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There’s no way you understand what any of thatpeanut

I have your brain And you have er just a human

Mace hated that the flying rat enetics hadn’t changed Ignoring his other half as best he could Noondered if his lack of acceptance was the reason his animal was so difficult to control

Striker’s dia for longer According to Striker, the ani Striker—then he had an extensive vocabulary

He felt the bat shrug in histime I learn much

Great He’d landed the Einstein of bats What’s going on now?

There was a pause as Mace e In the distance, he could see a line of yellow on the horizon, signaling sunrise was heading their way

An ied filled his mind, and he almost stumbled

The s our mate I need to make him stop

No, Mace said as an i beside Keiko entered his head Keep your distance, Mace ordered, although he had no idea what the bat thought he could do to shut the man up You need to remain safe so you can look after our mate I need your eyes for this plan to work

Save reed solemnly

With care, Mace slowed his steps as he rounded the corner onto the ledge above the terrace It looked like a battle zone Furniture had been overturned, people were huddled together in the center of the patio area, and there were dead bodies scattered everywhere In the ht next to the body of her friend

Mace’s heart clenched at the sight She’d been hurt Bruised But her chin was up, and she was staring at the Freedohters She was a queen, dressed in torn and borrowed clothes Her hands had been fastened behind her, and a silencer covered her mouth Around her head was an EMP band—one she’d placed there herself, according to his bat

Mace clenched his teeth so hard his jaw hurt He hated that she was positioned beside the bodies of the people she’d worked with People she’d cared about He hated that she was fodder for the press assembled in front of her Sure, they were terrified, afraid Freedo he owned that they weremental notes about Keiko for when they were freed They’d write about how she had been brought low by Freedom How her usual immaculate style had been replaced by torn and borrowed clothes that didn’t fit properly They’d describe in detail how she’d knelt before her captors, silenced, cowed

Only, she wasn’t cowed She was glaring at her captors Silently challenging them