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I felt a pulse of ic from Dae, ready to play dog-versus-cat with these war-loving shifters

But Niall’s crew had other ideas At his signal, they raised their weapons

"Bullets versus immortality," he said "Let’s see which wins"

5

We opted not to be shot With blurring speed, even as we heard the first explosions of bullets rushing through barrels, we ht safety behind the stone as shots pu fist-sized holes in the wood and sprinkling bullets across the floor

Ethan glared at Vincent, who stood across the room, shock clear on his face But Ethan had no more patience for shock "Is this what you’ve sowed over the course of a century here? Hatred and violence?"

"They’re shooting at us!"

"Because they were taught loathing and war," Ethan’s voice wavered with fury "Da these children"

Vincent sed hard, the feud’s undeniable cost now shredding the door

And then a new light began to flicker through the gaps in the wood, the narros around it I risked a glance, sucked in a breath

The shifters hadn’t brought just guns--they’d brought torches, and they were lighting them in a daisy chain thata circle of fire The shifters in feline forer for action One of theh-pitched sound so oose bu a step back

"You want to kill our kind?" Niall called out "But you’re too cowardly to face us? Fine You can die as you deserve--by fire!"

"Jesus," Astrid said "They mean to burn us out"

"And salt the earth afterward," I said, glancing at Vincent "Tell me there’s a back door here A way out"