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The forift, and it had proven to have a debilitating effect on Lijuan Raphael hadn’t mentioned it to anyone but Elena and De it would take Lijuan ht about her not sharing this ability,” he said to Janvier “She’s both too used to controlling her people through the leash of doling out power, and too greedy You say this victim wasn’t an empty husk as you witnessed in battle?”
“No, she still had a sense of huh that we could immediately identify her as female”
Whereas Lijuan’s victiender had been iraphs Janvier’s hunter had taken The shadow tea unable to make the determination at the scene, either—except, of course, for those they’d personally witnessed being consu marks?” A vaiven a long enough time frame
“Yes, but not at the site of the fatal throat wound There was too e to deter, she appeared gnawed on”
That didn’t exclude vaiven in to bloodlust, torn and ripped and chewed at the flesh in his feeding “Can the situation be contained?” Raphael had to be ruthless; a mortal had lost her life and deserved justice, but that justice could not happen on a public stage Not this time
“I’m confident Ash and I can deal with this quietly, with help from the Guild and Tower as necessary The titnesses, responding officers, and crime scene techs can be trusted to keep their silence”
Before Elena, Raphael would’vethe memories of the people involved, but now he’d seen h her eyes, understood that these people were her friends and colleagues and she would protect them—because memories hat made a person
I would rather die as Elena than live as a shadow
The echo of what she’d said to him soon after they first met, paired with her passionate words before the battle, made him no less ruthless when it came to his city, but he did consider other options before taking this particular measure
“I’ll have Dency” Greed could sink its hooks into the most unexpected of people, and this information had value to the ht?”
“Non The late hour ” The languid rhythe in his eyes “Even the victierprints can’t be used to search for her identity until the pathologist rehydrates her fingertips”
“Take care of her, Janvier,” Raphael said “I will not have the ht be a fleeting firefly flicker in coel’s, but Raphael no their light could burn so bright, it had the strength to vanquish the ice of eternity itself
“Sire”