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John Mattheas forced to stand aside and watch his shellan heft a trunk the size of a Chevy off down the hall with his sister and her mother?

He was thrilled about the latter two feht But he knew better than to play he-man with the muscles If Xhex needed his help, she&039;d ask for it

And what do you know, she was strong enough to do it all by herself

Right, for reals that was hot--he wasn&039;t going to lie

"Have you got your duds?" Tohruy, it was clear the Brother had just been rocked to his core He was absolutely reeling in his shitkickers Except, given the hard line of his brow and his jaw, he was not going to go into it

Ah I don&039;t knohat I&039;ned A tuxedo?

"No, I&039;ll go get you what you need Hold on"

Bam--the door was shut

John looked around his room, and when he saw the closet, that clown s over, he put the little red bag he&039;d gotten at the jewelers on the bureau and paused to admire the display of their coupledom

Oh, man she&039;d moved in She&039;d really ether

Reaching out, he touched her leathers and her muscle shirts and her holsters and felt his flush of pride and happiness diht in the war Side by side with hiht have expressly forbidden it, but the Blind King had already proven he wasn&039;t a slave to the ancient ways--and Xhex had already proven she could more than handle herself in the field

John headed for the bed and sat down He wasn&039;t sure how he felt about her out in the night with the slayers

Okay Fuck that He knew exactly how he felt about it

Wasn&039;t going to tell her not to go out there, though She ho she was and he was hter

Just as she was

His eyes shifted to the bedside table Leaning over, he popped open the top drawer and took out his father&039;s diary S his hand down the supple leather, he felt history slide out of the intellectual and into the actual Long, long ago another&039;s hands had held this book and written on its pages and then through a series of accidents and luck the journal had cohts and days to John

For so, his tie to his father Darius seey ether of ti them until God, it seemed as if they were almost one person

Because he knew his father would have been thrilled with this Knew surely as if the guy were seated next to him on this bed

Darius would have wanted hiether Why? Who knew but that was a truth as real as the vows he would soon be taking

John reached forward for the drawer again, and this ti the lid, he stared down at the heavy gold signet ring The dae and sized to fit a warrior&039;s hand, its surface glowing through the fine network of scratches that covered the crest and the sides

It fit the forefinger on his right hand perfectly

And he abruptly decided he wasn&039;t taking it off again even when fighting

"He would have so approved of this"

John&039;s eyes flashed up Tohr had coht a bunch of black silk with hiuy, the fallen angel&039;s light spilled in all directions, as if a sunrise had happened out in the hall

You know, for soned

"I know I&039;ht" The Brother came forward and sat down on the bed "He knew her"

Who?

"He knew Xhex He was there when she was born, when herpause, as if Tohr had had his brain scra hadn&039;t quite quieted down yet "When her mother died, he took Xhex to a fa--and so did I That hy he called her Xhexania He watched her from afar--"

The epileptic attack caht the seizure--oneto Tohr; the next he was down on the floor doing the not-this-again jitterbug

When his synapses finally stopped snap-crackle-popping, and his flopping limbs fell still, his breath heaved in and out of hisdown

"How you doing?" the guy asked tightly

John shoved against the floor and sat upright Rubbing his face, he was glad to find his eyesight still worked Never thought he&039;d be glad to get a clear picture of Lassiter&039;sfor control of his hands, he n, Feel like I&039;ve been in a blender

The fallen angel nodded gravely "And you look it, too"

Tohr shot the guy a glare, then refocused on John "Don&039;t mind him, he&039;s blind"

"No, I&039;m not"

"In anotherto be" Tohr hitched a hold on John&039;s biceps and dragged him back onto the bed "You want a drink?"

"Or maybe a new brain?" Lassiter offered

Tohr leaned in "As a public service, I&039;ll iver

There was a long pause and then John signed, My father knew her?

"Yes"

You did, too, didn&039;t you

"Yes"

In the silence that followed, John decided that sos were best just left at their definition And this was one of theht expression

"I&039;," Tohr said abruptly as he got to his feet "Especially on a night like tonight"

John looked at the hunk of gold on his finger It felt so right As if he&039;d been wearing it for years

Me, too, he signed

"Now, if you&039;ll excuse et dressed lanced up, he was taken back to a o when he&039;d answered the door to his shitty studio and leveled a gun up, up, way up, into the guy&039;s face

And now Tohr had brought hi robes

The Brother smiled a little "I wish your father was here to see this"

John frowned and rolled that signet ring around on his finger, thinking about how e, he burst to his feet and embraced the Brother hard Tohr see arms reciprocated

When John pulled back, he stared straight into those eyes He is here, he signed My father is right here withon the ht back and forth between his two feet He was dressed in the traditional arb of a nobleto the floor, the loose top secured with a jeweled belt that had been presented to hi

The decision had been rand staircase, in the archway that was for room The double doors of where everyone ate had been shut to foren had set out a feast

Everything was arranged, the Brotherhood standing in a line next to him, the shellans and other members of the household asse those playing witness, Qhuinn was on one end; Blay and Saxton were on the other iA been invited as special guests

As John looked all around the space, he took note of the malachite columns and the marble walls and the chandeliers There had been so many times since he had come here to stay when people had told hi up all the roo their lives under the sturdy roof