Page 19 (1/2)

"Oh daot"

Nine reaches under his chair and produces a bottle of cha in a bucket of ice I shoot a quick look at my dad, but it doesn’t look like he’s in the lass Quickly, Nine circles around the table, pouring for everyone Even Ella gets a little bit

"Where did this coht asks

"My secret stash Don’t worry about it" Finished pouring, Nine raises his glass "To Henri"

Everyone raises their glasses and toasts Henri He keeps it together well, but I can tell John is touched by the gesture He looks down the table and gives Nine a small nod of thanks Hell, even I’m a little surprised by Nine--between this and our little heart-to-heart in the doorway earlier, Ito uys should recruit the entire town of Paradise to fight for us," Five says "It sounds like a real alien-friendly place"

"We should get that on buht Aliens at Paradise High School’"

"I can go next," Six says She keeps her story quick, starting with her capture with Katarina,quickly to her escape

"To Katarina" This tilasses again and we drink to Six’s fallen Cêpan

"And that’s why you don’t post shit on the internet," Nine says, referring to Six’s story, but aiazes back at Nine, saying nothing

"You were both close with your Cêpans," Marina speaks up "My story is a little different"

Marina tells us about growing up in Spain, how her Cêpan Adelina basically neglected her, not giving her the training or knowledge that the other Garde take for granted I’m kind of stunned that a Loric would behave that way It’s never occurred to me that they could shirk their responsibilities It could be a really bitter story, but the way Marina describes it is sadder than anything else Her voice gets hen she talks about Hectór, the human who took it upon himself to protect her In a weird way, the story al her duties even if it uess that’s not super happy, actually, but the way Marina tells it lass "To Hectór and Adelina," he says

Nine goes next Apparently, it was Nine’s fault that everything fell apart in his life He fell for a huadorians, and she led hilosses over what happened to the soo down in West Virginia, the dark look in Nine’s eyes when he finishes doesn’t surprise me at all

"To Sandor," John says

"To Sandor and his chaets a sot lucky," Five says to John, jerking his thu spy too"

"Hey," Sarah replies "Not cool"

"They forced her," growls Nine, referring to the girl he’d fallen for "No huly work for those sons of bitches"

"Except the governents that transported inia to Dulce

Nine turns to me "Well, any human that’d ith those albino ash-ht ," John says "I have to believe that most humans, if they knew the truth, would be on our side"

"I used to distrust huht "Reynolds, my Cêpan, was betrayed by a woet over that, but eventually I caood of huoes on to tell us how he learned to control his Legacies, and that he eventually caers who believed hiadorians knew his location, they weren’t able to get to him because of a huht, nodding, looking like soreat," he says "You tricked theods"

"I didn’t ret not being more honest"

"You shouldn’t," continues Five "I reat if you can, like, make friends with the humans like John and Marina did Otherwise, better to have thelances over at Nine "Better to be in control than blindly chasing pretty huirls around"

Nine leans forward, like he’s about to get out of his seat "What’re you trying to say?"

"Mistakes have been made," John interjects carefully, "but we need to re the same eneht this battle alone"

"To hulass Everyone looks at ht-headed

It’s tense for adown Five Ella raises her hand "I’d like to share," she says

Her story is unlike any of the others I’ve heard She wasn’t sent to Earth with the other Garde Instead, her rich weirdo father shoved her onto a spaceship along with the fa around the table, I get the sense that not even some of the other Garde have heard this whole story John looks particularly confused and Six listens intently

"Wow, Ella," John says "When did you learn all this?"