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Hailey slipped through the crowd barely disturbing a single garment even though the crowd pressed in on all sides. Her stealth was made easier by the dim lighting. The red-orange hue of sunset had given way to the dark blue/gray of twilight. She had the knife under her robes, and she clutched it tightly to her chest."You can do this. You can do this." She said to herself for the millionth time.She knew she could do this.A quick excuse to Alana and she had bought herself a few hours of time before the Argo left. She had noticed Rachel watching her, and was extremely grateful that Ethan had unwittingly distracted her. If all went according to plan, The Arena Champion - her former master - would be dead and she would be back on the Argo before anyone suspected a thing. With a little luck, they would be far outside the city before anyone found the body."You can do this, you can do this."That bastard was finally going to pay for... for...Hailey pushed her grief to the back of her min
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A Deadly Engagement and Long-Awaited WeddingEthan took a deep breath. "Alana Tarihowen, will join your soul with mine as the strands of this braid are joined? Will you marry me?"For a few glorious seconds, the look on Alana's face was pure, unadulterated bliss. She reached out and touched the braid with the tips of her finger and she looked like the happiest woman in the entire world...But only for a few seconds.Then her face fell.She retracted her hand slowly as she met his eyes. Her eyes and their bond were filled with both longing and sadness; yearning and sorrow. She bit her lip and took a long, slow, trembling breath. Then with more hesitation and reluctance than he'd heard in his entire life, she uttered a single word:"No."* * *It was just before sundown as Kendra bowed low in respect before entering through one of the large double doors that led into Illuminar's grand cathedral. The sheer size and scope was incredible. Its highest was point hundreds of feet tall, and th
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He continued. "When this person -- someone you wouldn't expect -- saves your life, just remember this: they are your best chance in this life for true friendship and someone you can trust implicitly.""Truly?" She asked, though she didn't believe it was possible. It just seemed too good to be true."Truly," he said, but then his voice grew serious. "But He also gave a warning with the message. If you squander this chance, you may not get another. Don't waste it."* * *If Beth felt like walking to Ethan's ravine in the forest had taken a long time, it felt like walking back to Arcanum took even longer. She had initially enjoyed the hues of purple that made up the Astral Plane. Now -- after over a week there -- she never wanted to see that color again.During the long walk, she'd occasionally removed Aharown from its scabbard -- which was now secured to her belt -- and swung the blade around experimentally. It felt natural in her hands, like the hilt had been made for her, yet it felt
TO BE MATED 1409
*Then what?**It's... um, it's a sort of complicated topic involving my parents."*I thought they died,**They did, but um...* She trailed off, then said aloud. "What's going on with those two?" She nodded her head toward Anthiel and Raklan on the main weatherdeck, who appeared to be having an argument.As if on cue -- possibly even like she had been waiting for a break in conversation -- Rachel climbed onto the weather deck looking concerned."Hailey's not back yet," she said running her hands through her flame colored hair.Ethan glanced at the sky, which was fast abandoning twilight and becoming night. "Do we know where she is?""She said she had an errand to run and that she'd be back after dark," Alana replied.Rachel grimaced. "Something's not right. I should never have let her out of my sight.""Oh?" Ethan and Alana said at exactly the same time. They exchanged a glance, then an amused smile."I swear you two were made for each other," Rachel smiled and rolled her eyes at their
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Both the champion and Hailey snapped their eyes toward him. The Champion instantly started trying to shout through the gag, probably pleading for Ethan to release him. He was so thoroughly gagged, it came out as muffled grunts. Hailey had a look on her face that Ethan had never seen before.It was pure, unadulterated rage.Not the 'I'm-going-to-lose-control-and-break-something' kind of rage though. It was a quiet, deadly, and calculating rage that simmered and bubbled like the lava of a volcano before erupting. It was hot in its intensity and powerful in its strength."Hailey, what are you doing?""Correcting a karmic oversight." She hissed."That's not your job Hailey, leave that to the law.""There is no law for bastards like this," she poked the champion with the tip of her knife, drawing a few drops of blood. "His father is the Supreme Magistrate and he's rich as creases." she put the tip of her knife by his throat. "He can ignore the la
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"GUARDS!" He shouted,Ethan jumped back from the bed and reactivated his disguise gem; he couldn't be discovered here.The champion smiled wickedly. "I'm going to tie her up and find her best friend Vienne. See, most people don't think I know, but I do. I'll make Hailey watch while I--"Those were his last words.The Champion's speech was abruptly cut off by Hailey's knife embedding itself in his skull. Ethan whipped around to see Hailey standing on the balcony with her throwing arm outstretched.She stood there as if turned to stone.Outside, Ethan could hear the sound of armored feet running. He ran to the balcony."Hailey, Hailey!" He said as he gave her a slight shake. "Snap out of it!" she seemed frozen, her eyes staring unblinkingly at the Champion's corpse."I... I didn't..." she barely got the words out; she was clearly in shock.Ethan weighed his options. There was no way he could fly while carrying Hailey and she was in too much shock to leave herself. He had maybe a few sec
TO BE MATED 1412
Taloni woke from her sleep with a strange, almost disembodied ache in her left shoulder. A quick check revealed that her shoulder was fine, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong somewhere.She brushed her honey-blond hair from her face, closed her eyes, and looked at her bond with Ethan. They'd only bonded three days ago, but it felt like much longer. She could already feel a tiny presence in her mind that hadn't been there before. She knew it was him, but only rarely could she get a sense of what he was feeling.It was hard to be sure, but it seemed like he was in serious pain. The emotions were so fleeting -- and so hard to feel -- that she almost felt like she was making it up. However, when she thought about that pain in her shoulder...Something was wrong.She sat up in her bed looked around. Most of the other unmarried women who didn't have family in the camp were quartered here. Prayla was there too, snoring so loudly a passer-by might have mistaken the so
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Kendra's word died on her lips as Luminar Kossel's body language changed instantly. Even from behind, he suddenly seemed larger, more imposing. The air seemed alight with a powerful tension, as if some great force was being restrained."You'll what?" he said in a quiet, deadly tone.Somehow, the old man's words came across like a threat. Kendra took a small, involuntary step back as the priest's arm fell to his side. It wasn't a threatening gesture, but his words had quite the effect on her. She glared at the priest and Ethan before turning and storming awayThe priest stared after her for a moment, shook his head, and then turned toward Ethan. "Hello there my young friend. Don't worry, you'll be alright."He groaned as he tried to pull himself up."Rest easy son, you've had a busy day," he glanced at Ethan's wounds. "You're fortunate to be all in one piece.""Thanks Obi-Wan," He smiled wryly, recognizing the Luminar's words mimicked the famous Jedi sage from the original Star Wars. H
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