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Down the hall, Tohr sat in a chair across from the hospital bed Wrath had been laid out in It was probably tio

For God&039;s sake, even the queen had fallen asleep next to herBeth didn&039;t ain, they had co just what a Godzilla marathon would do for a relationship

Over in the corner, on a huge round Orvis bed the color of oatlanced up at his hed

"He&039;s gonna be okay," Tohr said

The dog&039;s ears pricked and he gave two thumps of his feathered tail

"Yup I pro a cue from the canine, Tohr repositioned himself, and then rubbed his eyes Man, he was exhausted All he wanted to do was dog-bed it like George and sleep for a day

The probleland still piped up every tiht and it would have hit the jugular, turning Wrath&039;s light out for good In fact, according to Doc Jane and Manny, where that lead had been lodged by pure chance had been the only "safe" place - assuuy ith so van with nothing but a section of hollow tubing and a black dagger

Jesus Christ what a night

And thank the Scribe Virgin for that angel Without Lassiter showing up to drive? He shuddered -

"Waiting for Godot?"

Tohr&039;s eyes snapped over to the bed The king&039;s lids were low but open, his mouth cracked in a half s Tohr&039;s neurotrans his voice fro his free hand, he beckoned, even though he couldn&039;t lift up his arm

Tohr&039;s feet felt sloppy as he stood up and approached the bed As soon as he was in range, he knelt by his king and took that big palantic black diaer

Then, like a pussy, he laid his head down on the ring, on his brother&039;s knuckles

All could have been lost tonight If Wrath had not lived everything would have changed

As the king squeezed his hand back, Tohr thought about Wellsie&039;s dying, and felt nothing but fresh dread To realize that there were as yet others to lose was not reassuring in the slightest If anything, it ut swirl faster

You&039;d think after his shellan&039;s passing he&039;d be exerief pool

Instead, it appeared that he just had a deeper bottom to look forward to

"Thank you," Wrath whispered hoarsely "For saving my life"

Tohr lifted his head and shook it "It wasn&039;t just me"

"It was a lot you I owe you, brother mine"

"You&039;d have done the same"

That patented autocratic tone caht and we&039;ll call it evens"

"You&039;re saying my life is only worth six bucks?"

"You vastly underesti head shoved its way under his ar down, he said, "See? I told you he&039;d be all right"

Wrath laughed a little, then gri man"

Tohr moved out of the way sothe ninety-pound bale of hay-colored fur up and settling it next to the king

Wrath positively beamed as he looked back and forth between his shellan, as asleep, and his anilad that&039;s our last o out with a bang - "

"I can&039;t let you do shit like this anymore You realize that, don&039;t you" Tohr stared down at the king&039;s forear those ritualistic tattoos that spelled out his lineage "You need to be alive at the end of every night, my lord The rules are different for you"

"Look, I&039;ve been shot at before - "

"And it&039;s not happening again Not on my watch"

"What the hell is that supposed toto chain me in the basement?"

"If that&039;s what it takes"

Wrath&039;s brows dropped low, and his voice grew stronger "You can be a real prick, you know that"

"It&039;s not a matter of personality And it&039;s obvious or you wouldn&039;t be getting your panties in a wad"

"I&039; cracked another smile "I&039;m naked under here"

"Thanks for that picture"

"You know, technically you can&039;t order ht; you didn&039;t tell the leader of the race a good godda But as Tohrto the ruler of the to his brother

"Until Xcor is neutralized, we&039;re not taking any risks with you - "

"If there&039;s a CouncilPeriod"

"There won&039;t be Not unless ant there to be - and right now? Nobody needs you anywhere but here"

"Fucking hell! I&039; - " As Beth frowned in her sleep, he calmed his voice out "Can we talk about this later?"

"No reason to We&039;re done on the subject - and every one of the brothers is behind ot hit with a glare that, in spite of those eyes being blind, was strong enough to burn a hole in the back of his skull

"Wrath," he said roughly, "look at what&039;s next to you Do you want to leave her on her own? You want her to have to mourn you? Fuck all of us - what about your Beth?"

It was a lon dirty to play the shellan card, but any weapon in a fight

Wrath cursed and closed his eyes

And Tohr knew he&039;d hen the male turned his face into Beth&039;s hair and breathed in deeply, as if he were s her shampoo

"Are we in accord," Tohr deainst his beloved

"Good, I&039;lad that&039;s settled"

After a et the bullet out of my neck?"

"They did All we need is the rifle that goes with it" Tohr gave George&039;s boxy head a stroking "And it&039;s got to be the Band of Bastards&039; - Xcor&039;s the only one ould try so like that"

"We need to find where they live"

"They&039;re cagey S to take a , "

Tohr replayed the attack in his ested Xcor was capable of just about anything

"I&039; to kill him," he said in a low voice

"Xcor?" When he nodded, Wrath said, "I think you&039;re going to have to get in line for the job - assuood news is that as head of the BoB, he can be held accountable for his fighters&039; actions - so as long as one of his soldiers was at the trigger of that rifle, we can nail hi in his gut tightened to an unbearable level "You said you owed me a favor - well, this is what I want I want Xcor&039;s death to be at my hands and no one else&039;s"

"Tohr" When he just stared straight ahead, Wrath shrugged "I can&039;t give him to you until we have proof"

"But you can stipulate that if he is responsible, he&039;s mine"

"Fine He&039;s all yours - if we have proof"

Tohr thought about the expressions on the faces of the brothers out in the hall "You need to make it official"

"Oh, come on, if I say - "

"You knohat they&039;re like Any one of them crosses paths with that shithead and they&039;ll peel hiets on the back of his ass than a shooting range Besides, a procla"

Wrath&039;s lids closed briefly "Okay, okay stop arguing the point and go get a witness"

Tohr went over and stuck his head out of the room - and as luck would have it, the first person he saas John Matthew

The kid was parked by the recovery room across the way, butt on the floor next to a worried Blaylock, hands on his head like there was a fire alarht to and signed, Is Wrath still all right?

"Yeah" Tohr glanced down the corridor as Blayto be fine"

You looking for someone?

"I need a witness - "

I&039;ll do it