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‘Good to know’ The words came out much softer than she’d intended, but part of her was surprised she could speak at all Her heart thudded At least Creek couldn’t hear it She told herself to pull her hand out of his Nothing happened

‘Don’t be afraid of lanced at her, his face earnest

She shook her head Or nodded She had no idea There was a wildness about hihtened her as o of her hand She looked down for a moment and when she raised her head, he was there His mouth on hers Warm and soft and--

Before she could respond to his kiss, he pulled away, stood up, and walked toward the o home’

Chapter Twenty

Chrysabelle was home Mal could hear the rhyth palms and the chorus of nocturnal insects It was faster than her resting heart rate Maybe she was training That was a good sign If she was training, she was okay Still, he hesitated to knock She’d be mad he’d climbed the privacy wall and circumvented her security Or maybe she’d be mad he’d demanded she run frohting in the Pits or drinking her blood or a whole host of other things he could think of She was good at beinght now, he couldn’t think of a single reason to be anything but concerned All he could think of was finding out if she’d been hurt by the Nothos Or that whack job Creek Kubai Mata Did he also ht as the tooth fairy?

Mal walked to her door and knocked

Predictably, Velilare, she studied hi under his breath, he knocked again ‘Veliet Chrysabelle’

The bothersoers flew

He held a pal’

Veli the door open She returned, writing on a tablet with a stylus Her mood didn’t seem to have improved She turned the tablet so he could read what she’d written on the screen

Chrysabelle is resting Cannot be disturbed Go hoood ‘No I need to see her She won’tdisturbed, trust et over it He needed to know she was okay You need her blood

Velied the tablet to her chest and shook her head

‘You’re not the only one who can yell’ Mal glared back ‘You want me to wake her up et her in the first place’

Velin he understood perfectly and walked away in the opposite direction Hopefully to get Chrysabelle

A hundred hours later, Chrysabelle appeared, skin as pale as the big white robe she rapped in, hair loose around her face, and dark circles beneath her eyes She moved tentatively, like she was in pain Even at this distance he felt her body teht, but her condition left a lot to be desired ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Can we go out to the lanai?’ The words were strained