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"No," I say, standing up as the word rings in my ears Some part of my , I aives er; a frenetic buzzing rising in my limbs drivesis a sign of weakness I learned that froe, ill keep your secret"

My father’s watching i time for a soldier" His voice is soft as velvet, and as dark My heart tightens, shriveling with fear

But Roderick LaRoux is not the only one who can threaten without threatening, bully without raising a hand He’s taughtI know

"You were all I ever needed inhis face The dynamic in the air has shifted I can feel it And from the minute twitch on his cheek, I see that he can too "But people uncover buried memories all the time as they recover froan to reets slowly to his feet He’s a tall man, with suits tailored to emphasize his stature in dark, powerful colors He places one hand on the back of his chair, watching

"When we get to Corinth, Tarver and I will issue a stateed a downed escape pod to send a distress signal We won’t ht now, lying, keeping your secrets No one will ever have to knoe’ve seen

"But, Father--and this is the i you personally responsible for his safety Because if so ever happens to him, I’ll knoas you If he’s transferred to the front lines, I’ll know If he comes doith a mysterious illness, I’ll know If so much as a hair on his head is out of place, I’ll know And if so me, I’ll know that too"

"Lilac, I’" His tone is cold, but I can see so I’ve never seen before Uncertainty "Why his safety should be my responsibility--"

"His safety is your responsibility the way Simon’s should have been" For the first tih don’t hurt And this ti happens to Tarver the way it happened to Sialaxy will knohat you did here And if that happens, all the power and the h to save you"

My vision is blurring--not with tears, but with the effort of not blinking I can no longer see et through this You faced a wilderness with monsters, a ship full of corpses, the e ever happens to Tarver Merendsen, you will lose me too You’ll lose me forever And you’ll have no one left"

I finally let myself blink, and whenthere, quite suddenly old His white hair seems thinner, his skin looser I can see wrinkles around his eyes that I don’t re there The hand on the chair back is for support now, not to strike a powerful stance His mouth quivers

I harden my heart This, too, I learned froain Do you understand?"

He lets out a long breath, head bowed "Lilac…"