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e Harv
hains bit in
he execution platform and everything to do with the metal's poison. F
murmurs of the Blackwood Pack members gathered belo
er's voice. Gamma Franco Wiley. "You stand accused of betr
m, my mother, Jerry, was weeping. Not for me. Her tears were for the family nam
s, her shoulders shaking. But as her eyes met mine over Jerry's shoulder, I saw it. A
was wrapped around the hilt of a silver blade, its polished surface reflec
time, burning their cold, rig
her perfect face. She'd begged me to deliver a letter for her, a lo
red, her voice trembling. "Yo
lieved her. I'd wan
ecipient wasn't a lovesick boy; he was a Rogue scout. They caught me at the border, the map in my hand. I had no
The struggle was pointless. All that was left was the fi
s eyes-doubt, maybe even regret. But it was gone in an instant, replaced
ilver
ugh me. My vision blurred, the world di
ess, looking down at the scene. I saw my own limp form crumpled at
ar. "You did well, son. For the fam
er whisper carrying on the wind. "Momma
e, if there was any justice in this universe, I would burn th
eir movements rough, as if they were handling trash. They dragge
life, and the truck rumbled away, heading toward the desolate, rocky barrens at the
host. I watched as they pulled my body from th
"Good riddance." They climbed back into the truck and drove o
tance. My spectral form felt thin, stretche
ength was fading, a figure
k. He moved with a silent grace that was unnerving.
reached down and lifted my broken form into his
en earth, digging a shallow grave. He plac
re flower on the freshly turned soil. A moonpetal, its pe
. But his features were lost in the deep shadow of his hood. I could only feel an ancient, o
raw and guttural with pain, whisp
in
like a maelstrom, erupted from the ground. It latched onto me,
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