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Gone over the side of the balustrade even though the gray hatted man (otherwise known as Orlando) tried to hold onto her as Noctorno was busy struggling against my attacker

But she didn’t fall to the cobbles She flew through the air, held by one of those things

And then she disappeared

Poof!

The white hatted man, the man known as Dashiell, was too late and he stood on the balcony and shouted his heart wrenching fury but Noctorno didn’t watch He battled the monster that had hold of me until it yelped and slithered away so fast it was almost like it wasn’t ever there

“Safety!” Orlando shouted at Noctorno, already running out of the roo Dashiell with him “Get her to safety The curse is upon us and no matter how you feel about her, Tor, they want her too!”

“Gods, man, I know!” Noctorno shouted back and carried me bodily out of the room after them, down the hall, down the stairs and out the front door where he threwup behind me and aent

But I couldn’t think of that It was too horrific It was too frightening

I had to concentrate on not crying, not tre that daht I went to bed in my not very fabulous apartment after a day ofworld!

I mean, I was an administrative assistant! How did I end up on a horse, in a forest, in a hellacious thunderstorled with these thoughts, the horse drove ever onward and we rode silently through the forest as the rain pummeled our skin

Then Noctorno turned the ani the mountain-hill Except here it was less of a hill and more of a mountain The terrain was part-scrub, part-trees and part-rock We cli with the effort and our weight but it see

Then suddenly, ere in a big cave

And just as suddenly, Noctorno was off his horse and his huge hands were atme down He didn’t take any care at all and I yelped in surprise and pain as the cold stiffness of my limbs uncurled and my bare feet hit the shards of stone that was the cave floor

Then he grabbed onto my upper arms and shook me

Shook !

“What are you doing!” I screeched, grabbing onto his (steely, et him to stop and to try to holdme and his dark face came to within an inch of mine

“How could you be such a fool?” he barked and I shrunk away from the fury in his voice and on his face

“Wh… what?”

“You knew she wasn’t supposed to see hiripping htly

“How’s she supposed to marry him if she doesn’t see –?” I started

“Prior!” he spat on another shake

“Stop shaking ain

“You knew it’d bring on the curse,” he growled “You knew and you just stood there –”