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She swallowed hard, all too aware of the Council s mercilessness.
Jerome nodded, apparently satisfied with whatever expression of dread he saw on her face. I m going
to the meeting. I ll do what I can for you, but it s not going to be much. He glanced at Jed, who had
leaned forward to rest his chin on her shoulder. You kill off anything with some good in them, huh? So
this guy is bad news? Let me give you some advice, Paige. Now s not the time to be aligning yourself
with people like him.
Jed s body tensed, but he said nothing.
Hey! Sudden fury spewed through her at Jerome s attack, as if her inner wraith had been waiting for
the trigger, ripping through her with all the darkness and hate it was made of. How dareyou insulthim ?
She sat up, her fingers curling into claws. After what you did to Dani, you think you can insult the one
guy who s sticking by me right now? He s all I ve got, dammit! Her calf twitched and she jumped to her
feet, jerking out of Jed s grasp as she embraced the darkest urges gripping her. She lunged for Jerome,
but Jed grabbed her and hauled her back against his chest so hard he knocked the breath out of her
body.
She gasped for air; Jerome leapt backward, tripping on a chair and nearly falling into the lap of another
patron, who yelped and shoved him off her.
Calm down, Paige. Jed s voice was quiet. Steady. Utterly without inflection. Soothing . . . but not
enough. He s not worth your future.
She gripped Jed s wrists tightly, trying to breathe against the constriction in her chest. She pressed her
head back against him as people stared at them. So many people. So many deaths to feed her wraith.
She could sweep her arm out and get several of them at once
She tugged at Jed s wrists, testing the strength of his grip, assessing how hard it would be to break free.
At the same time, deep inside her pulsed the hope that he d be able to hold her when she snapped,
because she could feel it building. It s coming. Her voice was raw, barely recognizable.
Leave. Jed spoke the command at Jerome so quietly, yet Jerome knocked over another chair and
crashed into a waiter in his haste to make it to the door.
Jed s breath was warm against the side of her neck. You defended me.
Of course. She turned her face so her cheek was against his, concentrating on the roughness of his
whiskers scratching her skin. She groaned as her chest began to ache from the building pressure. Jed,
she whispered. I can t stop it.
Jed spun her around to face him, his fingers digging into her shoulders, his face tensing when he looked
at her. Your eyes are turning black.
Black? she echoed. That can t be good. Can it? No, it can t. She squeezed them shut and tried to
picture Becca, tried to shove down the strengthening urges. The almost overwhelming need to kill.
Anyone. Anyone would do. Just one death. To feed her wraith. Shit, shit, shit. It s not working. She
felt herself start to panic. I can t do this. I can t. I need to get rid of it by sending it into something. Like I
killed the orchid.
He cupped her face between his palms, pressed his forehead to hers, full skin-to-skin contact. Paige,
he whispered. Build your shields. Put the urge to kill back in its box. I do it every day. You can do it. I
know you can.
Her chest began to throb, her vision started to blacken. Then she snapped her eyes open, scanning the
room of dining patrons for her victim, scenting out her prey. The old lady in the corner. I ll kill her. She ll
die easily. Her voice was so low she didn t recognize it, couldn t stop it, couldn t stop the image of the
lady s death from blossoming in her mind. She ll turn black, and scream and explode . . . Her legs were
shaking now, her body screaming with pain, her head hurting so much she felt like it was going to burst
with the effort of keeping it at bay. God, Jed . . . do something . . .
Jed grabbed the wilted carnation centerpiece off the table and pressed it into her hand. Kill this.
She immediately dropped her shields and poison burst from her and slammed into the flower. It
exploded instantly and the power surged into Jed where his hand was pressed against hers.
His eyes widened. What the fu The word froze in his throat, his skin turned black, and he hit the
floor.
Nine
Jed! Paige recoiled in horror as Jed fell to the floor of the restaurant, then she recovered and tried to
yank her hand out of his grasp, but the wraith took over, forcing her fingers to dig even deeper, refusing [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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She swallowed hard, all too aware of the Council s mercilessness.
