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I'm a shifter, and a thirdabilities She can have so as you aren't planning any hts to the death today

Cai's scowl deepened Fine But you will get soht, wolf

Rand's ansas a noncorunt Fortunately, Cai's attention was sidetracked when Dovia dropped below the surface She eed before either of them could worry she'd collapsed or moved to a section over her head She'd simply wanted to immerse herself

She stood, stroking water through her hair, over her skin, re blood and memory She was a lovely creature, as all vampires were Her breasts firm and nipples peaked from the water, her skin pale and soft With her hair wet, it hinted at the waves of shith and fullness

Her delicate chin dipped, her profile pensive Her hands slid just beneath the water's surface to fold over her stoaze lifted and met Cai's The tension that thruht, but Cai didn't back away from it He drew closer, stood before her

"I' the blood, he'd becoravelly rasp "It was the only way I knew to protect you until we could figure out an escape"

Her head bowed again in that posture of deep thought "It's an aift," she whispered

"I didn't think so Not for a long time, since it hatit hy they took lad to have it Wish I'd kno to use it to roast that bastard's ass a long ti"

A shudder ran through her and her eyes closed tightly, her face folding in on itself For the first time since they'd arrived at the water, she looked hunched, defeated Cai shook his head at hiellation aside, he moved closer and put both hands on her shoulders

His voice dropped so he spoke even more softly

"I can take it away"

She stilled and lifted her head, staring at hiaze Her hand lifted between the to touch his face, but it hovered there, and her body started to shake harder Cai clasped the hand in his larger one, letting them both rest on his chest, over his heart The rhythripped by anguish

"I just need it gone," she whispered "I can't feel it grow and knowI see their facesI can't do it I know it'sinnocent, and there are too few of us, but I can't If my father knew, if any of them knewit would be too much My father, he's already"

This time it was Cai's chest where she pressed her face, her arreater danger of breaking now than even before Cai's arms slowly slid around her He didn't look toward Rand this time His expression became harder Starker

"There's no sha, even if I couldn't think of anything else I've never considered it a gift, od tipped over a wine cup and splashed the gift of creation into the hands of a court jester, born a halfwit"

His sudden harsh chuckle irl It was more that he didn't seem to kno to deal with people and so Which most people and circuht now

Cai took a breath, his shoulders lifting When he spoke against her hair, the gravelly tone had evened out "It was totally randoift I was out in a hay field one night with a girl I wasn't supposed to be with her, but we'd snuck out I made a plant sprout from a seed in

"My guess is he'd planned to make us dinner He killed hertook ht, Lodellhe turned ood ones out there Lodell said he turned me to even the odds, and his s below the knee and burned it with his own blood so it wouldn't grow back To punish him"

Dovia tipped her head back, her ht, but then her eyes nized that there were things the vampire species shared that weren't part of the shifter world The underlying violent nature of the vampire world, for instance Dovia understood

Her slim hands reached up and cupped Cai's jaw "You risked ratitude I can't ask any more of you"

"You're not asking anything ofthe delicate line of it "Turn around and lean back against irl"

Wared into a faintly irritated expression, the kind a young woirl But Cai nudged her, and she relented, turning around and putting her back to hiain