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Andra crushed that thought flat before it could blossom She had no roos really were, and it was best if she stayed a realist, just like she’d always been

"Don’t you dare touch her blood," growled Paul in a tone that made the fine hairs on her neck stand up "I’ll help the boy"

"Are you sure?" asked Logan "I took a lot froht so I could find her"

Paul’s eyes flicked to Andra so briefly she wasn’t sure it had happened "It orth it I’h for this"

"And if you’re not?" asked Madoc

Paul pressed his hand against his chest as if it hurt, then handed Madoc his sword "Then you knohat to do"

Chapter 2

Paul carried Saht and found a patch of rich earth that would aid hian trailed behind hi that they’d know if co more than to touch Andra and find out whether she was the wo him back was her safety, as well as Sa to mess up this time This was his last chance If he did touch her, and he went through that sa pain Drake had suffered with Helen, there was no way he’d be able to protect them if more Synestryn ca they had before it happened and whether or not they would still be here

The sooner Saan to fix her arm He knew she had to be in pain All the color had leached frole Already, the leather sleeve of her jacket was stretching tight over her broken aret out of that jacket before you can’t," he told her "The swelling’s getting worse"

She gave it a gentle tug, winced, and asked, "Any of you boys have a knife?"

"Allow an A sharp claw extended froernail

Andra flinched at the sight, and hissed in pain as the motion jarred her broken bone "Holy shit! What the hell are you?"

"Hold still I won’t dae you"

"You’d better not," said Paul as he resisted the urge to go to her and reassure her Keeping his distance was the o, another leaf had fallen fro one, and he still wasn’t sure whether she was the woiven two chances before Even wishing for a third seee Too bad it didn’t stop hi anyway

Andra stripped out of her destroyed leather jacket with a little help froh her left arm was puffy and distorted, the rest of her was all sleek y shirt showed off small, perfect breasts and muscular abs He wondered how much time and effort a body like that had cost her and whether or not the man in her life was appropriately appreciative

He certainly would be, given the chance

Paul pulled his gaze away from her and focused on Sa Drool leaked froently wiped it aith the he to help you sleep now, Saoing to take them all away, okay?"

Paul didn’t expect an answer; the child was too far gone He closed the boy’s eyes and held his hand there to keep thely dead after long weeks of drought He felt the soil and the rocks beneath, felt the roots of nearby trees seeking out nourishment and the tiny, hidden seeds that waited for rain to spark the of whatever came There was power in that acceptance and Paul pulled some of that power into himself

Instantly, the pain he lived with daily increased, bearing down on hiainst it to keep fro out His heart pounded and his head throbbed until he was blind from the sheer force of the pressure of so y, but it was energy he couldn’t use--only store for someone else’s use Maybe Andra’s

He prayed it was so He wasn’t going to live long enough for another search It had taken teeks to find her, and he didn’t think he had even one week left

Paul’s skin grew tight and burned, and his eyes felt like they would fly out of his head if he opened his eyelids He could hear his breath rasping in and out too quickly as his lungs labored against the pain

Logan was right He was too weak for this, but it was too late now He’d pulled in enough power to reach out to Sammy and enter his mind He was trapped inside the child until he’d done what he’d coes inside Sarowls and screa sense of what he’d seen His child’s mind had taken the sensory input, es even more terrible than reality Somewhere deep inside Sa in fear, whi, "No, no, no"

Paul felt his physical body weaken against the strain of his connection with the boy He wasn’t very good at this, but he knew enough to know that if he died while in the boy’s ht, Paul pushed his way through those night place It was a cardboard box with crooked s drawn on with brightly colored crayon One side of the box had been cut open to h