Page 23 (2/2)

"And now you do?"

"Yes Because of you"

I snuggle closer to him

"Do you only have one heart like a hu about twin-blood physiology, and I want to know everything about Ash

"I only have one heart, like a hu’s second heart, so I guess whatever I have inside me, it’s a combination of both species"

"Best of both worlds?" I say

He chuckles "I never really thought of it like that before; I always thought it was the worst"

We stay wrapped in each other’s arms until the sun starts to set over the city Overhead the clouds turn heavy and black, threatening to stor to each other froion as they wake from their slumber Ash quietly listens

"Do you wish you were there with them?" I roll over ontothe only twin-blood in the city It’s"

"Lonely?" I fill in for him

He nods "But I don’t feel that way anymore"

He takes my hand and places it over his chest His heart beats steadily undera Blood Mate You’re alith me I’m never alone," he says

"Don’t you wish you could see your faht"

He tells ion I don’t knohy, but I’m suddenly filled with an irrational fear I don’t want hio, but I can’t tell hiur?" I ask

"He and ur just as the war broke out"

"That h on you and your father," I say

He sighs "It’s okay I think I finally understand she didn’t have a choice If she felt for Sigur what I feel for you, she had no option but to be with him"

"How did theyI’ain I’m just so curious about his life

"Before the war broke out, Moion Liberation Front, back when they were civil rights activists rather than freedohters," he explains "She really cared about the cause She even went to a sit-in at the Black City University, deht to an education"

"Wow, I can’t believe she was involved in that," I say, reur led the movement She was infatuated with him even before she ht it was just a silly celebrity crush Guess he rong Thing is, I think Mom would’ve left my dad eventually anyway"

"What ht about hts "

"And your father didn’t want that?"

"He thought it would be easier for rate if I was more human They never even asked what I wanted"

"And what did you want?"

"I wanted to be a Darkling I wanted to live with my mom when the ent up"

"Why didn’t you?"

Ash looks off into the distance "She never asked"

"I’lad you stayed We wouldn’t have met otherwise," I say

He kisses me then Softly, slowly, andevery part of me bloom into life When we eventually pull apart, he stands up and helpsaze "You promise you’ll come back towill keep us apart," he says

The storm clouds above us finally burst, and the first drops of rain splash against ht

21

ASH

THERE’S A LOUD CLUNK as the e I’ion! I didn’t tell Dad I was coht or that I was arrested It would just upset hih on his plate with Mouards appear in the entranceway, silhouetted in the ht They’re over seven feet tall and broad like bears Sigur stands between theh he isn’t as tall as they are, he exudes more power His pure white hair has been tied back with a bronze band, and he’s dressed in an intricately e eyes He’s not wearing his gold httime, so there’s no sun to burn his skin

He embraces me, and I tense up I’m not prepared to play the role of the dutiful Blood Son just yet; we’re a long way off fro area and close the atekeepers at the second set of gates, and they open The other escort faceslike h his face is sharp and angular, with a pointed chin and long nose

"After you," he says, bowing low

I step over the threshold

I’e, sickness--all the worst sur places a reassuring hand on h," he says, then turns to one of the guards "Go ahead and prepare a feast for uard nods and rushes on ahead

I breathe through hts around me We’re in a colossal shantytown, filled with thousands of ras I don’t even want to think about Outside every hut, ely, calling to h a warren of passageways and narrow streets I try and keep track of where we’re going, but soon lose et out of here on my own

The escort looks me up and down "Mmm Not so different frour explains

The two h, and my cheeks turn hot I’ve never considered ain, I’ve been raised around huather aroundmy best to look friendly They are, after all, my extended family They stare back at me ide, black eyes

My escort nods toward theet too close, twin-blood"

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