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Great--I’ic to violence I’ht it I aht will be the same way

But those are fake, I tell ly real

My head spins and I suck in air to try to clear it

I have to get over this Lives are at stake

The innocent people in this valley

Me

Audra

I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her alive If thatout a Stormer or tellI’ll have to deal with that Even if just thinking about it ?" I ask, hoping they knew so up

Audra bites her lip and looks away

I guess that ory details Especially since I’ve thought of a better question "What were they like?"

"Your parents?"

"Yeah" She’s been stubbornly secretive about my past, but she could at least tell ht

She sighs "I wasn’t around the to train them, they kept all three of you inside, away from Raiden’s searchwinds, which were always so close on our trail"

I have no idea what that uess it doesn’toutside with you, though," she adds, turning toward uys play together in the fields She seereat mom"

"I wish I remembered her" I’m surprised at how thick my voice sounds

"I know," she whispers

There really isn’t anything else to say

"Actually," Audra says, ju to the corner of the house where her crappy bed of pal her as she starts ru"

My phone beeps and I pull it out of o out with hi okay?" Audra asks as I text hio on a double date with Hannah tonight I’ him thanks, but no thanks"

"Good," Audra says quietly

My head snaps up "Good?"

I definitely want clarification on that

"Of course," she says "You need to train tonight"

"Is that really the only reason?" I press, stepping closer My phone buzzes and I shove it ininterrupt this conversation

"What do youin the only corner in her broken house and I’h ti on between us

"I mean, are you sure there isn’t another reason you don’t wantonly a foot of space between our faces

She stares at the ground "Actually, there is"

My heart does an extra ju her waist to pull her to ht as well have slapped me

She shoves past me and stalks to the opposite end of the room Her hands pull at the ends of her braid as she paces "There’s so I haven’t told you I didn’t kno you would react--and I didn’t want anything to interfere with your training"

"And that would be?" I ask when she doesn’t continue My voice shakes with the anger I’h feels like it lasts an eternity "You’renot free, Vane"

That’snot what I was expecting "What does that ht--or any night"

"What, there’s some law in your world that says Vane Weston isn’t allowed to date?"

"Sort of Remember, Vane, you’re the last Westerly You’re not like everyone else"

This is seriously givinglaw actually says when a horrible thought occurs to me

"That’s why you ruined my last date with Hannah, isn’t it?"

"Yes And if you’d just left the restaurant and gone home like I’d tried to tell you, I wouldn’t have had to call the Northerly and brand it with our traces We’d still be safe"

"So, you’re telling ?"

She straightens, and her eyes blaze "No I called the flurry because I had to stop you fro to her--and I didn’t have ti with that, I don’t knohere to start

Actually, I do "Bonding? What the hell does thatis different for our kind than it is for the groundlings They do it for fun, like it e It creates a connection between the pair who kiss, bonding theether until death parts theot that far with any of the girls I found you with I didn’t knoould happen if you bonded with a groundling, but I couldn’t risk letting any sort of attach your fate for the rest of your life thing for a second, because it’s way too weird and crazy to think about

What does she irls she found irls Drinks suddenly getting knocked over by the breeze and spilling on their clothes so they’d need to go hole one of those disasters was caused by birds or wind or so Debacle Unless