I died loving Him. Now I'm back

ne's

over breakfast until it didn't even

. She had a blade in each hand and he

," she said. "Di

ing lik

d a weapon. I just let Kellan's guards handle everything. I thought that's what

ork out so we

ith me,

n't argue. She never does whe

in about thirty second

g me back up. "What's act

g's goi

three times this week. That's not

never treated me like I was fragile. But how do you explain something like dying

aid instead. "Ab

Vance thing? Selene, your dad

e back up. "The northern border's been bad for m

lm expression

That's council stuff. Dad h

o

old me,

hat either. I'd know

heard it s

ds convinced when I'm lying, which is inconvenient,

had a bad dream, you sure know a lot about b

ad a

ument in your life. I watched you fall asl

ppened o

times that I remem

change

cond, the way she does when she's deciding whether to

answer

ng the thin

t th

talking to me." She crossed her arms. "You used to do it right before every big performance

not s

literally, sweating thro

from s

e it

est of practice, kind of like how she watches a new recruit she

ute this time, which felt like a big deal for someone who

a stack of papers on the bench. "Land surveys," he

going t

l. If Dad's really doing this, you should at least know

his whole merger too, right up until the wedding actually happened. Then he just went quiet, like

told him, an

s jaw was tight. "There's othe

ay

d nobody listens to me because I'm the little brother w

ten to

e you're scared. Which, by the wa

knew how ri

ntion to the papers for once. "You're different lately," he s

it be

it's usu

ocuments, and that's where I found the name for the first time. Damon Reyes

he always stood a step behind Kellan. Always close enoug

it felt in my mouth now that I knew what I knew. It felt wrong. L

uldn't see my face. I walked out toward the edge of Hart territory, further than I mean

idea, obviously it

ot quiet in that way that makes you

e turned aro

ng close, talking low. One of them I didn't know at all. T

knew right awa

s of what they were saying. The word merger. The word timing. Then

he remembers

rozen. They weren't talkin

talking

it because a twig snapped under my

hem stopp

a second. I did

n turned

t the tree I was hiding behind, like he alr

t at each othe

he sm