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"Ash," Dad says

Day bursts into tears, and Beetle cradles her I try not to look, jealousy burning through o to our seats," Beetles says quietly a minute later "We’ll be directly in front of you You won’t h the bars, and he clings to it for a long moment

"I love you, onna o," I tease

Day atte down her caraes to make it halfway down the corridor before he starts to cry himself

Dad kneels down on the hard concrete floor, and I join hi with the Lord in the Eternal Garden, or at leastfor my dad I know he needs this, probably more than me I don’t think there’s a place in his heaven for people like o to the Elsewhere, with Moht now For years I wondered what it would be like to have a Darkling father, someone who truly "understood me," but I realize now that man ith me the whole time I couldn’t have asked for a better dad He took care of h life got I’ainst his leg before I see him He hovers by the cell door

"It’s time, kid," he says solemnly

Dad helps me to my feet I lean on him a little My shoulders feel heavy all of a sudden, h the sood sensation, re me I’rimaces

"You need to leave your clothes here," Harry says, looking at his feet

I shrug off the shirt and trousers, grateful to get the itchy material offso exposed I like how the cool air feels againstthe linen , after all

"Any es?" I ask hopefully

"Sorry, kid"

I have to accept she’s not coain I turn to Dad, who is busy picking upthe the inevitable A tear trickles down his craggy face

"Dad?"

He hurriedly wipes his eyes "Yes?"

"Take care of Natalie for ht Promise me"

"I promise," he says

His sad eyes trace the contours ofto commit me toMom and now me This is worse for him in some ways No one should have to see his kid die

Harry holds out the shackles

"Just a second" I turn over Dad’s discarded playing cards on rin So he did let me win!

Harry shacklescorridor to the awaiting transfer truck outside Faceless prisoners poke their fingers between the bars of their cells as I pass, re me I’m not alone Dad walks a few paces behind me, silent The time for prayers is over

42

NATALIE

I PUSH THROUGH the bustling streets, desperate to get to the town square nearly a et this far, and I’ to make it, and panic starts to set in There has to be a better way

Ash’s execution is being broadcast live on the large ht into the town square He looks scared, although he’s trying to hide it His sparkling black eyes flick toward the ca directly at !" I cry out

People aroundand chattering

"It’s her--"

A shadow crosses the sky People around ht above ur He swoops down into the crowd and people flee I coay froh "You tried to kill me"

"Yes, I did," he says "But that’s not why I’ret in life is not having been with Annora when she passed into the Elsewhere Ash needs you, now more than ever"

"How did you knohere I was?" I ask

"Ash requested I keep watch over you," he says "When you were not at your ho for you"

He stretches out a pale hand

"Cour, then at the crowd blocking et to Ash in tiur’s hand, and he pulls s flap once, twice, then we’re soaring above the city The cold air whips against ing on for dear life, adrenaline puher toward the clouds I dig ernails into his icy-cold flesh I’ve never flown Darkling Airways before, and it’s terrifying I keep thinking he’s going to drop me, either by accident or deliberately

My heart pulses erratically as we near the town square, but I soon realize it’s not --it’s Ash’s

43

ASH

THE ROAR OF THE CROWD is deafening as I step into the town square I nearly throhen I see the crosses, three of them, lined up near the wall Which one will be mine?

Dad takes a seat beside Beetle and Day in the viewers’ box next to the school, where the rest of the VIPs are watching I know they don’t want to watch this, but they’re here for me I check the faces in the crowd for Natalie, but she’s not there, although I do spot her house toward the back I give her a weak srateful that she’s taking such a risk to be here

The Legion guards stand on the Boundary Wall, and I expect Sigur to be with theure in a blue cloak darts down one of the side streets, and for a second, I wonder if it was Evangeline, but I’ood thing; I don’t want her watchingthere’s one less twin-blood in the world, that our kind is one step closer to extinction

A strong breeze stirs the ash on the charred buildings surrounding us, scattering black flakes into the air I feel like I’lobe It’s really quite beautiful; why had I never noticed before?

Sebastian approaches the middle cross, dressed in his cerehe was deives me a small a the truth He looks older than his years, with his shaved head and rose tattoo and the harsh, stony expression on his face Behind hi the cross with acacia solution The fuuess that’s le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>