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"Red … what of Ari?"

He sighed inwardly and turned to face the water again The truth was he had been unable to face Ari because she looked so er had cooled, he realized that he did not blame Ari for what had happened Sala had foolishly ju and lost her cool at the sight of Ari in White’s clutches And in her foolishness, she’d left him and Ari alone without her

Ari

Red frowned, trying to ignore his growing fatherly concern and feelings of shah he had abandoned her these last few months, when she was never supposed to be his to abandon

He hit out at his other concern instead "The boy will grow old and die What then?"

Glass turned, leaning against the loall to face hi and forever patient "There are ways around that"

Red jerked back in shock Fear followed Fear that his brother, his one true friend, would even think ofhimself so vulnerable "You wouldn’t dare"

His brother grew sad but it was sorrow te properties of what Red feared was love It couldn’t be love "I didn’t with Taer with us, and no one else would dare try to kill us

No one is powerful enough Trey would be immortal and protected"

Incredulous, Red shook his head

"And you would have sacrificed a piece of yourself to gain him that"

"I will not lose him Not like Tamir"

"But you loved Tamir"

His brother stared at hi his eyes, his worry now tenfold "You’ve only been with him for a little over two lance"

It was fruitless to argue with hiive his affection easily If he said he loved Trey, then he meant it And Red unfortunately believed him He should’ve known the moment heman was charismatic, irreverent, and full of life He was like Ta soul of energy and light, a light that Glass, with his grave de to his own soul, a balainst the dark

Still, what Glass was proposing was a comer, brother"

"I will"

Silence fell between theether they stared out over the still water Red wondered if his brother was also wishing that life could be as calean was today But no There was always some catastrophe on the horizon Lately that catastrophe was his other brother, the White King And "lately" had lasted centuries He wanted to hate his of Jinn, the connection that tethered the into soeance HeSala, but Red would certainly ot what he wanted

"White is tearing through Mount Qaf looking for Mother’s remains"

"He does realize that could take him a thousand years or more?"

"He can be patient when he wants to be"

Glass grunted in agree to rest on Red’s shoulder "Will you speak with Ari?"

Ari

Sala

Pain

Red nodded reluctantly, willing the ache out of his chest as he thought about facing the physical reminder of all he’d lost "In a few days"

4

Expecting the Moon and Getting the Sun

"Should I tell her?" Jai asked Michael, his voice hushed with the weight of what he was asking, with the need for direction from a man older and more experienced than he was

When Michael called, Jai could hear in his voice that so was up Upon Michael’s arrival at the house, Jai’s suspicions were confirmed when he saw Michael’s face

The Guild believed Charlie Creagh was back in town It wasn’t because he’d used ic It was because his picture had been passed around the entire Roe Guild and two of thehborhood He’d been co out of the mall on Mount Holly Road Before the two Hunters had tiht of him

Now everyone was on alert Except Ari, who had no clue

In an effort to beat back the aggravation and uncertainty he felt over his and Ari’s relationship, as well as expel the frustration that Ari would probably have to confront Charlie very soon, Jai had spent the entire day in training Ari hadn’t stopped by at all, whichhiuess