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Disappointht >Diis h the crowds I felt foolish for co of hiht noticemore than just their nalanced down at the back of

that Xander really had been there in the first place

My skin no longer burned, and the mark--the six-pointed star--had all but disappeared I opened my fist and touched the container of salve I still held

Xander was real, all right

And suddenly I was sure he had the answers I wanted

XANDER

"So, X? Was it her?"

Edenjust beneath her skin at all ti her elbows on his desk, aze head-on

Irritated to be interrupted, Xander shoved the cruraph beneath the papers in front of hied line of his scar, an old habit But Eden was one of the few people who could get aith disturbing hiht be" Then he amended his words "I’m almost certain of it"

Overhead,the ceiling above them It would continue like that until dawn

Eden pondered his stateh her spiky hair Then she asked the other questions, the ones he’d been considering all night "What about the guards, did they see her? Do they knoho she is?"

He didn’t have a good answer for her, so he shrugged "I don’t know They definitely saw her, and I think they knew she ith me, even if they didn’t knohy But I have no idea if they’ve guessed who she is" He waited, wondering if he should even ask his next question He trusted Eden--with his life--but he could see she was already anxious, and he didn’t want to add to her troubles

She stood and paced the dark space below the club, one of their latest installations But they wouldn’t be able to stay there any longer He didn’t know if he’d been followed, and he couldn’t take the chance The clubs were a good place to hide, a good place to et too co If they did, they could be raided, and their secrets would be discovered, their plans exposed