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I stared at the wo in my experience She was shorter than me, barely over five feet, with dishwater blond hair, shrewd black eyes, and a sharp, angular chin that was raised as she looked down her nose at me This was me? The past me? But how could that possibly be? I shook my head, so confused I just wanted to walk out and leave it all behind ether as the woman - I couldn&039;t think of her aslike lance at anyone wrapped her arms around hi, it&039;sinto the flesh ofher off Alec "But IerAlec&039;s Beloved is dead She was run over by an oxcart several hundred years ago"

"How do you know that?" Kristoff asked, givingonce-over

"IuhI had a vision of the event"

"Ah" He didn&039;t look convinced, but let the matter drop as Eleanor cahting her verybut overjoyed to see his longlost Beloved Or, rather, the original version of her

Jesus wept, what had I gotten myself into? I should be happy she was back Now I could wash h with vas of intense unhappiness that thought triggered

"I was dead," Eleanor said, kissing Alec&039;s chin before turning to faceto keep froht back"

"We know a necro between Alec, Eleanor, and ht her back, the council would be forced to get you out of the Akasha, Alec We didn&039;t know that youthat Coraoh, ure out," Kristoff said, gesturing toward a couple of couches "Please sit, Cora"

"Where are my manners? Yes, please, sit down, all of you We have so much to talk about" Pia shook off her stunned expression and smiled as she moved over with me to one of two couches

"It&039;s a lovely roo aardly by the door, e that when Eleanor, with one hand on Alec, tugged him down next to her on a love seat "And a lovely house"

"It is pretty, isn&039;t it? It&039;s built on a twelfth-century tower that was later part of aBut I can show you around the house later - there are so many questions that Kristoff and I have Like how did you et out of the Akasha, Alec?"

Alec had been watching me with an avidity that evidently didn&039;t make Eleanor happy at all, for she put a proprietary hand on his thigh and gave me a cool look as he answered "I have Cora to thank for that"

"Do you indeed?" Eleanor said softly

"Are you awhat do they call them? " Pia turned to Kristoff

"Guardian," he said, eyeing me "She does not appear to be one"

"I&039;ot zapped into the Akasha ed for Alec to be brought out, as well"

"Why?" Eleanor asked

I sed back the urge to shout at her that I was his Beloved, not her, and I had saved hi myself for such stupidity I had an out in the form of Eleanor - I would be an idiot not to take that

And leave Alec, never to see hiain

My heart shattered as everyone looked atto do," I said laaze, but all too aware of the swift lance of pain that shot through him at my words

Both Pia and Kristoff looked atpanda bear

"I think Kristoff&039;s right, and you&039;re going to have to tell us what happened fro toward a pale blue brocade couch

As I passed Kristoff, he froze, an odd look on his face as I could have sworn he sniffed the air

"Cora, why don&039;t you - what?"

Pia turned a shocked expression first on her Dark One, then onif I had somehow offended them

"You&039;reyou&039;re a Beloved? Alec&039;s Beloved? But EleanorKristoff, are you sure?"

It was my turn to freeze "Uh"

"Cora can&039;t befrom the love seat, much to Eleanor&039;s dissatisfaction His face was a mask, absolutely devoid of e around inside him "I don&039;t say that we don&039;t have a blood bond, but" His voice trailed off as he glanced toward Eleanor

"What sort of a blood bond? " she asked, her eyes narroith suspicion

Alec ignored her as Pia spoke hesitantly

"Butbut Kristoff saidhe said she smelled" Pia blinked at me

"I smell?" My voice ca told you stink by people who to ask for help isn&039;t a moment to shriek over, I don&039;t knohat is "I don&039;t knohatI ?Jesus wept, Alec! Why didn&039;t you tell ," Eleanor said, her voice as hard as granite "I am Alec&039;s Beloved He said I was, the first day he sawree to it, except that stupid woman with her stupid oxen came down that hill and ran me over"

Sympathy welled up inside me I knew just how bitter she felt about those oxen and that woman I was just as annoyed when they had run ?

I putto shake some sense into it

"No, no, you don&039;t s out to pat ht have some sort of hideous Akashabased body odor that had escaped my notice Why the hell didn&039;t you tell me I stink? I could just die!

