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Rubbing her shoulder with a look of confusion, Juliette nodded as if understanding "I’m sorry I should’ve known you wouldn’t run away I freaked out, okay? He was covered in blood and there was this huge splinter stuck in his side Can you iine what it was like to see that?"

"Yeah, I can" Ree remembered all too well, the bullet holes in Paden’s shirt and jacket She reainst hers with each shot "I get it"

"If you two are done we need to focus on e’re going to do next Like finding out where Weylin has disappeared to" Paden placed a hand on Ree’s shoulder She hadn’t even realized he had left Melanie and herWhich was silly, because no matter how mad Jules had been, she would never hurt Ree

"We also need to talk about what just happened" Roland’s shts

"I think they’ve already settled it, Rols" Bryce was standing behind Juliette

"Oh, not that I ained a little more than extra power from Sophie’s Death Gift" Roland’s s Ree’s stoht you kept up with me earlier today pretty easily"

"It could just be all the exercise I’ now" Ree looked away fro at her, as if she had done so honest with herself, was exactly what they were thinking

"And you were able to catch that darkling yourself" Paden looked at her shrewdly

"Ree, you caught the darkling?" Melanie grinned at Ree enthusiastically "Way to go" Paden glared at Melanie until she schooled her features into a serious expression "I mean, you could’ve been hurt!" When Paden turned his attention back to Ree, Melanie winked and flashed a thued Do you remember the Dark One that came out of nowhere? I was able to push hi, but he should’ve brushed ht?" Ree shook her head, still awed by what had happened "That’s why I went outside this rasp on why Athena had been watchingAthena in the square earlier? She still wasn’t sure what the goddess had been looking for

"Ree" Paden looked down into her eyes, obviously aware she was keeping so from them "Tell us"

"I saw Athena today In the square as ere leaving She was sitting on a bench, watching us" Someone mumbled an explicative, and Ree was surprised to realize it was Bryce He was usually the last one to freak out Raising an eyebrow, Ree cocked her head at hi you kick darkling butt? She aiting to see if her plan had worked" Bryce shook his head "I would bet money she had planned for Sophie to asp that escaped her athered in her eyes "She told me Sophie told me it had always been the plan, and she did it anyway"

Roland growled deep in his chest and walked away He stood staring blankly at the wall before letting loose a roar and sla forward, he let his forehead rest just above the hole, his shoulders shaking with each breath Silence was thick through the air as everyone watched Roland work through his anger

Pain and fear washed over Ree in waves,her wrap her arms around her chest For over a thousand years, Roland and Sophie had been used andhi Sophie had been another pawn in this war, just another tool in the gods’ closet

Taking a deep breath, Ree looked away froaze fell on Melanie Two tears made tracks down her friend’s cheeks, but it wasn’t the sadness that surprised Ree It ho Melanie felt sad for that caused her to pause Even without her extra sense toon her friend’s face

Ree turned to look at Juliette, their arguotten She wanted to know if she was the only one aware of how Melanie felt When Ree raised an eyebrow, Jules gave a soft jerk of her chin in acknowledg her eyes communicated her confusion When had this happened and how had she missed it? Guilt and frustration rolled in her stomach Here was one of her best friends, in love with sos for Ree To s for Roland, too And Melanie had never said a thing

Cutting her eyes to Paden, she saw the compassion in his features as he watched Roland In that ods’ plan and the cruelty it depended on Ellie had even told Ree, just because you loved someone in one life, it didn’t mean you were soul mates You could love many people, but only your soul mate truly coods had capitalized on his love for Tria, proain They never promised they were soul mates, never promised the love they felt for each other would be the same in her new reincarnation For centuries, Roland had been waiting for Tria, thinking they were soul er and sorrow Turning to her, he reached out to touch her cheek In his eyes she saw his worry over the possibility that she wanted to go to Roland, but that wasn’t what she was feeling She did want to go to Roland, to coods had provided two protectors for their surprise weapon Two men that both loved her for different reasons Twofeats of strength to safeguard Ree The inhumanity of their decision, the cruel manipulations and calculations left Ree breathless Was this what Roland was realizing in thispast Paden, she watched as Roland’s shoulders jerked with each ragged breath Had the gods overplayed their hand? Would he handle this well or would he defect? Could he turn his back on everything?

Turning his head slightly, Roland’s blue eyes es of his pain, frustration, and rage; then, just as quickly, everything disappeared A blank expression slid over his features, and the Roland she knew disappeared behind a mask of icy consideration

Cold crept into Ree’s sto Love walked a fine line with hate, and fro at her in thatother than resentment in his expression Part of her wanted to cry, part of her was so bruised and beat up inside she could only feel resigned Somewhere deep in her heart she felt thethem both, and she wanted to scream

The sound of footsteps on the stairs broke the connection that held the a deep breath that was purely for show, he gasped and held a hand to his chest

"There are entirely too many safe houses in this city"

"Where have you been?" The relief in Ree’s voice was obvious as she went to hug her friend "We’ve been so worried"

"Me? Well, I was arrested, broke out of a cop car, and then stole a truck" Lacing his hands together, Weylin popped his knuckles and s to wait for so?"

Chapter Five