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Before Cai could retort with some mature response like takes one to know one, they were in the kitchen

Lynn and Darcy provided Rand what Cai would consider the equivalent of a bucket of deer h the shifter consumed over half of it quickly, the kind of day they had had overtook hi a face plant in the remains of the meal

"Good enough Tio to bed"

"Dovia first," Rand insisted Cai didn't disagree

Lynn ith the the, but ive it time

Patience was so not his strong suit

You waited decades for the right moment to kill a Trad and free yourself from them, Rand observed You have patience It's just selective

Rand's ability to read his emotions aside, Cai knew he should at least try to close his mind to Rand If for no other reason than to prove he could Honor the bullshit elitist vampire code Yeah That was so him

But for some reason, he just hadn't felt like it since the whole rescue andan open door to Rand in hisin there all by himself, weird as that sounded

Maybe it gave Rand reassurance, too Cai knew itthat Rand sincerely wasn't worried about his leg And that concern grew evenDovia in far better surroundings than when they'd seen her last

Fane's irl's corner of the cellar asa double-sized bed down there, outfitting it with comfortable linens and pillows A soft, stuffed ani, velvety ears, was on the pillow next to Dovia's head, ed under the covers It reminded Cai of her mother

Cilya sat on the foot of the bed, her hand resting on Dovia's leg, hidden underneath the sa a soft, for, her dark eyes concerned and focused on the sleeping young woman

Cai had listened in on some of Rand's visit with the family before they approached Goddard's ca her in person, Cai could easily iy that broadcast firs that could figure out what a young, hurting soul ht one of Fane's children to be sitting with Dovia

"I know she's probably too old for the rabbit," Lynn whispered to Rand She stood on the bottoround level All three watching the fe her up, she was a child in need ofher coht it for a teacher friend's baby shower Plenty of ti different if Dovia wants to keep it"

"Good thought," Rand said "She's in good hands"

"Cilya and I have been taking turns watching her Sangra gave her the sedatives in the dosage you instructed, so she's out, but whenever one of us isn't

sitting on the bed, she becomes restless" Lynn paused "She asked for you and Cai last thing before she fell asleep I ured you'd want to stay close to her anyway and" Her gaze strayed briefly to Cai and skittered away "And him"

"If you think she's better with the two of you, with females, I can bunk down elsewhere," Rand said, concerned

"No She asked for you Sangra says one of the best things she could have around her right now is y she trusts" A shadow crossed Lynn's expression, a deep anger on Dovia's behalf "A reood males If you decide she needs one of us down here, just coet us, but

Lynn's brow creased, as if the wo whatever she'd intuited fro you're what she needs right now"

She patted Rand's arhter had Cilya rising The younger woman came to the stairs She didn't speak, but she squeezed Rand's arm before she went up the stairs Cai adjusted out of the way She nodded to hi a bunch of vampires in the cellar wasn't her uppermost concern However, Lynn skirted around him on the way up with an aard but courteous nod As the door above closed behind her, Cai raised a brow

It's safe to say the uests are gone

He shifted his attention to the other side of the cellar Daegan sat on a cot against the wall at watchful attention, but he was in the farthest, shadowed corner, perhaps so he wouldn't be conspicuous to Dovia if she woke