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"Nobody ever asked if anted the job," he said flatly "Not back when the first winikin were htkeeper bloodlines, and not later It wasn’t voluntary None of it was If the ot trained, period Once he grew up, if the h the ritual, no discussion A bound winikin couldn’t have a fae had to be his first and only priority If--" He broke off, aat his jaw "It doesn’t matter anymore
They’re all dead It’s over"
"They" She trailed off, her sto Cooter’s stories had all been about duty, destiny, and heroes fighting to save the world Not this Nothing like this He hadn’t talked about theused to press children into service--he had ether, relied on each other But even as she scra they were less than two years to the end date, she couldn’t get past the excite to grasp what it ht mean for her
A winikin JT was a winikin Holy crap
Even now, as he leaned back against the counter and crossed his ared beneath his tee, she felt the punch of his presence, the aninetism that put a thrue of his tattoo, which had gained new htkeepers’ world was gone, it rerained within him He had lied to her, yes But he’d done it to protect her, the sas off between theot in too deep
It was too late for that, though--she was right in the s And the more she heard, thetime Like her whole life
"They’re not all dead," she said softly "You’re here"
"There was a resistance, a faction of ods by planning to attack the barrier There were fifty,ht of the battle But the royal council found out and caone dark "When they started pounding on the door, ave me the keys to the Jeep he had hidden in the hills beyond the canyon, and sent me out theHe told me to leave and never look back I was ten"
"Oh, God I’ a deep breath to settle the sudden churn in her stohty-four?"
His face blanked and his skin went chalky He took a step toward her, but then jerked to a halt
"How did you know that?" His voice was a pained rasp; his eyes searched hers
"Because that was the day I was abandoned in the bathroom of a maternity ward in Albuquerque I was about nineinformation Only this" She removed her locket, thumbed the clasp, and held it out to hilint off the two ovals of polished obsidian contained within it The one on the left was carved with the parrot’s-head glyph The other one was so scratched as to be indecipherable
He reached out and took the locket with a hand that shook ever so slightly "Dear gods"
Her heart stuttered; her whole world contracted to this lyph ever since my thirteenth birthday, when ave , just stood staring at the locket, she pressed,
"What does itit seem small and delicate "This is the syi of each bloodline wore the syical talents and such The bound winikin wore slyphs, one for each e, along with the servants’ ertip moved to the other, scratched side of the locket He rubbed where the original lines were barely visible "This was the servants’ glyph The aj winikin"
"The--" She broke off as her blood hummed in her veins "I’h her, lighting her up and ical
He snapped his head up to glare at her "Your parents inikin You’re free" His voice was rough, his eyes dark "You’ve lived your whole life in the huet the hell out of here while you still can"
"No way" She lifted her chin "I’ve been looking for answerson the move because I never felt like I kneho I was or where I belonged Until now"
"Natalie" He held out her locket, grim faced When she stepped closer to take it, he brushed his knuckles along her cheek "Don’t Please This doesn’t change anything"
He rong It changed everything, at least when it came to her plans As for the two of themshe didn’t know He wanted her, but he also wanted his freedom And she didn’t know if she could ith that
"I’," she said after ato defend the barrier"
Beneath the thrill of the discovery was a thick underlayer of fear that bubbled up at the thought of what they were really talking about here The end of days The end of everything This wasn’t just about the two of theone suddenly dry, she said, "Let me help you"