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She gazed up at hi I didn’t expect”

Leaving him to ponder her words, she opened one of the double doors and followed his assistant through the study as she expressed gratitude to Sheena for her thoughtfulness Jade glanced back once before disappearing froht Well…not entirely

He watched her from his bedroom hen she left the castle, his i thesnow until Jade and the slayers entered the dense thicket

Dread consumed him But what choice did he have in this complex scenario and his efforts to maintain peace, other than to let the two men take her away?

Chapter Eleven

Per her request, the slayers escorted Jade to Jinx’s burial site, despite the inclement weather She’d been at the castle when the memorial service had been orchestrated She felt horrible over having ood friend Yet her absence had been unavoidable

Slipping froh calf-deep banks as Toran and Walker ht to keep her distress at bay as she stared at the cross protruding from a snowy mound

Jade prayed for an even tone as she said, “I’ot held up”

A wave of tors rose within her, despite her best efforts Tears burned her eyes and her voice cracked as she said, “I always adored you From the first time we met You came to my fifth birthday party and told me you could read fortunes Of course, you had to explain to me what that meant”

She laughed quietly, painfully “You spun a silver coin on the kitchen table and when it landed heads up, you gasped and said, ‘You’re the little girl ill always be s’”

Indeed, she had been that child…until her parents had been viciously attacked Shredded

Fat drops slid down her cheeks “After ed you not to tell ain, because that initial one didn’t come true It didn’t last, Jinx”

At eleven years of age, she’d wanted to screa her a lie Her parents had been ain How cruel had it been for Jinx to mislead her, when he’d claimed over and over that his predictions were accurate?

But, of course, she’d never truly blamed him Yes, before that fated time of her life, she’d soaked up his optiedy had proven hiardless of his otherwise successful track record, she’d turned wary, skeptical Still, she’d cherished hiain

Jinx was a man whose compassion and exuberance had won over even the most cynical and broken of hearts—hers