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Cassie didn&039;t want to go through with the Pairing, and as the hour grew nearer, she felt worse Looking over her shoulder, she expected Cole to show up again, but he didn&039;t Cassie sat in front of a irl pulled her hair until Cassie&039;s scalp ached, but she didn&039;t care A sickening feeling crept froo on without her After all this time, there would be no one left to protect her here She was on her own from now on

Part of Cassie didn&039;t think Cole would leave without her, but the other part knew that he needed to She would just slow hiht, she knew she was There was nothing she lent to aiding in his escape There was no way to help Cole She&039;d just get hiently tapped the top of her head with a co to you Anyone home?"

Cassie blinked and came back to the present "Oh, sorry, Brianna I zoned out for a second" Cassie s?"

Brianna laughed, instantly assu reason for Cassie&039;s distraction, "You can&039;t stop thinking about him, can you?" Cassie didn&039;t reply It was easier to let Brianna think what she wanted "I was asking you if there was another guy that you&039;d rather be Paired with"

Cassie&039;s big brown eyes looked up at Brianna&039;s in the ht about it before" That wasn&039;t totally true, but she barely spoke to this girl In truth, Kahli was the only girl in palace that she&039;d felt like she could talk to With everyone else, it was afriendly, but she didn&039;t share her concerns or dreams, not that she had dreams anymore

Cassie was at the end of her life, of that she was certain If Kahli hadn&039;t saved her fronificant life - maybe a scrape or a bruise - or the birth of her child It killed Cassie to think about bringing a baby into this world, especially because she wouldn&039;t be there to protect and raise that child It was like they were livestock and nothing more That&039;s what humanity aspired to, and they seemed content

When Cassie was a child, before that bloody Deliverance Day that ended with her and Cole living in the palace, everyone hoped to live in the palace It was the place where humans were the safest There was no fear of the ele or food There was always a soft bed and plenty of blankets And they li It sounded like utopia back then, but noas different Cassie felt no different living here than she did at the old farm In the end, she was still just a body to be used how the vampires pleased Cassie was born into slavery and she would die that way

As she thought of these things, Brianna prattled on, "The guy with the brown hair and the dark eyes, what&039;s his name?"

"They all have brown hair and dark eyes," Cassie replied, trying not to sound snide, but she really wanted to laugh Kahli would have laughed "You&039;ll have to be more specific"

Brianna tapped the comb to her lip and had a far-away look in her eye "He&039;s na?"

"Chaucer," Cassie replied, knowing exactly who Brianna was talking about They lived in the palace together for years, but the guys were kept at a distance The only ti Chaucer had made an iuy was a poet, if there were such occupations anyht about it Chaucer was kind, but he wasn&039;t a push-over, either He was like Cole in soroup - but he wore his heart on his sleeve Cole hid everything, letting his pain fester inside

"Yeah! Hiushed "Oh my God His lips are so shtly," Brianna kissed her fingers It was sohetti ads A curvy woers to her lips and kissed the it for a while "Al dente!"

"Do you even knohat that

Brianna threw out a narrow hip and said, "Does it uys drool, and al dente just sounds awesome I&039;d like to be al dente"

"You are al dente We&039;re all al dente" Cassie s a little terse, more than she should have, "what does it mean, if you even know?"

"It means were done Finished Ready to be eaten" Cassie stared blankly in the mirror as she said it All the fun was sucked out of the air instantly

Brianna seeether, all ready"