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Purple-white sparks dance aroundweaker by theI won’t be able to lie my way out of this one

Kilorn pulls me to a chair, his face a stor of sadness, I realize they’re afraid But Kilorn isn’t afraid at all--he’s angry

"What did they do to you?" he rumbles, his hands inches fro just skin and shaking fingers

"They didn’t do anything" I wish this was their fault I wish I could bla Cal’s eyes So without words I don’t have to lie about this

"This is what I am"

Kilorn’s frown deepens "Are you one of theust, forced into a single sentence It"Are you?"

Molihter, Kilorn," she says, fixing hi stare I didn’t know she could ree to my side, but Kilorn reer, like we haven’t known each other all our lives

"Giveback at him "I’ll show you what color I bleed"

This calms him a bit and he pulls back "I just--I don’t understand"

That makes two of us

"I think I’m with Kilorn on this one We knoho you are, Mare, but--" Bree stu to say He’s never been one for words "How?"

I barely knohat to say, but I doover , so I leave out the Guard and Julian’s findings, to lay out the last three weeks as plainly as possible Pretending to be Silver, being betrothed to a prince, learning to control myself--it sounds preposterous, but they listen intently

"We don’t knohy, just that this is," I finish, holding out ht never knohat this htens on mine in a display of support The sry, still devastatingly sad, but the need to destroy so back soh to keep myself in check

"I think it’s aa smile for etting it Bree and Tramy are safe, Gisa won’t have to worry, we can live happy, and you"--her watery eyes meet mine--"you, my dear, will be someone special What more can a mother ask?"

I wish her words were true but I nod anyway, s better at lying and they see to hold back another outburst

"What’s he like, the prince?" Mo, waiting to hear what I have to say about his younger brother What can I say? That he’s kind? That I’ to like him? That I still don’t know if I can trust hiain? "He’s not what I expected"

Gisa notes uard?" she says, changing the subject with the slightest wink

"I a for me He knows I don’t want to lie to my family, notsoon"