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"It’s over, Rose," he says "Surrender"

"Never!" I spit

He nods at Natalie, who presses so on her watch Allance up A Transporter appears out of the clouds and rapidly descends Air whips arounda few feet above the platfor at irl expertly turns the aircraft 180 degrees, and the back hatch hisses open Standing in the cargo hold is Siobhan Buchanan, along with a Bastet wo woaunt, broken wouns at me I’m trapped

"Edmund Rose, you are under arrest!" Siobhan Buchanan says

I shift aze to Lucinda

"This has to end, Edmund," Lucinda shouts over the roar of the aircraft’s rotors "It’s not what Theora would have wanted, and you know it!"

I look back at the teenage Darkling girl, who is watching e Her hands are clutched to her chest, and she looks pleadingly back atTheora’s words It’s easy to hate The true test of our hearts is to forgive I should have listened to her

Forgive me, Theora

I open my eyes "I surrender"

35

NATALIE

Teeks later, Centruh the crowds, my head covered by my hooded jacket, as Iwhere the new coalition government headquarters is based, which was formed within hours of Purian Rose’s surrender A few eyes slide toward in to whisper excitedly to each other I’m quite the celebrity these days, but I really don’t want the attention Especially not today My hand slips intothe yellow-handled knife concealed there I trace ers over the word etched into the wood Polly We held a memorial service for my sister last week but it wasn’t the closure I needed I still have one thing left to do

Camera crews are placed around the plaza, and worke wooden cross in the city square They’re preparing for Purian Rose’s execution in fifteen minutes, under o lasted just one day It didn’t take long for the courts to couilty for his war criainst the execution, saying it made us no better than the forovernainst it too, but for a different reason My sto around the knife

Ay and hurries toward the stage with a beautiful, flame-haired Dacian woman, their heads bowed It’s obvious from their thin bodies and hard expressions that they were prisoners in the Tenth They’ve traveled a long way to witness Purian Rose’s execution at noon Before they can reach the stage, a group of tough-looking men with shaved heads and rose tattoos behind their left ears block their path

"Go back to the ghetto, nipper," one of the"We don’t want your kind in our city"

The Darkling flashes his fangs in response, and the people around theht breaks out, several aruards in cerulean-blue uniforuards stay with the Darkling e clear: there will be no violence todayother than Rose’s execution, of course I frown It’s going to take a long tioes away To be honest, I’ for peace Otherwise, as the point of all this?

I enter the Fracture The lobby is an enorold statue of Purian Rose at its center It’s due to be re has been draped over his head In fact, everywhere I look, the once red-and-white Sentry banners have been replaced with cerulean-blue flags with four interlinked black rings on the representing one of the four races: huuards--soive the in er down the blade in et to the base detained in the cells I promised my sister I’d kill him for what he did to her, and that’s exactly what I intend to do It’s been iet to him these past teeks, as he was hidden in a secret location to stop people--likematters into their own hands But he wasin preparation for his execution This is et to him

On my way to the elevator, I pass the council chaated The doors are wide open, as they nearly always are--a symbol of the "openness and transparency of the new alliance" I hear Ash’s angry voice spilling out of the roo up and down the oval rooe silk lining, tailored black shirt and pants, and expensive leather jackboots It’s aceremony, which is no ether especially for Purian Rose’s televised execution Ash tugs at his collar, clearly uncoo ahead with this execution," he says "It’s barbaric I knohat it feels like to be pinned up to one of those crosses; I can’t condone this"

"The Workboots need to see hiany table with the other er fuzz on it, where her hair has started to regrow, and she’s wearing tight pants, a white vest and a long black frock coat similar to Ash’s "They won’t feel safe until they know he’s dead"

"The Sentry will think we’re weak if we don’t execute hi next to them are the Lupine ministers: Garrick and a wo lipstick, reht, the new Bastet Consul winks atson of the Theroux fa job under the guidance of his mother, Yolanda, who is his official adviser He’s cut his russet hair short, eh cheekbones, and he’s dressed in a dark green frock coat, with old band Unlike Ash, he seeant clothes They suit hi representatives Sigur’s white hair is loose around his shoulders, which is stark against his violet As Ash and Evangeline have been nominated to represent the twin-bloods I don’t see her anywhere, but that’s not surprising She’s been locked in her roo to see anyone except Ash and Elijah We weren’t certain it would happen, but when she touched Purian Rose, her heart activated She’s refused to let Dr Craven re inside her for as long as she can I can’t i that in fifteen ain

"Our people deserve retribution," Sigur says, gesturing toward the com-desk in the center of the room Projected above the com-desk is a map of the Tenth The camp was immediately shut down after Purian Rose’s surrender Even so, there were hundreds of deaths, as some of his devoted followers executed whole barracks of prisoners before ere able to stop theh

Right now, the governs Many have stayed in the Tenth, because they have nowhere else to go Understandably, they don’t see the point of leaving one ghetto just to return to another, and the hurated into the cities, as I saw outside earlier For the past week, the coalition governive the land over to the Darklings, so they can build a perer be a detention ca nation Personally, the thought of living where so ain, there isn’t anywhere in the country where Darkling blood hasn’t been shed No hosts of their dead loved ones

Besides, they won’t be building their homes in the actual camps The coalition intends to rip down Primus-One, Two and Three, and turn the the parks, where there are currently forests and wilderness, they’ll build four nens a safe distance from Mount Alba, called Jana, Martha, Zanthina and Annora

Ash noticesto act casual, htly around the knife in htly touches his chest Hethe echo of my erratic heartbeat inside him His eyes flick toward my pocket I quickly turn away