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"I don’t… I have no--" But he did Fro Tucker had witnessed, only one answer made sense "Tell me!"
Vlad had yelled the words, and Tucker had just realized he’d been wrong Nothing orse than hearing this va waves of his fury were tongues of fire, licking, feasting Tucker gulped Just as part of him wanted to run, part of him wanted to hold his next words inside
That part of him lost to self-preservation "The wolves protect him"
"The wolves" Silence followed Thick, heavy silence Gut-wrenching, sweat-inducing silence, but finally, blessedly, Vlad spoke again "Continue observing him I have much to consider"
Not an order to kill, and yet, Tucker experienced a sickening wave of dread That final order was co Of that, he had no doubt
DINNER SUCKED
Oh, the food was good--Meg Reeves was an excellent cook--and Aden loved him so room, icked cool Aden never feltabout the long, square table that Dan had crafted himself, the wallpaper with cherries and wheelbarrows, of all things, and the cabinet bri’s favorite china This hat a home should look like
But the new "tutor"…he shuddered Or perhaps shivered The word "hot" didn’t do her justice However, the word "fairy" did Tho for him The new tutor was none other than Ms Brendal, his sister
Aden had immediately realized how precarious the situation was, but he hadn’t been able to bail That would have looked too suspicious So here he sat And ate And pretended to be as normal as the others
All the boys were around hi to look at each other, were too quiet Seth was leaned back in his chair, one ar come hither RJ, Terry and Brian were openmouthed and du at the foot They, too, see to her every word as if she were the savior of the world
Even the souls were listening to her, waxing poetic about her face and body Sadly, he wanted to join them
Ms Brendal sat across from Aden, and yeah, she was beautiful Probably the , sparkling brown eyes that were so blond hair was not He didn’t think Her skin was so golden and luminous she could have sed the sun And she smelled like jasmine and honeysuckle
He loved jas He loved Brendal, too
His hands curled into fists He had to stop thinking like that, but didn’t kno Even though he knehat she was, he was e to protect her…hell, even to lay his head on her feet just to be near her Caress her, kiss her…worship her And that was dangerous (not to ) For Victoria, as well as himself This woman, this lovely fairy, was his enemy She would want to murder him the moment she learned what had happened to Tho out, over and over again The ghost stood behind her, desperately trying to gain her attention, screa at the table, the chairs, tugging at Ms Brendal’s hair, and when that didn’t work, shouting threats at Aden "My sister will avenge htful scene was Victoria She’d coo to wait in Aden’s bedroo to talk to him, about what he didn’t know But then she’d spied Brendal, and it had been gah--or maybe because--fairies hated vaht, and Aden had the dubious honor of being king of the vampires Victoria now paced outside the house, just in front of theacross from Aden Only he could see her, she blended so well into the night, but that didn’t help his sense of doo said, standing She was a petite woman, with delicate features and hair that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be brown or blond
"I’m always ready for one of your desserts," Dan told her with a warm smile They loved each other, and Aden’s chest constricted every ti, too, Meg skipped off to the kitchen
"You keep peering just over my shoulder, Aden" Even Brendal’s voice was beautiful, soft, like a song "Why?" She turned to look, and Victoria swiftly aze to fall to the tabletop He was sure everyone was now staring at him, and he hoped like hell he wouldn’t blush He blushed Fine Better they stared at him than theHe hadn’t realized he’d been so obvious "Is looking over your shoulder a crime?"
A pause Had his bluntness startled her? "I much prefer my students to look me directly in the eyes"
She did, did she? "I’ forward and reaching for his hand
He snapped both into his lap just before contact "I’ for over a month?"
"Yes"
"So you never spent ti "I’ht here See me Please, see me" He sounded close to tears, and Aden had to clear his throat to dislodge the lu there
"Aden," Dan said "Answer Ms Brendal, please"
Had he just been sitting here in silence? What had she asked? Oh, yeah "Correct" He prayed he wasn’t a neon sign of guilt "I didn’t spend much time with Mr Thomas" I only used up half an hour to kill him
Necessary, Elijah told hihts Or had Elijah just guessed? No, he realized a iven him away
That, and we’re certified bad asses, Caleb said I swear, God ht have created the world in six days, but we could have done it in five!