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Beetle nervously rakes a hand through his tangled brown hair Ash nudges him

"Ask her," he whispers

"Do you want to come to my birthday party?" Beetle blurts out to Day

"What?" Day sta, don’t worry," he says

"Were you being serious?"

He nods, not looking at her "It just won’t be the same without you there"

She thinks about it for a ht I’ll cos--"

"There won’t be, I pro clean," he says

"And Ash isn’t there," she continues

"He’s es her "You can’t keep avoiding me just because you don’t like Ash I don’t like your friend, but I’d be willing to hang out with her"

"I’m so honored," I hs "Only if Natalie coh out of you kids! Get a ot all day," Mr Lewis scolds as he leads us through the ticket office and into the exhibitions

"Ladies first," Beetle says to Day, letting her through the turnstile

She rolls her eyes, but a slight soes next At the exact same time, Ash and Ielectric shocks shivering right down to ertips Ash inhales sharply, like he felt them too There’s an aard moment, then Ash steps back

"After you," he says softly

As Ash follows h the turnstile, a dark thrill caressesme Sebastian catches up withme away froht?" he says toparanoid earlier Does Sebastian suspect I have feelings for Ash? "Fine," I snap back

Day hurries after us

The first rooed around is a new exhibition on Purian Rose I occasionally scribble down a few notes, in case Mr Lewis tests us on it later

"Isn’t it fascinating?" Sebastian says as alk past the orks of Purian Rose

The exhibit charts his overnh to the present day, where he is the head of church and state Soed to find the tiainst the Darklings That ork frightenson top of a pile of dead Darklings, the victor in the "war against corruption"

"He’s a true inspiration," Sebastian continues "I hope to achieve as much one day"

"How can you admire him when you knohat he did to my family?" I say

Day looks at me with curiosity I never told her the full story of why Polly was tortured and my father killed

"He alks on the path of sin will suffer the wrath of His Mighty," Sebastian says, quoting the Book of Creation

I’ Polly and ot what they deserved?

"Who are you?" I say

"I’ve just had my eyes opened to the corruption around me, Natalie," he says

We carry on with the tour I crossat Sebastian How can he be so callous? He cared for Polly, once upon a tiitated and bored as his brother stops to inspect every exhibition

We enter a dimly lit, semicircular room filled with stuffed dead aniiant wolflike creature with beautiful soft gray fur, a winged Nordin Darkling skeleton, the skull of a catlike creature with long saber teeth, and a ork of a Wrath, which sends tre at the skull of the catlike creature

"That’s a Bastet," Sebastian says

I read the inforin: Es

These rare creatures were once falsely worshipped as gods They grow to six feet in height, and live in prides of up to two hundred Bastet venos and has been found to contain traces of the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio necrosis

"Gross," I mutter

"Look, this is pretty cool," Sebastian says, pressing the cat’s saber teeth They retract into the skull cavity "They do that to prevent their fangs fro," Day says

"That’s what makes Bastet ivory so valuable; it’s imbued with the venom People used to make ornaments and jewelry from them Obviously Bastets are very rare these days; the poachers took most of them"

I inspect the other animal exhibits as Sebastian and Day chat The aniwatched

A flash of blue catches my eye from the display tothere Stop spooking yourself, Buchanan!

Sebastian stops talking His hand curls around the hilt of his sword

"Is everything all right?" I say to hi

There’soff to one of the other roo dealer Linus

"Stay close," Sebastian says toI can sense a Darkling nearby," Sebastian replies

Day looks at ," Sebastian says

We round the bend, anda smoke with Beetle Wisps of s ue over those lips, taste the sh "False alar him that," I say

A sensation like molten lead suddenly leaks into my stomach and scorches ht Ash looks in my direction, alarmed He’s by my side in a heartbeat, Beetle soon behind

Sebastian draws his sword, pointing it at Ash

"A Darkling’s hunting her I can sense hiht," Ash says to him

"Where is it?" I ask Ash, terrified

"I don’t know," he says, surveying the rooo look for it," Sebastian says

"No! Don’t leave es of Truffles’s bloodied body pop into et rid of it," Sebastian says

"I have an idea Do you trust me?" Ash asks me

I look up at his beautiful, earnest face My heart contracts