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"Alex, there was another daimon You know that"

Marcus’ voice carried over the sound of rushing blood that fil ed my ears

"Yes, but… " I re and hysterical, I’d shaken her and begged her to wake up, but she hadn’t moved

And then I’d heard someone else outside

Panicked, I’d barricaded s had been blurry then I’d needed to run It hat Mo like that ever happened

My heart stuttered and ods I left her" I wanted to puke al over Marcus’s polished shoes "I left her! I could’ve helped her! I could’ve done so!"

"No" Aiden reached foryou could do"

"The other dai an answer

He nodded "We assume so"

I started to tremble "No Mo"

"Alexandria, you kno it could have been done"

Marcus was right The energy the daimon passed on was tainted She would’ve been addicted from the firstthem of al free wil

I wanted to screa in my eyes told me I was a liar I turned back to Marcus "She’s… a dai akin to pain flickered across his otherwise stoic face "Yes"

I felt trapped in this rooers My eyes skittered across their faces Lucian see his earlier outpouring of affection and support Aiden looked like he was having a hard ti his expression blank And Seth… wel , he atchingfor ht get that I was one step away froainst the thick lu in my chest "How do you know this?"

"She’s my sister I would know if she were dead"

"You could be wrong" My whisper held a tiny shard of hope Dead was better than the alternative There was no co back once a pure turned into a daiods could fix it

Marcus shook his head "She was spotted in Georgia

Right before we found you"

I could tel this hurt him--possibly as much as it hurt me

She’d been his sister after alMarcus wasn’t as emotionless as he made himself out to be

Then the Apol yon spoke "You said her ia when you found her?" His voice was oddly accented, almost musical in quality

I slowly turned to him

"Yes" Aiden’s dark brows furrowed

Seth appeared to consider that "Does it not strike anyone as odd? Could it be herher?"

A strange look crossed Marcus’s face "We’re aware of the possibility"

It didn’t make sense When pures were turned, they didn’t care about things from their previous lives Or, at least, that e believed Then again, it wasn’t like anyone took the tiht No questions asked

"You believe herfor her?" Seth asked

"There’s a chance, but we cannot be sure It could have been a coincidence that she was in Georgia" Marcus’s words rang false

"A coincidence that she was in Georgia in addition to the two other dai her?" Aiden asked Marcus’s scowl deepened, but Aiden continued, "You kno I feel about this We don’t kno much of their previous lives dai for Alex"

The roo for me? Not as my mother, but as a daimon For what? The possibilities startled me… sickened me

"It is al the more reason to remove her from the Covenant, St Delphi Under my care, Alexandria wil be protected by Council Guards and the Apol yon If Rachel e is hunting her then she wil be safest with me"

When I openedin the ive in to the tears was there, but I forced it down, al the way down I lifted ht in the eye "Do you knohere she is now?"

Marcus raised his eyebrows as he turned to Lucian, who took a moment before he responded "I have a dozen offor her"

I nodded "And you al --al of you think that knowing thatan effective Sentinel?"

There was a pause "Not al of us agree, but yes"

"I can’t be the first person to face that"

"Of course not," said Marcus, "but you are young, Alexandria, and you… "

My breath got caught in ht? Pissed off? Those were a few things I was feeling right now

He shook his head "Things are different for you, Alexandria"

"No They’re not" My voice rasped "I’m a half-blood My duty is to kil daimons no matter what This won’t affect me

My mom--she’s dead to me"