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The sound of crunching gravel had Ree sitting up and reaching for the power She didn’t see anyone around the yard, but her power told her there was soe brick wall at the back of the property Slowly, Ree stood and walked toward the wall Thiselse, it ly battle co her way

She could hear the person on the other side of the wall breathing, but it was the power that told her it was a darkling Reaching further with the power, she realized there were several other darklings spread around the surrounding streets Tristan and the Dark Ones had set their day-time eyes on the bed and breakfast She heard a sound come from inside of the bed and breakfast and shequicker than she ever had before, she jumped to the back of an old bench and vaulted over the wall A smile of pleasure curved her mouth as she realized how easily she had made the ju was disappearing around the corner, and the sound of raised voices fro her resolve, Ree darted down the tiny alley after the darkling

Chapter Two

The night before, Paden had been in danger A terrible nightmare came to life before Ree’s eyes, but she had somehow been able to move faster than any hued Dark One, away from Paden It shouldn’t have been possible, but she could re in fast forward Paden hadn’tabout it and Ree suspected he may not have really understood what had happened However, it had bounced around in Ree’s ht What if Sophie had passed on ic?

Ree skidded around the corner and watched as the darkling shoved past pedestrians He was headed toward one of the nearby squares, and she was intent on catching him She wanted to knohat he had been up to behind the house Instead of following hi attention to herself, she headed for a side street that would keep her out of the public It took less time than she had planned, and she belatedly realized that sheat speeds faster than a normal human She looked over her shoulder and hoped no one had noticed Slowing to a walk, Ree reached for the power and felt the darkling nearing the square in front of her

Stepping out into the light, she tried to keep her pace casual and hoped none of the people recognized her face froht’s news broadcast She felt it thesaw her in the square She had her back to him, but his shock was palpable Surprise warred orry as he tried to decide if this was a trap or good tiht his movement out of the corner of her eye as he checked behind hi for him Ree almost smiled as she understood he hadn’t realized it was her following him Apparently smarter than he looked, he pulled a cell phone from his pocket and s Ree had felt around the city began to move in her direction Ree’s step faltered and she openly looked over her shoulder at the darkling A youngRee picked up her pace and thought about trying to get back to the house There were five darklings nearby, and even though she had wanted to test her new abilities, this o crazy when I get back, Ree thought

Her heartbeat picked up, and she thought about running for it, but decided her new abilities were her only surprise weapon If she could get aithout showing her hand, that hat she needed to do

The darkling smiled at her and started to walk after her with slow, predatory steps So in his expression scared Ree, and she realized it was the hts as she picked up her pace He wanted her to run, wanted to see her panic Stuttering to a halt, anger bloomed in her chest Why the hell should she be afraid of a darkling? She was the Alastriana She had a power on her side he would never be able to understand Turning to look at him, she spread her feet and prepared to , and she would be da to run now

As if the huly was about to happen, they quickly left the area Ree snorted and tried to not think about it Whether they sensed there was enerally didn’t want to be near a dohtailed it out of there She opened her hands at her side and watched as the darkling caround "I like it when they run"

"Where the hell do they find you guys? Assholes-R-Us?" Ree pulled on the power in her chest and felt her feet try to leave the ground Letting go of a little power, she tried to keep herself calet closer

He didn’t answer, just snarled as black crept into his eyes When he was a few yards away, hetoward Ree with his hands outstretched, he never expected her counter-attack Spinning, quickly, she ducked to the side and planted her foot on his butt He barely caught hi, he turned toward her and raphed his upcorabbed ithiht her on the island

Keeping hold of his hand, she twisted it until he hollered and placed her foot on his chest "Nohat should I do with you before your friends get here?"

He struggled and sputtered, but couldn’t break her hold Ree wasn’t sure if that was because of her technique or her new suspected powers Either way, she was happy with the results

"What were you doing behind the bed and breakfast?"

"Spying"

"And what did you learn?"

"Get offpop and he howled in pain She didn’t let up, or move so he could catch his breath Instead, she kept on with her interrogation She could feel her Guardians zeroing in on her location and she would be damned if they would take this moment from her For the first time, she didn’t feel like the weak hu

"What did you find and who did you tell?"

"BarrierCan’t hear through it Can’t see much" Heavy pants filled the pauses between his words

"What else?"

"Guardian and you are together" That made Ree pause and her stomach clenched This jerk had watched her with Paden

"Not a big secret, so you have to do better than that" She tried to keep the disgust out of her words She didn’t want him to knohat he had said bothered her

"Roland is your lap dog" For just a moment his eyes cleared of pain and sood fuck Don’t knohy all those guys want you otherwise"

"Who did you tell?" It took all of her self-control to not beat the daylights out of him