Jerome nodded, apparently satisfied with whatever expression of dread he saw on her face. I m going
to the meeting. I ll do what I can for you, but it s not going to be much. He glanced at Jed, who had
leaned forward to rest his chin on her shoulder. You kill off anything with some good in them, huh? So
this guy is bad news? Let me give you some advice, Paige. Now s not the time to be aligning yourself
with people like him.
Jed s body tensed, but he said nothing.
Hey! Sudden fury spewed through her at Jerome s attack, as if her inner wraith had been waiting for
the trigger, ripping through her with all the darkness and hate it was made of. How dareyou insulthim ?
She sat up, her fingers curling into claws. After what you did to Dani, you think you can insult the one
guy who s sticking by me right now? He s all I ve got, dammit! Her calf twitched and she jumped to her
feet, jerking out of Jed s grasp as she embraced the darkest urges gripping her. She lunged for Jerome,
but Jed grabbed her and hauled her back against his chest so hard he knocked the breath out of her
body.
She gasped for air; Jerome leapt backward, tripping on a chair and nearly falling into the lap of another
patron, who yelped and shoved him off her.
Calm down, Paige. Jed s voice was quiet. Steady. Utterly without inflection. Soothing . . . but not
enough. He s not worth your future.
She gripped Jed s wrists tightly, trying to breathe against the constriction in her chest. She pressed her
head back against him as people stared at them. So many people. So many deaths to feed her wraith.
She could sweep her arm out and get several of them at once
She tugged at Jed s wrists, testing the strength of his grip, assessing how hard it would be to break free.
At the same time, deep inside her pulsed the hope that he d be able to hold her when she snapped,
because she could feel it building. It s coming. Her voice was raw, barely recognizable.
Leave. Jed spoke the command at Jerome so quietly, yet Jerome knocked over another chair and
crashed into a waiter in his haste to make it to the door.
Jed s breath was warm against the side of her neck. You defended me.
Of course. She turned her face so her cheek was against his, concentrating on the roughness of his
whiskers scratching her skin. She groaned as her chest began to ache from the building pressure. Jed,
she whispered. I can t stop it.
Jed spun her around to face him, his fingers digging into her shoulders, his face tensing when he looked
at her. Your eyes are turning black.
Black? she echoed. That can t be good. Can it? No, it can t. She squeezed them shut and tried to
picture Becca, tried to shove down the strengthening urges. The almost overwhelming need to kill.
Anyone. Anyone would do. Just one death. To feed her wraith. Shit, shit, shit. It s not working. She
felt herself start to panic. I can t do this. I can t. I need to get rid of it by sending it into something. Like I
killed the orchid.
He cupped her face between his palms, pressed his forehead to hers, full skin-to-skin contact. Paige,
he whispered. Build your shields. Put the urge to kill back in its box. I do it every day. You can do it. I
know you can.
Her chest began to throb, her vision started to blacken. Then she snapped her eyes open, scanning the
room of dining patrons for her victim, scenting out her prey. The old lady in the corner. I ll kill her. She ll
die easily. Her voice was so low she didn t recognize it, couldn t stop it, couldn t stop the image of the
lady s death from blossoming in her mind. She ll turn black, and scream and explode . . . Her legs were
shaking now, her body screaming with pain, her head hurting so much she felt like it was going to burst
with the effort of keeping it at bay. God, Jed . . . do something . . .
Jed grabbed the wilted carnation centerpiece off the table and pressed it into her hand. Kill this.
She immediately dropped her shields and poison burst from her and slammed into the flower. It
exploded instantly and the power surged into Jed where his hand was pressed against hers.
His eyes widened. What the fu The word froze in his throat, his skin turned black, and he hit the
floor.
Nine
Jed! Paige recoiled in horror as Jed fell to the floor of the restaurant, then she recovered and tried to
yank her hand out of his grasp, but the wraith took over, forcing her fingers to dig even deeper, refusing [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]