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He iven her a jot too er "I think I’ve created a

"That bloodit Hey, been thinking about phantos about her species, but he’d had little inforive her

In all seriousness, she said, "If a phantorinned "I’ to a stop "Look at the stars I love stargazing"

"Have you ever flown on a plane?" Over dinner, she’d admitted she’d never been out of the American South

"Uh-uh"

"Then at this altitude, you’re closer to the stars than you’ve ever been"

Her red lips curled But then her brows drew together "Wasn’t there another ti? Maybe I’ll float up to them" She reached up as if she could touch them "They’re " Josephine faced hi me?" Arm draped over her shoulders, he led her down a stone path "I told you It’s a surprise" He lifted his face to the wind but scented no Loreans on this mountain He heard no Orea Ti How could you not knohat you are? Did you never know your parents?"

"I don’t know"

Even drunk, she was going to stonewall him? "You either knew the, but he steadied her "I don’t have any ht or so It’s just a blank slate"

He stopped, turning her to face hirew distant "There was a shroud of crystal coveringit Then the bundle ods "Go on"

"I assumed he was mine, because I didn’t kno old I was In the end, Thaddie was my kid anyway"

No wonder she was so protective of him

"I didn’t knohere I was Who I was What I was But I knew the baby would need to eat My God, he could scream So I set off Walked till my feet bled, till ere found"

She and Thaddeus had been foundlings Rune pinched the bridge of his nose "Who discovered you, huh he knew the answer

"Huibberish They blamed my memory loss on a head injury"

That explained why she knew so little about the Lore "Then what happened?"

"They gave us names, posted bulletins to find our parents, then put us into social services We were the ‘Doe children’ We crapped out on our first foster placement"