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"You don’t need to be here," I say, my voice choked with ehtly kisses rief, I ache for her

"I love you, Ash Letmy hand, she leads me to the bed We cli a channel between us Soul Sharing All my emotions instantly flood into her,it with me so I don’t have to suffer it alone

I stroke her skin, kiss her lips, runher There’s no eers and lips explore each other’s bodies We silently reering look at her before lying down and pulling her toward ainst mine, like we’re two halves of the same whole

"I love you, Ash," she says

"I love you too," I say "So begins ins our life," she whispers back, reht we first kissed on Beetle’s barge

"Everlasting," we say together

The Blood Vow We’re now united under Darkling law

I tilternail down ently licks the blood away

Sitting up, Natalie scoops her hair to one side to reveal the two puncture wounds on her neck I hesitate, reht," she whispers "I trust you"

I lightly scratch the scars with the tips ofthe wound, and press ue It takes allour bond

She lies back down, and without another word, I entle as possible She lets out a sht of nerves vanish as we kiss each other and let instinct guide our way

Later, I hold Natalie as she dreah I wish I could I know Dad will be knocking onh the open , hitting the bell with aThe air smells fresh, rinsed Mom would’ve liked it From the stories Dad told me, I know she loved the rain Natalie stirs, and I kiss her head

I get out of bed and walk to theThe chilled night air prickles my skin, and I shiver, but I don’t turn from the cold I stare across the cityscape toward the Boundary Wall, which carves its way through the center of the city like a concrete spine

The city is deathly still Lights are out, streets are eo over to the sink in the corner ofthe dirt and blood out of it, thinking about the twin-blood boy I wish I’d known he was in the city I would’ve visited hi hiiven me hope that maybe there are eline

I return to the archway and tiltinhowl, singing my sorrow for allis picked up by another Darkling, then another, until the entire city is alive with their unearthlyback "We love you"

Natalie stirs

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you," I say

"It’s okay," she replies sleepily

There’s a soft knock at my door

Natalie pulls the covers around herself as Dad enters the roo

I’m surprised to see he’s shaved off his beard, and he seeht of the world has lifted off his shoulders He’s wearing a sray robe, the one he saves for funerals

"It’s time," he says

30

ASH

WE WAIT BY THE IRON GATES as the Legion guard goes to infored in the bole squad of Sentry guards patrols it We held back until they went on their rounds before approaching the gates

Natalie peers up at the Legion guards patrolling the wall

"Don’t worry--they won’t hurt you," I say softly "They’re not allowed to attack unless Sigur or his kin orders it"

The iron gates open, and we step inside the Legion It’s even worse than I remember Debris fro earth, and nu black eyes peer at us fros as I cradle Mom’s body in ot her on their wedding day He keeps resting his hand on her,words under his breath as if she can hear hihts and s for us, surrounded by two dozen guards She stares atNatalie steps closer to eline nods toward the es who have come out of their homes, lured by our hu them away from us Dad mur brushes past es for Natalie, sinking its fangs into her leg She screauards pulls the child off Blood drips down Natalie’s shin, and the Darklings howl

"Move!" the lead escort says to us

We run to the boat I hold on to Moht Natalie here; it was selfish What was I thinking? Dad takes her hand and guards her I give hi out a throaty growl The Darklings back off iry they are He glares at Natalie

"What is she doing here?" he says

"She’s with eline lets out a derisive snort

"You should not have brought her here You’ve put us all at great risk," Sigur says

"Please, I need her You of all people should understand," I reply

Sigur glances briefly at my heart So he can hear my heartbeat? He ave his life for you, Aur "You trusted hiree with anything she’s doing"

"The first sign of trouble, and she must return immediately," he says to me

I nod

We climb into the rowboats and cross over to the zoo Natalie dabs the Darkling bite on her leg with a tissue

"I’s "The Emissary cut off our food supply when the as bombed"

"My overnment thinks we collaborated with Hu to blame on us Whatever helps theur leads us into a small chaht, casting long shadows around the circular room There’s a stone altar in the center of the chaur places the urn on the floor, and I gently rest Mom on the altar She looks so sur tentatively peels back the blanket and looks at Mom He starts to sob

"She’s at peace now," Dad says, his voice cracking

Sigur e each other, united in their grief

Tears spill down Evangeline’s cheeks We both lost a o to her She needs you," Natalie says<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>