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Loud voices sound outside the cell, and a second later, the steel door bangs open and a tall Darkling sweeps into the roo a his furious face Blackened claw e eyes His good eye flicks fro of Synth-O-Blood in the E on

"Untie him immediately!" he orders

"I don’t think so," the Emissary says "He’s a suspect in aoverdose It was foolish, but it wasn’t e of that," the E deive you the right to cour’s top lip curls, but he coives a satisfied sh I can tell every word is a struggle, "there has been aThis boy is innocent It would be a step toward reconciliation between our two species if you let hi up her options If Sigur Marwick has personally come here to de another conflict between our species, over uards bring in ur through the maze of corridors to the entrance hall The elevator doors ping open, and Natalie rushes into the hall

"Ash! Martha told hty, you’re--" She notices Sigur and fear flashes across her face

He sweeps past Natalie without a second glance I want to hug her, tell her everything is okay, but I can’t in front of Sigur I follow hilistens alur asks

"I’ll live How did you knoas here?"

"My lieutenant has been tracking you She contacted me when she sahat happened," he replies

I knew so me earlier!

He studies me for a moment

"You look just like Annora," he says quietly

I inhale sharply at the ur stretches out his hand, beckoning me

I hesitate Snow silently falls in the space between us, and a h my head, mostly ways I want to kill him This is the man who tore my family apart Even so, I’m curious to knohat he wants Plus, he did just save your skin I sigh and reluctantly go with hih the city streets, and I tell hiation

"I don’t understand why she was so desperate to blaed to interrogate me herself," I say

"The Eh why she wanted to blalad you were not hurt When my lieutenant told me what had happened, I feared the worst"

"Why did you ask her to follow ur stops and turns to old mask, so I can still see his face His skin and hair are so white, he alainst the snow

"You’re Annora’s son Your safety is important to me"

I don’t knohat toWe approach the town square, and Sigur stops beneath the three crosses, rerelated to you?" I ask Sigur, reape at him "And you allowed therettable, but she knew the law There’s nothing I could have done; she was clearly guilty of her crime"

"You could’ve deuards to snatch her, you--"

"I cannot go breaking the law, not now that boundary negotiations have started with the Ehtest chance we can expand our territory, I have to take it My people desperately need ur touches the wooden cross His hand smokes and burns, but he doesn’t move it "She understood"

This is exactly why I hate him so much! If it had been Natalie up there, I would have done anything to save her My heart trelances curiously at me Can he hear it?

Across the square from us, the ancient clock in the school’s tallest spire chi that school so close It torur says

"Because they’re teuess we ur shakes his head "I have ordered theuards must obey my word, or the word of my kin, like you It is our law," he says

I raise a quizzical brow "I’ law Annora is my Blood Mate; you are her son That makes you my Blood Son The bond between us is just as close as if you were born of ive a noncommittal smile, not really sure how to feel about that I already have a dad, but I have alondered what it would be like to have a Darkling father, to have sour for splittingthat hard to do If he hadn’t persuaded the E executed for Chris’s death for sure He saved ates, and the Legion guards stand at attention

"One moment," he says to them, and turns to look at , but how is your mother these days?"

"Is that meant to be a joke?"

"A joke? No, I don’t think so, but I don’t quite understand human humor"

Is he for real? Then it dawns on ur sways, and the Legion guards rush forward, but I grab him first and help hiht that hy you banished her," I say

Sigur shakes his head

"Then why?" I say

Sigur struggles to speak, his voice choked with eht"

"About what?"

"You" The words are barely a whisper "I wanted you to come and live with us She said she couldn’t do that to your father--you were all he had left So I e eyes on me "She picked your father"

"So you banished her frohs "When she didn’t get in touch with me these past weeks, I assumed she was still furious I didn’t know"

Mohabout her all this tiur says

"Not long"

Sigur stares off into the distance, his face blank as he tries to digest it all He stands up and walks a few paces away