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She nodded It was easier to break promises when they weren’t voiced

"What’s that creature on your back?" she asked quietly, hoping to turn the subject away froon"

"Did you see one in your travels? Does it exist?"

"As far as I know, only in legend Are you not fae? He slew one, you know"

"I don’t know him"

"Perhaps I’ll tell you the story some day"

"Will it fade? The tattoo?"

"No"

"Why would you want it on your shoulder like that, so that will forever be there?"

"As I recall, I was quite drunk at the tion?"

"Syons in one way or another, at one ti"

"Depends whether or not we slay them It all made perfect sense when I was drunk"

"Did you slay yours?"

"I thought so at the ti up and down her arown had no sleeves Lying with hi with the boys when she was a young girl His scent, his body, the length of him was that of a man "I could have killed you"

His hand stilled, his arhtened around her "But you didn’t, and if you had it would have hardly been your fault"

"Theya lord"

"Swindler wouldn’t have let that happen"

He was right, there Jim would have protected her He did it for so many others

"I shouldn’t have liked it if you’d have died," she said quietly

"I wouldn’t have liked it much either" She felt his chest rise beneath her cheek as though he were in the h that stopped abruptly as his wound protested "I’ up on an elbow, she gazed down on his heavy-lidded expression "That’s an odd thing to say At the worst times of my life, I’ve never wished for death"

"You’ve no doubt seen worse things than I have How can you rean used to say, ‘No et worse and they can always get better Expect worse and you’ll never be disappointed Expect better and you’ll always have so in anticipation of the better"