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Clarisse looked at her for a erous dead than alive"

"Including hed, a little too heavily Suddenly wary, Isabel shifted her sense of sht a distinct whiff of fear "I honestly think Rokan’s right about his innocence, though Owain bears part of the bla Daria to hate the prince The duke isn’t the sort to want people running about assassinating rulers with ic He’d rather find the person he wants on the throne and ht it out in a nice noble duel, preferably preceded by an hour of dra carefully around anted Rokan off the throne, even though she was too sht be the reason for the fear

Might be…Isabel turned her bracelet around on her wrist and saw Clarisse’s eyes flicker toward the h Clarisse must know that the bracelet was their only hold on Isabel’s loyalty

Isabel hid a scowl Now that she kne easy it was for her to manipulate everyone else, her inability to ht vibration in the air behind herover to interrupt them "Have you spoken to the duke since he arrived?" she asked hurriedly

That was the right question Clarissemen were there al regret as she was escorted away, leaving behind the scent of a faint flowery perfuht to the source, then

Isabel found Duke Owain in his roo the odor ofto the occasional sip and whisper of pages It would have been wiser to wait for a ardens But she didn’t want to, and she was the Shifter, which meant it probably wasn’t wiser at all

She picked the lock without ht--but when she opened the door, the duke had his hands folded in front of hi at a slass of white wine to its side "Hello, Isabel"

He knew she was the Shifter, but the smell of the room reravely "Are you here to tell ?"

"No," Isabel said "I’"

Duke Owain lifted his thick white eyebrows "I can’t tell you where he is"

Isabel had to shift her face expressionless--so to Clarisse But the duke wasn’t trying to throw her off balance

"I’ down the book’s ribbon to mark his place "But you can understandby the imposter You alned his own death warrant, and done it with a faint regretful smile, without so much as a tremor

She kneho "he" was You don’t have to serve those ie

The confusion she had held at bay ever since Ven died welled up in her again, and she fought it down furiously "I’m here about Clarisse," she said

He blinked "Clarisse?"

"I want to knohat the two of you are planning"

He stared as if he had never seen her before--and suddenly Isabel realized how fa at her until now He knew her

She reached for memories, but her mind was blank Still, it should have been obvious Duke Owain, loyal to the king, would have been on good terms with his Shifter That hy there was no fear

Which was foolish of hi and loyalty and nothing else He was thinking he could rely on her the way he could rely on a hu

And even if I was human, he’d be a fool "You shouldn’t trust her," Isabel said