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The King surveyed his cha on the blood that stained the roo its previously perfect appearance There was no way he&039;d survive this if he didn&039;t act fast Still bleeding, he left his roo walked toward the irl - the one Kahli protected frohtfully his

Cassie

The King pushed into the chauards as he went When he found her rooirl fast asleep The King towered over Cassie, his slender for body

When Cassie awoke, she gasped Pulse pounding, she inched back in the bed until her back pressed against the headboard Her frantic heartbeat rang in his ears The King grabbed Cassie by the throat and yanked her froled, her hands frantically clutching at her neck trying to rip free froirl, he dropped her to the floor Cassie sucked in air and tried to scream for Will, for Kahli, for anyone, but she was totally alone Kahli had not coht, and her horrible roommates hadn&039;t come to bed

Cassie cowered The blood that covered the King scared her, and although her ether yet, her body did He was dangerous, more so than last time Last time there was no blood Last time he only wanted flesh This time was different Blood and burn marks marred his skin Cassie knew that this wasn&039;t a weak, ane him wasn&039;t only his She didn&039;t kno she knew, but Cassie could tell She could s black tar that nor&039;s blood was scarlet

"What&039;d you do with her?" Cassie hissed, but the King didn&039;t answer He grabbed her nightshirt and pulled her to her feet

"I&039;ve had a rather unpleasant night," he said as if he were addressing a ent He wiped the back of his hand across his bloodstained lips, "So, if you don&039;t mind, I&039;ll ask the questions, and you will answer"

Cassie h the halls and into the main corridors They passed the &039;s side of the palace Before disappearing into his usual place, he stopped This was important and required tact and diploers to his te hard he snapped his fingers at her like she was a dog "Up Walk in front"

Cassie sed the lu Her bare feet were cold against the marble floor When they finally stopped in front of a door, she didn&039;t knohether to be happy or scream Just before Cassie stepped into the roo in the shadows of the archway across fro pushed Cassie through the door and closed it behind the bookcases filled with artifacts, but hardly any books A fire was raging in the hearth, wared froh she tried to stop Gripping her hands in her lap, she sat where the King indicated, in front of the fire

This is iht to hio One or two irls were easy to hide - an accident or a sudden illness ht there were already three irls, and Will To make matters worse, each and every one of theirlspoke her full na tone, "please don&039;t be afraid" Before Cassie could think, so thick and warm - like hot syrup - poured over her eh her body melted She stared at the fire, unable to think Cassie watched the fla paced His co was pleased to see Cassie succuood,walked toward her, lifting his hands as he explained, "It&039;s rather siet this night" Cassie nodded, her eyes unblinking and staring straight ahead

"Very good" The King walked behind Cassie and stood Hooking his fingers on the back of her chair, he said, "I want you to think before you respond Try to search every memory before you answer It is important that you tellthat had slipped over her was changing Instead of feeling like a war her The display of poasn&039;t lost on her Cassie&039;s body was still in fight or flighther to flee, but herfor the question, wanting to answer it with every fiber of her being The willingness shocked her Her heart raced faster

"Did Kahli have any kind of friendship with Will Tatum?" the question was siile h blood to compel her for weeks, but even as he asked, he could feel the power draining fro kneould need that power to find the wild girl - Kahli She&039;d killed two guards and taken off on a snowafter her Or acco her He needed to knohich one

For the longest time, he was certain of the boy, but when he saw the expression in his eyes, when Will took off, running after the wild girl, he wasn&039;t so sure Fear flashed in the young Will&039;s eyes, but fear of what? That hat he needed to know His gut told him that Will saw the drained bodies behind him - that he saw the blood spilled on the floor The boy knew of his power, of his ways for a long time, but he&039;d never reacted like that before Every year the King had his ith a few of the girl&039;s in the Queen&039;s court He did as he pleased, unknown to the Queen, and he drank directly froer until it was difficult to hide his power The King&039;s lust for blood grew as his power increased More bodies were required to sate his thirst, but when he tasted Kahli that changed

After aany inflection, "No He was her Handler He took her blood She didn&039;t like it" Cassie fought the urge to delve deeper into herwalked in front of the chair and leaned close to Cassie&039;s face The pale girl didn&039;t s for him?"