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His arhtened about her He could lie, of course And for a few ht actually be comforted But in the end, he knew that she would have to know the truth

’Yes They sensed the spirit within you as well as the fact you are vulnerable They will halt at nothing to regain their Prince"

A stark terror darkened the brilliance of her newly blue eyes "I’ to die"

"No," he swore in vicious denial "I will not allow that to happen"

"And how long do you suppose we can fight off every demon on earth? Unless you intend for us to hide here for the next fifty billion years?"

Shifting, he placed his fingers beneath her chin and forced her to aze

"It will not be necessary With every passing hour, the Phoenix gathers its strength"

"The Phoenix is gathering strength?" She gave a short, hu?"

A hint of tenderness eased his stark expression "I onlyitself so that the demons cannot sense its presence"

Far froarded hi inside me?"

"I can’t say for certain," he reluctantly admitted "Selena did not consider me her confidant I was merely her chained beast"

Her head dropped back onto his chest "My God, what a to do?"

He laid his cheek upon the top of her head, read-ily surrounding hiestion"

"What?"

"We asp "The witches? You mean the women who put this Phoenix into Selena?"

His features hardened Even after three centuries, he vividly recalled every eon The chains that had burned his very flesh Thehatred had not eased, but his concern for Abby was even greater There was no one else who could help her

"Yes"

"But"--she pulled back to regard him with a frown--"surely they are dead by now?"

’Their powers are linked to the Phoenix As long as it lives, so do they"

"And you think they could help me?"

"Perhaps," he offered cautiously

’Then let’s go to them" She reached up to clutch the lapels of his silk shirt "Where are they?"

"Actually, I’m not entirely certain"

"What do you mean?"

"As I said, Selena kept most of her secrets to herself, but I do know that she met the witches on occasion They ave a faint shake of his head, having already considered the possible locations "Not in the city They will need a place that is well secluded"

"Why?"

Dante hesitated Although he had determined not to hide the truth froraphic details Not when they were only bound to upset her further

"They perform… certain rites that they would not want others to witness"

Thankfully she was too distracted to consider the nature of the rites Instead she chewed her bottom lip until Dante shivered with the need to soothe it with a soft kiss