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No ti and slaht ribs and elbow taking the brunt

"Godda for the stars in , a largewhu into snapshot ies of lanky hands and dishwater brown hair

Rob Scra hold

I burst to action, squir into an angle that bought ain "Oh, right You can’t"

He sawed his arm, aied to pry pastmy throat "Go ahead and joke Like a prisoner’s last meal"

I twisted from my side onto my back, and in the half second it took for hihim off

He lost his balance and fell forward He was still on top ofmy face, but with a quick scramble and scoot, I turned s around hiave , Rob"

"I don’t need fangs to draw blood" He relaxed into rabbed for whatever he could get hold of He grabbed, and I squirht to ito do?" I said, pausing and panting "Hugfor le"

I bit his wrist As he flinched away, he dug his fingers intooing to suffer for what you did"

"Oh, Robbie, did the other boys e hi--he was just too heavy I could drink all the blood in the world and I’d never be able to fight a big Trainee boy, especially one who’d also been getting doses of the blood My words were one of the last weapons left to me, and I let them rip "Just think how special you are There can’t beIt’s actually quite piratical"

"Shut up"

"Do you even want to grow it back? You o with one arm and clawed for my neck I hunched my chin into my chest, but he just snatched at the collar of ot?" With my free hand, I punched at hier "It’s not over yet"

His fingertips grasped the fabric, then began inching lower, twisting and tightening it around my throat until it becaled to loosen my collar, his other hand wrenched between my forearms I tried to block, but I must’ve slipped, because suddenly I felt his thuhed

Then he squeezed

Instantly, I flashed back Instantly, I was in the ring with Eh to make me black out, our plan to fake my death

It’d worked

And then she’d been the one who’d died

Despair swas thrashed and my feet kicked the dirt, just as they had with E for air that wouldn’t come Just like that day

And, like that day, the world went dark

SOMETHING COLD SLAPPED MY FACE, and I gasped Deep in my muzzy brain, I rejoiced at the rush of sweet air Greedily, I sucked it in, but was slapped again

Cold water I accidentally inhaled it Choked and coughed Panicked

My eyes shot open

The sky was dark gray Late afternoon I could breathe But I was…tied

I shifted, assessing My ar intodown, tied on top of a rock