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"Are you here to witness my handiwork?" Elizabeth said Her lovely face betrayed no hint of the evil that lurked within Her eyes sparkled with the deepest happiness

"Go away" Mateo didn’t feel like he had anything else to say to Elizabeth, now or ever

Elizabeth went on as though he hadn’t spoken "I should have known you were near Your strengtha Steadfast h he was Nadia’s Steadfast, bound to her and able to give her y than he would anyone else, Mateo couldn’t prevent Elizabeth fro off it, too, like a leech "I’d stop it if I could"

"There is one way," she said "You could die"

Ignore her, he told hiht have been able to, except that Verlaine stepped past hi toward Asa "Are you okay?" she said, then turned to Elizabeth "What did you do to hih it was only a shadow of his normal smirk "Verlaine, don’t"

Verlaine didn’t listen She shouted at Elizabeth as though she was outraged "What did you do?"

"Nothing that is not ht," Elizabeth replied The lilt in her voice h

She’d tortured Asa Mateo understood that now As little as he liked the de "Every ti you really are, I realize I haven’t even seen the half of it"

Elizabeth didn’t reply For a few azed at Verlaine, who stood there with her fists clenched at her sides in impotent fury "You’re irrelevant You--" She turned to Mateo, expression hardening "It’s been useful having a Steadfast around But as you’re sworn to Nadia, and she refuses to swear herself to me, you’re simply a tool she can use to oppose h"

Mateo froze as he realized that, for Elizabeth, killing hi fly He had no , and in that split second he decided just to rush her--at least hurt her before she took hiht sky lit up all around them

Verlaine screamed, and Mateo jumped, but instantly he realized Asa was as startled as they were, and even Elizabeth looked surprised The brilliance coalesced into a sphere that surrounded him and Verlaine both He’d seen this before, but where?

This hat he’d seen Halloween night, in the fire that had nearly killed him This sphere--this protective spell that shielded them completely--that was how he’d been rescued by Nadia

He turned, knohere he would see her even before he heard her voice

Nadia walked closer to the clearer as she stepped closer to the light Her dark eyes focused intently on Elizabeth "Mateo’s et it"