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Below that was an address, a list of three dates and tie, co

There was no signature, and though Honor had handled the note with care, she knew there were unlikely to be any fingerprints Still, she went down to the kitchen, to the acco Not Ziploc, but it would do for now Placing the card inside, she walked back to thesilence broken only by the sound of Valeria’s whimpers

She stepped inside to find not a speck of blood on D her eye as he tucked his gun into an ankle holster with the unhurried actions of ain the room by far Valeria by contrast, was somehowdiled his head toward the drive “Illium atch Valeria until Andreas’ssound just as Honor looked out the —to glis of silver-kissed blue coreen of the lawn “He’s” Her breath rushed out of her She’d seen still photos, even television iel, but none of it had done him justice None of it could

The i at hiold, the black hair dipped in shi blue, the face that was so pure in its beauty, he should’ve been too pretty He wasn’t He was simply the most beautiful aze, he said, “I’ m Illium”

Her lips threatened to curve at the unasha taken a quick call on his cell phone, opened the driver’s-side door “Valeria tries anything,” he told Illiuel didn’t look the least disturbed by the order Added to Dmitri’s obvious trust in him, it made it clear that, beauty or not, Illiu the acute intelligence in that face as he spoke to D the ie

“Elena and Raphael are on their way,” he now said “Be landing around six tonight”

Giving a crisp nod, D with Illiuht” Illiuerside door for her “I’ot in the car, their eyesbeauty and the chars of blue “Thank you”

His responding look was assessingalentle “You’re not like the others”

“What?”

Dmitri roared away before Illiulanced back, it was to see hi expression on his face, his wings spread to catch the earlyhiht,” she said, after he disappeared froher up in the food chain than vampires” And yet Illium had taken orders frouard,” Dates “I lead them”

Raphael’s second The reason for the title was suddenly so ardless of his stunning appearance, he had seemed more “hulance “Flirt with him if you want, Honor, but you’re mine”

The blunt words were a shockand not “I don’t knohat this—between us—is,” she said, acknowledging the dark fire that had burned between them from the start, “but I do know that for my mental health, I need to stay far, far away from you”