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"Well, I ran down this hallway"

"And?"

"And Jarl caughtall this stuff about hoas allme Anyan hauled him off"

Ryu’s fists clenched, and he stared like I’d been caught shagging a football team and the photos would be in tomorrow’s tabloids

"I was pretty beat up Anyan took me out to the pool to heal me, where you found us"

"And you didn’t tell me?"

"I couldn’t, Ryu" It was my turn to plead He had to understand "You’re an investigator; you go after the bad guys I know you would have tried to take on Jarl And who am I to them? They would never have believed hest," Ryu said, a bitter edge to his voice

"Not in this," Anyan responded gently "You know this would have been too big"

Ryu sat quietly, while I fidgeted

"You took on Jarl," he said finally, but not tome And he was distracted He really wanted to see Jane dead Which is why I think this is such a bad idea Phaedra is Jarl’s second, now that Jias, how she did whatever she could to gain Jarl’s favor Even if she wasn’t ordered to get revenge, which I think she probably was, she’s got to see killing Jane as a free ticket to Jarl’s affections So even if Jarl hasn’t actually ordered her to try to kill Jane, Jane is still not safe around her"

Ryu stayed silent He was staring at ht of his gaze

"You’re right, Anyan," he said finally, in a heavy voice "We shouldn’t risk Phaedra’s trap except as an absolute last resort"

Oh, gods, I thought Why does he have to be all reasonable about this? I wanted Ryu angry, arguing, not sounding like…

Like I’ve just stuck a dagger in his heart, I realized

"Babe," I said, "I’ to do it I am We can keep an eye on Phaedra We can --"

"I know, Jane," Ryu said, notBut only as a last resort And in the meantime, we should keep you away fro Have you worked with her at all since she’s been here?" I winced at Anyan’s words I hadn’t trained, and Ryu and I had talked about the fact that I was getting behind

"No," Ryu said, gritting his teeth "We haven’t been training"

"Well, that changes now Tomorrow I’ll ith her She needs to learn to use her shields for ize to her boyfriend, I realized

"Anyan, that’s enough," I interrupted, shooting the barghest a beseeching stare After a second, he nodded, turning to leave

"I’ll, um, leave you two alone But tomorrow, be ready to train, Jane" I saluted, but his back was already turned

"I saw that," he ruer

"That too," he said, as I went to shut the door behind hi the courage to turn around and face Ryu

But he beat entle on my shoulders as he turned me around

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"For the reasons I said, Ryu I knew you’d do so either of us could do"