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Yet pretending wasn’t as good as the real thing

Recalling the war a blood kiss with hi her She swiftly disentangled

As Jo looked on, the wohed If she had someone real of her own, he would hold her like that He’d own her heart, and that would anchor her to him

He’d never let her float away

SEVEN

Expectancy

As Rune hunted for N&iu the most decadent street in the town of New Orleans, anticipation thru

Why? He was on a routinethousands

For hours he’d searched, questioning low creatures and staring down alphas of other species

Maybe he craved a fight He hadn’t been raised as a frontline warrior, but he’d coood battle with his fellow Møriør

They warred seae into the fray to hty battle-ax Blace would use his great-sword and unmatched skill to behead waves of warriors

Rune’s "bonedeath" arroould explode into reverberations so violent the bones of their foes would disintegrate, never to be healed

Darach would already have sped behind the army to track down and maul any who fled

Allixta created shields and neutralized others’ icks Rune supposed her talent would be helpful if the Møriør ever faced a worthy adversary For now, the tart looked decent in a hat

Orion aths and directed them to their enemies’ vulnerabilities

The Møriør who still slept? Well, the weakest one could consume a city

When Orion and the Møriør offered opposition the chance to surrender, they accepted Or died

This anticipation Rune felt could not be about the voyeur She’d held his interest only because she was a rarity--no, a singularity

The one wo so, as his professions had always involved sex He’d started young in the fey kingdom of Sylvan, because his queen had discovered uses for Rune, her husband’s halfling bastard