Lilith, which coreatest leverage

Refusing to look at either of her two coer to be traded for theleam in her eyes, "then I a And at that time, I’m certain we can accommodate your wishes to be traded" Her dimple flashed "You have two hours"

Victoria looked directly at Max, though her words wereI’ll be there"

After Sara and George left, with Max carrying his burden between them, Victoria returned to Sebastian’s side to cut away his restraints Long before he was loose, his unrab her ar?" he said, gripping hard, shaking her "How could you do such a thing?"

"It didn’t work, did it?" she replied sharply, still cutting ferociously

My God, they had been taking no chances with hiht, she was surprised he could breathe And all the blood, oozing fro the look in Sara’s eyes She would have butchered each of them, piece by piece She released Sebastian’s left hand, bloody and er "I’ers closed around her hand

"It’s nothing," he said "She didn’t get the parts that enuine all the sa-questioned herois a "

"Of course I do, Sebastian!" She was horrified that he would even suggest such a thing that she stepped away "I should have gone in the first place"

"Are you addled? You’re Illa Gardella!" He pulled to his feetover her His eyes burned golden as he took her shoulders "What will happen to the Venators if you’re killed, or captured? You can’t" He wrapped her against hi of blood and sweat and Sebastian "You can’t"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>