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The way he talked and moved reminded me a little of my brother Both were black-haired with lanky fra of homesickness filled me "Were you there?"

Flaned "There? Where there?"

I balled ain my attention at that welcome luncheon was skewed I’d been ues "Were you one of the ones who…lickeda shiphed coldly "Heard about it?" I shot a glower at Kes His ar pensive

My voice ached with defiance "If you’ve been told details of what happened, what is your opinion, fro?

The whole conversation had no point I didn’t knohy I pushed it I just knew I couldn’t breathe properly ensconced in a rooue

Flaw looked at Kes, shrugging as if asking for guidance Kes nodded, chewing on the inside of his cheek, obviously just as lost as I here I was going with this

Taking a deep breath, Flaw muttered, "I was told why they did it--it was an icebreaker To remove barriers between you and the brotherhood I was told it was a oneti and from now on to treat you as one of us"

"Better than one of us," Kes uest, first and fore"

There were so many inconsistencies in that sentence; I didn’t knohere to begin

Didn’t he get it that I wasn’t a guest but a wo Kes for now, I glared at Flaw "That was the reason you were told What about what you believe? Tell me if you found it acceptable Tell me how you would feel if all of this happened to your sister or wife"

Kes sucked in a breath beside , Nila"

I shuddered at the use offor Jethro to use it, yet his younger brother needed no such encourage my witch-hunt on Flaw, I turned to the ue, and tehtened; so harsh and hot flowed between us Soes flashed, then was hidden "I know you’re searching for validation of being debased in such a way Regardless of what you think, it wasn’t sexual Thoseyou They were there to strip you"

I laughed "Well, they certainly succeeded"

I was naked and had asm in front of them If that isn’t the bare essentials of any human, I don’t knohat is

Kes continued, "What if I told you that whole thing wasn’t just about you? What if I told you the h to taste you were now indebted to you?"

"Don’t talk toonthe power that grew in you with each round of the table, you earned their respect You earned their devotion And you elcomed into our world with no barriers That’s what the lunch was about A power play where you gave up your power and gained theirs in return"

I couldn’t stand his crisp, accented voice delivering so that shouldn’t make sense, only for it to resonate perfectly inside

Murer Braver You were at yourup, he captured the ends ofover my shoulder "We showed you your true worth, Nila Weaver, and now you’ll have the strength to face the future intact and not break until it’s tiave me all of that, just so I wouldn’t be broken for the final debt?"

The cruelty The brutality

Locking eyes with h to get through this"

The roo that existed was Kes and I I didn’t know if it was the possibility of hiaze but soer we stared, the e

"Forgive ive you?"

Myes?

Either way, I had no willpower to offer hi turn somewhere? Had I entered an alternate universe where I was no longer a prisoner, destined to be a plaything for bastards, and somehow beca me quiver "I understand why you can’t I was selfish for asking so headache squeezedon" I flinched as the words spilled fro confusion and vulnerability

Kes didn’t twitch or ers inhis eyes briefly, he released my ponytail and took a step back

Instantly, the real world swaht, the feel of luxurious carpet beneath e fireplace behind Flaw

If this was another game orchestrated by the hellish Mr Hawk, then he’d just won because Kestrel had drained me more successfully than anyone He’d made me pliant and sub with Jethro could achieve

And that made Kestrel deadly

My heart thrue difference between the brothers: one used softness to control me; the other wielded frost and fury

How naïve was I to believe Kes could ever be on my side He was the polar opposite--the snake in the proverbial grass--just waiting for Jethro to fail, so he could sink his fangs of pity intome under his spell

I kneithout a doubt I had to understand my enemies, and quickly, before theya deep breath, I crossedI had a jacket The chill ofme shiver with trepidation

What had just happened, and why did I feel as if I’d lost?

At least with Jethro, I saw him We were evenly matched in will and tee erous

Treacherous

Skilled in hts were ena what truly occurred

Flaw clapped his hands, colad that’s all resolved"

Moving toward the wingback where a saddlebag revealed the muzzles of weapons, he plucked it off and patted the buttoned leather "Sit Hang out with us, if you don’t have anything else to do" Shooting a look at Kes, he said to ? Coffee, tea, a snack?"