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Chapter Five

Blood On her hands, dripping to the floor, soaking the arrow she wrenched out of her side as she ran fro her…

The one in a second, leaving only the feeling of pain and guilt and fear Fear She had been afraid

"That’s not possible," Isabel said, trying to focus on Ven It was too late to pretend his statement had not come as a shock "The Shifter--I--can’t allow a member of the royal family to die, let alone kill one"

He braced hi"

"What do you anized a rebellion and killed the old king and his children"

Isabel let his aro

To her surprise, Ven did not step away fro for decades on a spell that could affect the Shifter Albin provided it to Rokan’s father They had been working on the spell for fifty years, and it h"

The arrows flying past her had been ai Isabel’s chest hurt

"You tried to kill Rokan’s father, but he told you his soldiers were on their way to execute the king’s children By the tied to reach the children, it was too late--they were too securely trapped, and you couldn’t save them, either You fled from shame It was said that if you ever caeance," Isabel repeated nuhtest chord None of this did; it eance is a human conceit"

"I suppose it is," Ven said "That’s e assuuessed who you are No one can believe Rokan would be foolish enough to go searching for you, no n Odds were you’d kill him, not protect hi"

"He had the bracelet," Isabel said

After a barely perceptible pause, Ven said, "Yes He did have that"

"Didn’t he realize I would find out?" Isabel said

"During Rokan’s father’s reign, it was a crime punishable by death to speak of the coup People are still afraid, and they still don’t talk" Ven finally stepped back, but this tiain, his arend, the Shifter doesn’t think about things that don’t e, it wouldn’t matter to you who his father was Even if you learned the truth, you e it"

Was that true? Isabel wondered Did she not think about things that didn’tabout it, did thatto me," she observed

Ven flushed, and Isabel wondered why--Rokan’s wishful thinking was hardly his fault "Yes, well They realized it ht not work that way That’s why Rokan had me track down the bracelet Once you accepted it fro him"

"Then why didn’t he tell s out in front of hi him before you realized the truth, it would have a better chance of working And you do want to protect him, don’t you?"

"Yes"

"From the start?"

No Not until after she had scratched his face Not until he had fastened the bracelet around her wrist But she had let hi Ven had no way of finding out "Yes It was i Maybe with all the one, your loyalty switched instantly to the new one"

What kind of loyalty was that? But it could be true, if she had been bound to protect the kingdo monarchy no matter what