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Then they both asked:
"What happened to you?"
Chapter 23: Ben
It would have been less painful not to seewhen River told theut clenched as soon asHad River not been here withat his into his throat It was a chilling reminder of the monster I’d become, and why I so desperately needed to find a solution
Why is h my mind, more out of fear than curiosity
When my parents asked what had happened to me all this time, I was not sure how to answer I felt extre so close to my father, even with River by ," e had passed since I’d first left The Shade on the subainst hope that my lust for human blood would subside and I would able to stoht that Ipassed
"I understand why you choose not to set foot on the island," my mother said, "but why don’t you come and sit in our boat? It’ll beon this roof"
I was still nervous about getting any closer to ured that if River sat on my lap, I would be okay Besides, Eli and o horribly wrong
My father, mother and Eli stepped onto the boat beforeto the far end of the vessel I pulled River onto ain I realized how odd this must have looked to"That means that she is half human, half vampire Mom and Eli, I’ Because it’s spiked with va at you now, Dad" I cast lance
"How did River beco in confusion "And how did you twoThey all reht I’d left The Shade, to floating in the ocean in the sub Jeramiah and my time spent in The Oasis, and finally our bizarre journey back to the island
They all looked dumbstruck by the time I was finished
"Lucas had a son,"open I wasn’t sure how much he had absorbed of my story after I’d revealed Jeramiah’s identity He seemed stunned by this news--just as I had been when I had first found out "I uess I shouldn’t be surprised Lucas was incorrigible when it ca women even before he became a bloodsucker But for him to have a son who is still alive today as a vampire… I never would have dreamt it"
My mother seemed more concerned by the tattoos etched into my and River’s arht now?" she asked
"Mine isn’t hurting… It’s giving off asensation What about you, River?" I asked