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Khollie followed her inside

“No,” Cassidy said “I can do this by myself”

Khollie wagged his tail and didn’t move

“Out”

He didn’t rff ed at him

She closed the door in their furry faces, but as she prepared to use the toilet, she could sense theht in front of the door andknew those keen ears would be pricked to catch every sound

“Back off,” she growled

She’d bet they didn’t take more than one step back And she’d bet a season’s income that those ears stayed pricked

She wasn’t going to win this argument, so she pretended she had privacy and took care of business

Your males want to talk to you, Vae said when Cassidy opened the door

She wasn’t sure she was ready to talk tothem Not that she had a choice Darcy and Lloyd took point Keelie and Khollie blocked her on either side Vae and Dark position

Cows and sheep ht as they escorted her to the bigroom They escorted her all the way in, then turned and trotted out, closing the door behind them

Her whole First Circle was there, along with Gray and Shira, but Reyhana was not

Reyhana had the kind of strength that would attract strong th that would cause Kerirl as a serious rival in a couple of years Would Kermilla take steps to eliminate a potential rival? It was a possibility

And another reason to show ht

A place at the table had been left for her—on the far side, away from the door, and s her that she wasn’t getting out of the rooh her men

She found that coht This wasn’t confusing at all

Gray ca better after getting some rest?”

She smiled at him “Yes, I am”

He studied her as if he’d been prepared for one kind of mood and was faced with another Then he ss to show you”

He led her to her place at the table, but she felt too restless to sit down And she wasn’t sure how to interpret the rim faces since Powell had seemed so dismissive earlier

“Powell told you about the letter,” she said

“We saw that piece of shit,” Talon replied “It pissed off the rest of us, but if it knocked your legs out froood ploy for Kermilla to use”

“Ploy?” Cassidy stared at her Master of the Guard