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"It was never my intent to har Odd

"And thatposition, all that dark hair spilling around her shoulders The pearl-like sheen was slowly returning to her skin "You left !"

"I know" Was that skin as soft as it looked? He gulped "And I aer should have overjoyed hih up at him, her face lit with the force of her a him Yes, he should have been overjoyed Instead, the disappointh him Disappointment mixed with shame

She was asped out "You know that I can only consue himself for the first time in his existence

"What’s more, you left me here With no way home"

His nod was stiff "I have sinceyour life But as I said, I a up her ar acceptable" She didn’t wait for his reply She kicked her legs over the bed and stood Her skin was at full glo "Now you listen up First, you’re going to find a way to feed et off this stupid cloud Otherwise I will make your life a hell you’ve never experienced before Actually, I will anyway That way, you’ll never forget what happens when you mess with a Harpy"

He believed her Already she affected hih Proof: histo touch her Rather than reveal these new developments, however, he said, "You are powerless here Hoould you hurt hed "I don’t think so" One step, two, she approached hiround He would not retreat Not this time Assert your authority "You cannot leave unless I allow it The cloud belongs to me and places my will above yours Therefore, there is no exit for you You would be wise to curry my favor"

She sucked in a breath, paused "So you stillto attend?" She sounded surprised

"When did I ever give you the impression that I meant otherwise? Besides, I heard you tell your sister you didn’t want to go to that wedding"

"No, I said I didn’t want to be a bridesmaid But I love ue over her straight, white teeth "But let’s talk about you You like to eavesdrop, huh? That sounds a little deel"

Over the years he’d been called far worse than deh… Was that how she saw hihteous soldier he was? "In war, I do what I ht" Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her middle Stubbornness radiated from her "We were at war before I even met you?"

"Correct" A war he would win But ould he do if he failed to set her on the right path? He would have to destroy her, of course, but for hially be allowed to destroy her, he reminded himself, she would first have to co time, she had never crossed that line Which ed to do so But how? Here, away from civilization--both mortal and immortal--she couldn’t free a deel Besides hier than she was

She could blasphee someone to do that, no matter the reason Not even to save himself

The only other possibility was for her to convince an angel to fall As she was his teel of her acquaintance, he was the only one she could convince And he wouldn’t Again, not for any reason He loved his life, his Deity, and was proud of his work and all he had accomplished

Perhaps he would simply leave Bianka here, alone for the rest of eternity That way, she could live but would be unable to cause trouble He would visit her every feeeks--perhaps h for her to corrupt hi to the side He frowned, straightened and rubbed the now-stinging spot Bianka was exactly as she’d been before, standing in front of hi

"You hit me," he said, his astonishment clear

"Hoeet of you to notice"

"Why did you do that?" To be honest, he should not have been surprised Harpies were as violent by nature as their inhuman counterparts, the deh? Why did she have to be so lovely? "I saved you, gave you my blood I even explained why you could not leave, just as you asked I did not have to do any of those things"