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A few yards away, a srass was brown, the trees bare She could s on the wind, but it had yet to take hold of the land

A ainst the starry night sky The sword in his hand reflected ht as he sat there, still and silent The horse beneath hier She had no idea what he was doing out here in the cold when there was a safe, comfy cabin not far away

She opened hercame out Wherever she was, she had no body She was siht sky

The ht fell over his features

Neal The -dead past was the saled to ic to be found

Froht, she saw several low shapes slink forward An eerie howl split the air,the wind seem quiet in comparison The horse stomped nervously for a moment before Neal spurred it forward

The shapes rose up, solidifying into the forht Neal charged the for Neal’s throat Instead, it was his blade that hit, and thepieces

Two ath attacked, and Neal cut down each one with the sa showy Every movement was srace stunned Viviana even after she’d seen it before

Neal wiped his blade clean on the dead grass, remounted his horse, and rode away

Below in the valley, the door to the cabin opened An old, bent wo in confusion into the darkness She never saw Neal or the threat he’d eliain, as another battle was shown to her Then another, and another

In each one, she saw signs of different eras, different tih to have lived in, and yet there he was He fought off dark, terrifying monsters for people who didn’t even realize he existed He never once asked for thanks or praise for his deeds; he simply left when the job was done

When the interior of the truck finally came back into focus, Viviana was exhausted She felt like she’d been gone for years and was just now co at her with the oddest look on his face It was part sympathy and part pride, and she wondered if he was upset by what she’d seen

"What was that?" she asked

"The luceria shows us pieces of each other--things it thinks we need to know to help us grow closer and speed up the bonding process"

"What bonding process? You never said anything about that"

"It’s hoe connect It’s how you reach my power The luceria makes that connection possible, but the amount of power that can floeen us is directly related to how hting monsters were supposed to make me trust you?"

"Did it work?"

In an odd way, it did, but no ht It was so else that pulled her in--the part where he see, long tiic allow you to travel through ti time" He smiled, and it made her insides quiver in response "Just like those artifacts you like to collect"

"How long?"

"I’ve lost count Four hundred fifty-soed, drawing her attention to his bare shoulder Even that small movement caused deliciousafter a while, though I o the way I hope"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you don’t have to be alone anymore You don’t have to feel like you don’t fit in You’re one of us now"

Viviana’s insides iced over orry "What did you see?"

"You Alone All your life You’ve always set yourself apart from other people because you knew you weren’t like theht prying into my past like that"

"Sorry, sweetheart That’s the way it works You got to do the same with me"

"I don’t like it"

He took her hand and flattened it against his bare chest His skin was hot and tight over hardher dizzy

"You like that," he said with co anyet used to it If this luceria lets you pry intooff"

"Not until we find the gadget You proe yourit off" He leaned forward, a hot smile on his lips "If I have ain"

Shock rattled through her and she sat silent for ato make sense of his words "I don’t understand"