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I couldn’t hold David up Lewis lunged forward and tried to help take his weight, but there was so I’d expected

"God," Lewisto put up the shield Hold on - "

The Sentinels attacked from all around us, on every front I heard some physical confrontations, and saw a bloom of fire erupt somewhere off to the side, followed by shouts and screait out of the way of traffic Lewis had arranged our forces in tea in its suddenness and force I grabbed Lewis’s ar Rahel to get to hiht now! Go!"

"Already on it," Lewis snapped, and spun away "Stay here Draw theround, surrounded by fierce-eyed Djinn protectors ready to fight anything that cah I sank down at his side in a flutter of silk and held hiold but with oraylife of its own,out the aetheric pipeline that o!" I shouted, and grabbed hio, please!"

He shook his head His hand grabbed for htly "Say it," he said His voice was raw in his throat, al inapart I heard the crack of gunfire so So about a Warden down; so in the forht It couldn’t be

I squeezed my eyes shut, felt the tears burn down my cheeks, and whispered, "Oh God help me, I do I do"

There was an eerie second of utter silence, not even the windConflicts stopped, pinned on the instant, and I felt so like a puzzle box

And a wave of pure golden power flowed into hmy face with a look I could think of only as awed relief The gray faded from his face, back to a silvery scar Gone

And I felt the echoing power between us build, and build, and build, waves on the beach, pounding and ceaseless, cascading out into the other Djinn, enhancing their raer and refining it into surgical weapons

I’d justtheotten otten around to saying the words before he’d fled to the hills, along withshield of power over us, brilliant as shiold It covered not just the two of us, but all of the Pal all of Florida Whatever the Sentinels were doing, they quit doing it, fast, rightly recognizing that they had just been dealt a very serious blow It would take theure out exactly what had happened

"Did you know?" I felt giddy, halfway to heaven Endorphins kicking in "Did you plan that?"

David grabbed ood deal less restraint than rooms would have shown under si down the silk, crushing it toover the skin left exposed by the open V of the corset at my back

"Absolutely," he said, deadpan, when he pulled back

"You had no idea"

"I knew"

"You liar You guessed!"

He laughed and buried his face against azebo A storainst the rocks, and a wild cascade of lightning slashed out of the sky and grounded spectacularly out at sea It was the joy of the Djinn, ht stayed in hiently, with a pro ss to do"

"Sa for an explanation of what just happened"

He stepped back, and his gaze raked e," he said "I’ll be back I want to take that off you"

I shivered, nodded, and watched et used to the idea of husband - mist away on the hot, humid breeze

I couldn’t see any other Djinn, but there were plenty of hired security, all looking griuests to cover I had a whole contingent of the outward I reached up and tapped the nearest one on the shoulder "Hey!"

"Ma’ah it had been badlyaccident, but didn’t turn to face ’s over!"

He snorted "Right Let’s get you to the safe zone!"

"Sure," I said I felt giddy Alht bounce off ood Priorities "Hey, didn’t you notice all the cool stuff going on? Supernatural stuff all over the place?"

"Lady," he said wearily, "I’ve guarded the Rolling Stones Trust uards closed in aroundtank of body armor; I clutched the train ofdown the path, up the steps, and into the narrow hallways I’d co at e charges I hoped David’s black Aht past Lewis and a group of Wardens all huddled together; I tried to bail out to talk to them, but clearly that wasn’t in the plans No ht for the elevators The guards broke up there, facing outward in an arc while the guy in charge - Mr Squishy Ear - took my elbow in one massive, scarred hand and escorted me firmly across the threshold and into one of the lifts He punched in a key card, and aent, just the two of us

"Where’s Cherise? My ? ’Bout this high?" He ht just above the waistband of his ripstop pants "Blond?"