You don&039;t stink You smell wonderful, like sun-warmed wildflowers

Your nose is clearly out of whack because the others certainly think I s I hadn&039;t done since we&039;d come into the house, and immediately amped with emotion Can youercan you talk with her, too?

It took him several seconds to answer Yes

"I don&039;t think I a," Kristoff said slowly, his eyes filled with speculation as he looked ata sense of nausea that followed Alec&039;s admittance That he could talk to Eleanor confirmed she was truly his Beloved, and er neededmyself with the desire I had for hi the back of his hand

He shot Alec a look "He can explain"

"Cora, before you run off to bathe yourself in perfu both men annoyed looks

"I&039;d like to know just why he thinks that woman is my Alec&039;s Beloved," Eleanor said with an injured sniff "When it&039;s clear I was, and am"

"Yes, but you don&039;t smell At least I don&039;t think she does Does she, Kristoff?" Pia asked

Kristoff lifted his chin and sniffed "Not really, no"

"Your nose is wrong," Eleanor told hi," I said, wrapping my arms around myself "But I&039;m sorry if I&039;ve offended anyone"

"You haven&039;t offended anyone, Cora" Alec rabbed his aruish for a second, his eyes burning into uilty You found your Beloved You should be happy

My Beloved is dead, he answered, shaking off Eleanor&039;s hand to h And she&039;s been brought back

As a lich

So?

His gaze wavered Soht here, Cora, the least of which is the pain I feel in you

I gently pushed him out of my mind, uneasy that he could read hed "Since Alec never bothered to explain this to you - honestly,about Beloveds I know I freaked out when I heard about it, but Kristoff assuresdeal, and it can vary, so don&039;t think you&039;re walking around s ole asped, staggering to the couch, drawn againstto stink, he could just be inflicted with it "I smell like manure ? "

You do not stink Just the scent of you et into my head so easily?

"No, of course you don&039;t," Pia said soothingly "Beloveds, to Dark Ones who are not theirs, have thisodor Supposedly it alerts the, and that their blood is basically poison to anyone but the designated Dark One So I suppose I can see that there should some marker to indicate that soh really, I think they could have co"

Does Pia smell bad to you? I couldn&039;t help but ask

Not bad so much ashed, and wrapped an ar Beloveds in the process of Joining smell a little different, that&039;s all Once Joined, it&039;s a bit stronger, but even then I&039;ve never found it repellent We are used to it, I assure you What I&039;m curious about is how you came about to be"

"My nantly

"Boy, you&039;re really Mr Put Your Foot in Your Mouth today, aren&039;t you? " Pia asked hi touch "I think he means how you can be Alec&039;s Beloved when Eleanor was killed several hundred years ago"

"And brought back, just to save hi at me "I do not like this woman, Alec I don&039;t knoho she is, or why you all seeood as me, but she&039;s not I aed to Join with you all those centuries ago And it is I ill redeeedme to explain my connection to Alec, but that ould only cause uilty than he did already, and I didn&039;t want to spend my life with a vampire

Liar, my inner self snarled

I rubbed my head, my emotions as confused as my brain

"You were, at one time, my Beloved, as Kristoff knows," Alec ad out onto me "But be that as it may, there is a bond between Cora and me that we cannot deny I do not believe such a bond exists between us any it

Do you dislike me so much that you are so happy to be rid of me? he asked

Tell hi because he thinks you don&039;t want hiue that I didn&039;t want hiured that the one man in the world I wanted was the one I should never have Way to go, life

"How does Kristoff know?" I asked the roo to drown out my conscience "How did you know about Eleanor?"

"It was his ho killed my Beloved," Alec answered, his eyes a pale jade "His first wife"

My eyes widened as I stared at Kristoff "Your as the one with the oxcart? The one who cut off my head? "

The second the words left my mouth, I cursed myself My devil cheered

"Your head?"

Slowly, I turned to look at Alec

Your head? he asked again

U into Kristoff when he sat next to her

"Yes!" Eleanor said, leaping to her feet, her face red with anger "What exactly do you mean, your head? It wasto steal hi to steal Alec from me!"

Alec&039;s pain lashed hi my knees, unable to look at hi more She had some sort of a vision about the day I was killed - she said so herself - and now she&039;s trying to use that to confuse you I&039;m your Beloved, not her I don&039;t care what Kristoff says - it&039;s me who has the bond with you"