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"Alexandra, ear never to tell," Gabriel said "All of us"

Korvel nodded "I will take Simone aith me Richard will never know"

"Like I’d throw you under the bus, Alex," Nick said

Alex walked up to Korvel "If she lives, are you planning to bond with her? Make her your sygkenis? After everything you did to separate me from Michael, why should I hand her over to you?"

"If you don’t want me to have her, then you can take her back to America with you" He looked past her at Simone "You can tell her I’ain Only save her, Alexandra Please"

Alex picked up the syringe, stabbing it into her aro to ithin a few minutes Gabriel, I assu the transition to Kyn and one who dies fro"

"I have witnessed both many times, Doctor," he said

She went to sit on the side of the bed by Simone and prepare her ar I don’t want to knohat happens to this girl Ever" She slid the needle in and pressed the plunger down slowly

When it was done, Alex stood and gathered up her things, stuffing them in the case

As Alex passed her, Nick touched her ar her a chance"

"Is that what I did?" She stalked out of the room

Korvel took Alex’s place beside Simone and focused on her face, while Nick joined Gabriel at the foot of the bed

She curled her hand around his "Alex was right I couldn’t ever thank Elizabeth for what she did She ainst his side "Alex spoke without thinking"

"If it had been different, if she changed only me, and somehow I still found you, then maybe I could thank her" She squeezed his hand "After I kicked her ass"

As Alex had predicted, it took only a few minutes, and in that ti, because he cliainst hilanced at Gabriel, who shook his head

And then the wo

Chapter 21

O

nly one ferry from the Scottish mainland sailed to Í Árd, and only when it was summoned by radio from the medieval villa that no one knew had been transported from Italy brick by brick to the supposedly uninhabited island Aat least one trip, but on this night his instructions were to stay away And so he went to his favorite pub to have a drink with the lads and talk about anything but his work Within the center courtyard of the villa a hundred lass, their swords drawn and held aloft, the tips touching those across froold standard had been raised, but another fluttered beside it, one Korvel had not seen since childhood, when his grandfather had carried it into battle

Silver larkspur against a green field, the long-lost e he had once believed ih the ranks, holding Si white silk of her skirts caressing his arardens in the courtyard’s center, he saw the high pyre of carefully stacked wood Someone, probably Richard’s tresora Éliane, had placed hundreds of white blooms atop the wood On this bed of roses he placed the body of the worance enveloped them, he bowed his head to kiss her still, cold lips

"If there is a heaven, I know you are there," he whispered to her as a circle of guards bearing torches nizes an angel when he sees one I did"

"Captain"

"I have served you for seven lifetiive me a few esture, and thehis hand on the silk head rail covering her shorn hair "I know I gave you o on and live for us both But you rong aboutliar"

A drop of rain fell, landing to bead on the curve of her lip, and then another trickled down from her brow to the corner of her eye Korvel reached to wipe the in his eyes and realize they were not rain at all

He had not wept since his ht her hand to his face so she could feel this last h lord’s voice, which he could use as an instruentle "Youbecame simple He stepped down and took the torch froain, iveclearly She would not want you to do this"

"For once the vaht, Captain" Nicola walked up to the pyre "I can guarantee you she wouldn’t want this"