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"I don’t like this," said Thomas "She should have a choice"

Drake lifted a dark brow "Would you feel the same way if she could bond with you?"

Thoer "She should have a choice," he repeated, this tih clenched teeth

"She has as much of a choice as we did She is a Theronai She has to take her rightful place"

"She doesn’t even knohat the hell you’re talking about," said Helen "What is a Theronai and why do you think I aaze et e touch?"

Boy, did she "Yeah"

"That’s how I knohat you are Logan sensed it as well You’re like ht the Synestryn--thosehumans from them"

"And you think I’ to hide her incredulity

"I know you are," said Drake

"But I thought all the feo," said Carmen

"They were," replied Drake "I don’t kno Helen got here, but that’s one of the things we’re going to figure out"

Helen pushed to her feet, tired of being talked about when they should have been talking to her "Excuse uy knockedmystery there"

"But you shouldn’t exist," said Drake

"Then ination, in which case, you shouldn’t care whether or not I go with Miss Mabel"

Drake let out an exasperated breath "That’s it I’ to lay this out for you nice and neat so there won’t be any confusion"

Helen did not like the way this was sounding at all Nor did she like the way Drake was prowling closer to where she stood She took a step nearer to Thomas

"You don’t want to do this, Drake," warned Tho out of tiht, it ain Do you really want Kevin’s sword out there that long? Assu we’re able to find it at all"

"You know I don’t, but this isn’t the way to deal with her We’ll take her back to Dabyr and let Joseph straighten this out"

"Joseph would go straight to the Sanguinar I’ another one of those bloodsuckers near her Not after what Logan did"

Helen had to agree with him there She didn’t want any bloodsuckers--whoever or whatever they were--near her, either So about her offering to give blood

Thomas placed a thick ar to shove her behind hiht to do this"

"I’ to Thory stare that had her wondering just exactly what he meant to claim

Drake took a predatory step forward and Thoht be other Theronai who are compatible with her who need herher"

"Okay," said Helen "No one’s keepingenough So questions or I’ht now, even if I have to carry Miss Mabel"

"We don’t have time," said Drake

"Make tiht to knohat she’s getting into"

Drake’s jaw clenched "We both knoould take years for her to know everything"

"How about we start with some basics?" said Helen "What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Help us find our dead friend’s lost sword"

"Why? What’s so ierous," said Drake

"Dangerous in ways other than the obvious?"

"If a human stumbles across it, it would raise all kinds of inconvenient questions about its origin--questions that would get innocent people killed And if a Synestryn found it, they could shatter the blade and release the twisted souls of countless evil creatures--those Kevin killed in his six and a half centuries of battle The scales are already tipped too far in favor of the Synestryn Losing the su"

Six and a half centuries of battle? "You make it sound like you’re at war," said Helen

"We are"

"And yet no one knows? That see our job well--hiding the war from humans as best we can"

"If you hide the war from humans, then what do you think a puny hu, manly men can’t?"

Drake’s mouth twisted like he didn’t want to say the words "We think you’re special"

Helen held back a snort of disbelief by sheer force of will "Special how?"

"That feeling you get e touch? I think it means you havepowers"

This tih "Really Don’t you think I’d know if that was true?"