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"Ares took asped in relief when Paden finished She looked down at her ankle and couldn’t help the frown that ca

"Took you how? You were here the whole time, Ree" Paden looked up at her with haunted eyes

"In a dream I’ve crossed over before, but never really understood how it happened I guess this time, he took me once I fell asleep" Ree shook her head "I really don’t understand If Brigid and the other goddesses hadn’t shown up, I don’t know if I would have escaped" She looked at Paden and thought about all she had to lose "I don’t kno they found id" Melanie rab her hand Paden’s despair had scared all of the the worry over what they had just gone through

"She was… fierce" Ree told theoddesses’ ire Ree took a deep breath, reo

"She wasn’t here long Just enough time to touch your forehead and tell Paden she would take care of you" Melanie squeezed Ree’s fingers "There was nothing for us to fight, no way to protect you"

"I fought I’m not sure what else anyone could have done" Ree couldn’t help the shiver that slid down her spine when she res" Ree went to juht in the sheets

"What are you talking about?" Paden steadied her with a hand on her ars, but two sets!" Ree spun around looking at theods don’t have fangs" Roland looked at her worriedly

"He did At the tiet away, but now I rerowled at me when I threw him across the room" Ree looked around the floor for her shoes

"You threw the god of war across the room?" Paden’s face was blank

"There were no doors, so I couldn’t run" Ree turned to look at hiod of war across a room?" Roland moved closer, his eyes trained on her face

"When he told me what they do to slaves… I--I panicked" Ree sed She didn’t want to relive the h And if Paden knew, he was likely to go into a rage "So, I grabbed the power and shoved it at his and then shoved him across the room"

Juliette held her hand up and Ree reached out to return the high-five Roland narrowed his eyes at Ree and she was pretty certain he knew so of what had happened Thankfully, he didn’t say anything, understanding it would only her for her to deal with

"So, you were able to use the power against a god" Roland stated the fact with surprise

"At first" Ree saw the toe of her shoe sticking out frorab it As she bent to put it on her foot, she stopped Her white sock was now blood red and her jeans hung in tatters "He started to beat down th to last until Brigid and sooddesses showed up Hecate and I think Artemis Not sure who the other one was She sort of looked like Brigid; long red hair and scary expression"

Standing up, Ree went to her closet and pulled out some new clothes and socks She ducked into her bathroom and pushed the door closed She would be able to hear theh the door no matter what

"You were in a roood for company" Roland th to fight hi you were most likely on Oly rooh those walls"

Ree bit her lip while she slipped on her jeans She had found ht be listening in on their conversation If Brigid and the others hadn’t noticed that she had been taking power from Ares, she’d rather not call attention to the fact Many of the gods already acted like she was so to understand why

"I’e of the toilet to pull on her fresh socks and stopped The s curled up from her ankle and around her calf er and frowned At the rate she was going, she was going to be a side-show freak by this ti it off, she put her shoes on and stepped out of the bathrooainst the wall next to the door, his eyes narrowed on her face when she stepped out Paden had put on a new shirt and was pulling on combat boots His eyes flickered to hers and she could feel his frustration at having not been able to protect her

"You aren’t sure?" Roland’s voice pulled her eyes back to hi, Or you don’t want to say?

"Maybe a burst of adrenaline?" Ree looked at him, not sure how to respond

"Or desperation" Roland jerked his chin once and Ree was certain he understood she couldn’t say She didn’t put it past hiht She was backed against a wall and did what she had to" Juliette nodded her head as if that ended the discussion and in many ways it did No one else asked about it, whether they understood she couldn’t say or didn’t care, she didn’t know

She headed out of her bedroo wasn’t an option, she’d use her ti Someone had taken a map and circled spots in different colors She leaned over to study it, trying to figure out what the colors all meant

"The blue ones are the homes of people we know are of immortal lines Green are the offices of jobs of people we know have immortal blood" Melanie stepped next to Ree and looked at thesome kind of extra in their blood The red circles are houses we know have hidden Dark Ones in the past and the orange circles are places the Dark Ones have been known to frequent"

"Do you guys see what I see?" Ree stared at theover the circles There were clusters of orange circles along the busy areas like River Street and Broughton Red circles strategically placed in each neighborhood area, near aparted in a pattern

"Yes Looks like they are protecting soe" Paden put his hand on the small of Ree’s back She could feel his need to be near her, and she was glad to have him close by

"Melanie?" Ree looked up at her friend "When was that special effect conference being held?"

"Um, not for another week or so" Melanie looked down at thethe final shon?"

"That’s when they were planning the final shon" Ree narrowed her eyes at theto , Ree?" Paden circled the college with his finger "That they were going to go after you with all of those people there?"

"That’s exactly what I’ on waiting for the to let them choose a time where they have hundreds of potential casualties"