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Hector narrowed his eyes; then a calculating grin curled his fleshy lips "Go ahead Say what you like These oing to prove my case"

He held up his fist and theto say"

The ain,out at this point was funny Ridiculous

"I know you all think I’nored them "I’ve been inside those walls and I knohat kind of people the Sentinels are They’re the kind of people who shelter orphaned children The kind of people who lay their lives on the line every night so that you can all sleep safer in your beds" The h every one of you here would rather kill them than speak to them and learn the truth, if it was one of your kids at risk, one of your kids who had been orphaned, they’d take thees"

Thefrom one foot to the other She lowered her voice and watched as theseto hear what she had to say in her last ht, but you’re fighting the wrong war The Synestryn are our real enemy They’re the ones ant our blood Our children’s blood"

They were close enough now

Her fingers gripped the cold ernail between two of theht All she had to do ist her fingernail and pull and it would all be over She’d take all thesethe Sentinels and those they protected from the threat the Defenders posed

I love you, Zach She had to tell him once h the barrier easily this ti it away Power roared into her body like a tidal wave,her rock on her feet Her body see her feel stronger with every passing heartbeat

There was no more room inside her for fear or indecision She knew exactly what she needed to do, and thanks to her love for Zach, she had the power to do it

She felt Zach’s love wrap around her, war heat soaked into her and she was sure, if she looked, she’d be glowing

Her voice rose up, loud and strong, resonating with the energy that pulsed inside her She pulled in a deep breath, praying she could channel that power and control it "Every one of the Sentinels would sacrifice his or her life to save one of you" She scanned the crowd, looking each man in the eyes "And I am one of them Remember that when you tell your kids what you’ve seen here today Remember that a Sentinel once held the power of life and death over you And let you live"

With that, she used her newfound power to create a wall strong enough to hold in the force of the explosion, to channel it up into the sky Then she ripped apart thethe bomb strapped to her chest

Giant ha her body, but there was no pain An instant later, a searing wave of heat swept over her, burning everything away In her last brief, flashingher close, surrounding her, cradling her, staying with her to the very end Just as he’d proed to free hirab his sword fro after Lexi when he felt the barrier between the hi into his joints, but he hardly felt it His body was still nuh he’d nearly scraped the skin fro the ropes, there was no pain

Instead, he was surrounded by a soothing warmth as if Lexi held him in her arms

I love you, Zach, she whispered to his mind The words were tinted with acceptance of her decision Courageous resignation

Zach felt her eoing to detonate the device early Take as many of the Defenders doith her as she could He’d seen her plan glowing in her eyes--heard it in her voice as she asked Hector if he’d be willing to die for his people

So would I

Zach tried to shout a warning that he’d escaped and was co thesky and thunder rolled out over the land

"No!" shouted Zach as he raced toward her--toward the last place he’d felt all that love flowing from

A coluy of the explosion had been shoved into an invisible tunnel

He reached out with his round The echo of her love flowing through the luceria had not yet died off, but that was all that was left: a hollow echo dying to morbid silence as he ran

Chapter 25

Zach scra of rief warred within hione His sweet Lexi was gone

His lie pounding hard in his veins until it vibrated his bones Blood seeped fro the rocks slippery

The only consolation he had was that he’d be joining her soon Whatever life held for theh it together

But first, Zach was going to kill every one of those fuckers for taking Lexi fro he’d have before his tiet the job done

With his sword in his bloody hand, Zach stalked down the ridge, the ue The Defenders were packed around her, staring at the starburst of scorched earth and the crater that cradled her body

Her body? Surely after an explosion like that there wouldn’t be one

The urge to gather as left of her in his ar as his need for blood He wanted to feel the blood of these men splatter over his face, still hot with the life he was cutting from them He wanted to feel it drench his arms until it dripped fro the earth with his rage and grief

The Defenders hadn’t noticed his approach A satisfied smile stretched his lips and bared his teeth