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"Ho ain, why shouldn’t he be? He’s got his mother back

The hatch door lets out a hydraulic hiss as it opens Waiting for us on the other side is my mother, father, Garrick and Sasha They all look furious Uh-oh

"What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" lance sheepishly at rier than I’ve ever seen him before, his scarred face twisted into a fierce scowl

"You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Natalie," he says through clenched teeth

Ash grabs his blue duffel bag fro for him while ere in the Tenth, and takes my hand My nore her I don’t care what s for him

Garrick and Sasha help Destiny off the Transporter, while the others assist Martha, Lucinda and Yolanda They’re able to walk, but they’re all shaky on their feet Mother gives Martha an aard hug, which surprises the old Darkling woman as much as it does ry words atthe barrage of abuse She has every right to be mad at me Occasionally I flick a look at my father, but he refuses to meet my eye

"I’m sorry I worried you," I say, unable to stand his silence any longer "But I’m not sorry for what I did Ash needed my help, and I couldn’t wait around for you to ask the Commander if we could send a rescue mission, only for him to say no anyway"

Father’s scarred lips tighten, but he doesn’t say anything He knows I’ht

The elevator doors slide open and we enter the co subway trains, the bustling sidewalks, the h his teeth

"You weren’t exaggerating," he ht for the hospital, where Dr Craven is waiting for us to tend to our wounds Sigur is lying in one of the hospital beds, still recovering froht position when he sees us A htens as he looks at his Blood Father Sigur’s long ice-white hair has been pulled back, revealing the full extent of the wounds on his muscular torso There are lacerations and UV burns on his alabaster skin, plus a patchwork of bruises where the guards have kicked his used to be, before Sebastian cut the his pale ar and Theora’s heart on the sideboard, then sinks down on Sigur’s bed and allows himself to be folded into his Blood Father’s embrace

"I’m sorry I left you," Ash whispers, his voice pained "I should never have let them hurt you I should have saved you, I’ur catches my eye

"Harold’s dead," I say quietly

Grief flickers across Sigur’s features and he tightens his hold on Ash, realizing the apology isn’t aiently strokes Ash’s hair

Across the room, Elijah, Acelot and Yolanda are in their own huddle, their arms around one another as they cry for their lost fao back to Gray Wolf and retrieve Marcel’s body, so he can be buried with the rest of his fas, rather than underneath a pile of stones in so but a few trinkets and dandelion seeds to rave

I turn to my own father and wrap , just holds htly places her hand on aze up, noticing Martha lingering nearby Father stretches a hand out to her She takes it, and joins the group hug My faainal her desperately I think about the knife back in my bedroom--the one I stole from the Ultraviolet Greenhouse--with her naotten aboutto kill Purian Rose

I eventually pull away froht Destiny in She’s being tended to by Dr Craven and a few of the nurses farther down the ward They’ve taken off her jacket so that she’s wearing just her bloodstained vest, which shows off her toned arel on her skin, then sews up the wound

I glance up atto do to Destiny?"

"We’ll discuss her punishment later," Father replies

"Please don’t be too harsh with her," I say "She was just being a good friend And she’s a great pilot; you’ll need her if you’re planning an attack on Cen--" I cutI’ve put my foot in it I’m not supposed to know about the planned assault on the capital city Father gives rimace "Don’t be mad at Destiny I accidentally walked in on her when she was looking at the attack plans in command central"

Father’s brow creases "When was this?"

"A few days ago," I say "Why?"

"No reason," he says, glancing at Destiny

Dr Craven finishes suturing her wound and co h his eyes scan the faces of everyone in the roo to see if Sebastian, his son, is with us

"Sebastian’s alive He murdered Acelot’s brother and stole their Miniport; he’s probably in Centruone

The doctor takes off his glasses and rubs his tired eyes "I just don’t understand that boy anymore," he says quietly "My son was never perfect, but he was a good boy until he got caught up in that Purity nonsense It breaks lad I never told him about this place"

Thatfor you" I pass Dr Craven the vial of Wings, briefly explaining how I got it "I’ooey consistency, but I’d like to know for certain what it’s been ht Whisper"

"I’ll run so it to his laboratory at the end of the ward

Ash gets up fro and Theora’s heart He looks exhausted, his cheeks gaunt, his dark eyes shis

"There’s a spare bunker three doors down from ours," Father says "Ash can stay there"

"Thanks I’ll collect my stuff from our room," I reply Mother flashes a worried look at Father, and I sigh "Mo with him"

"I’m not sure how comfortable I am with that," Mother replies

I kiss her cool cheek "I love you, Mom But this isn’t up for debate"

Mother frowns "But--"