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He conceded that with a grunt and a slight tilt of the head

"Plus, if you help her, you’ll also have peace ofto better protect herself That’s important to you"

A muscle ticked in his jaw "I’ll do it"

As soon as Reuben weakened Salean When the first slap hit, I was surprised It actually felt like a slap across the head, but insideas a jolt to my mental equilibrium and awareness It didn’t hurt as badly as I’d expected, though Still, every tie to evade it, Saleo easy on me, she threatened to pair me up with David The impact of his psionic boo zap to the brain Unwilling to allow David anywhere near ift, Salem had relented

Then he turned into a total bastard and attacked me without mercy It should have pissed me off, but I actually did a lot better after that Mostly because I knew that he would no longer pull his punches – no pun intended – so I’d need to uilt that flashed on his face each time I flinched at one of his slaps It made me more determined to iood at it – even if I did say so myself Not that it rohich I probably shouldn’t have found cute or a break for lunch, and then ere back in the arena We repeated the sa tothat kept hi was actually working

Near the end of the session, Saether "Now it’s time for me to pair you with so battle – who has a gift that can complement your own Alora, you’re with Maya"

I wasn’t surprised by that We’d discovered that Alora’s gift of co with animals allowed her to fully understand Maya when she was in her jaguar-for behind each hiss, chuff, and growl Not only that, they could co pictures while Maya was in that fore, you’re with Imani," Sam then announced

That wasn’t e was extreether during battle Imani would disable her opponent as she’d done with Butch, and then Paige would use her gift of transferring injuries to destroy the you with Cassie"

I understood that, too Jude’s gift wasn’t offensive, so it would be best if she worked with soift of mind control could help protect her Also, Cassie wasn’t the best fighter in terms of combat, whereas Jude ell-trained in that area so she would be good at watching her back

Saave me a faint smile "Unfortunately, that leaves you without a partner But that’s only for now Three more will eventually join the squad, and one of those will be paired with you During this battle, you’ll have Salem as your shadoay"

That was true, so I didn’t mind so ood ot home Salem, however, was in a very foul one "Must you be so miserable?" I asked with a sainst every instinct I’ve got"