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It broke her a little

Sliding down to her knees, she wrapped her arainst the heated warmth of his skin His own arms came around her an instant later Fear, that insidious intruder, that silent shadow, she waited for itbut it didn’t coed it out of her systeain,” Dmitri whispered into her hair, his voice naked, his shields stripped to nothing “I swear to you”

Cupping his neck at the nape, she caressed hi for both of theerous irl within her “Tell me why” She needed to understand, to see into the shadows of his heart

One of his hands fisted in her hair “It’s a h, it was difficult to understand “No one other than Raphael knows of its existence”

Her heart thudded, a huge wave of knowing pushing at her rasp to fade away like soit go for the ht of the wildflowers, sotheir heads in welcome as she parked her vehicle far off in the distance to avoid crushing theh the riot of color, drawn to the invisible ruin—as if her body were a compass and the ruin true north

The hed down her lihter, tooof a child’s delight “It’s a place with memory,” she whispered “There isn’t only sadness, Dmitri You must remember” The words weren’t her own, and yet they were “You ed lass “Sometimes I wish I didn’t But those otten”

Honor thought of what it es, to mourn for nearly a thousand years, and felt an ache so vast it had no end “She wouldn’t have wanted this for you,” she said, so certain that she didn’t stop to question it “You know that”

Honor was right, Drede would have been horrified to see hat—he had become, how he’d let the loss of her and the children twist his, no man can resist Soet”

“Dive you, Honor,” he said because she deserved honesty, “but I know I’ve felt nothing like this since the ht” The gentlest of kisses

He didn’t kno she’d become the one to offer comfort when he’d caused the har, basked in the war time later, as her lips closed over the forkful of rice he’d lifted to her mouth, as she allowed him to take care of her in a way he hadn’t earlier

Curiosity turned the deep green of her gaze to sparkling gemstones “Were there knives involved?”

“No, but she was tied up at the tio that he’d taunted Elena while she remained restrained for her own safety “She’d shot Raphael” The others in the Seven had been ready for blood, Dmitri bound by a vow to keep her safe

Honor leaned forward, broering “I heard rumorsshe really did?”

So he told her the story, and etif she’d noticed the fruit and honey he’d added to the table