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Still, she had to know She simply had to

"What is it?" she rasped

With an aard oyle shoved the envelope into her hand "Here"

Sing the lump in her throat, she settled in one of the wooden chairs that were set around the table It seemed a wise precaution, since her knees already felt weak

After opening the envelope, she pulled out a stack of photos and spread the as she regarded the numerous pictures They were all of her, and all taken over the past teeks Her in the grocery store Her in the park Her in her small apartment (thank God in the kitchen, not the bathrooh her sto on me That’s justcreepy"

"There is lanced up in surprise as Levet handed her another photo that he had kept hidden

Taking the picture, Darcy felt her heart give a violent leap as she studied the woreen eyes

If she hadn’t been obviously older with longer hair, she ht have passed as Darcy’s identical twin

"My God She looks like me," she breathed

"Yes"

"She has to be a relative" Darcy licked her suddenly dry lips as she glanced up to aze "Perhaps evenas if her entire world had tilted to a strange angle, Darcy didn’t even notice the tall, silent foraze

Not until a cool hand touched her shoulder "Darcy, what is it?"

With a tiny ju directly behind her chair

Her hand tre photo "Look"

Unexpectedly, his lean features hardened with a dangerous anger "Where did this come from?"

Levet stepped forward, his expression stubborn "Salvatore’s lair You did tell ave a soft hiss of annoyance "And to bring whatever you discovered to ?"

Darcy blinked in bewilders

"Why should she not see? The pictures do, after all, concern her"

"Of course they concernto her feet She didn’t understand Styx’s odd reaction, and at the ht Nothing mattered but the picture "This isI don’t know I must speak with Salvatore"

"Out of the question"

Darcy stiffened as she glared at the va over her For the first tiant robe that was draped over his shoulders No doubt a syone to his head if he thought he could order her around as if she were one of his vampire flunkies

"It most certainly is not out of the question" She waved the picture beneath his arrogant nose "Do you understand what this means? I havefamily And the olf knoho and where she is"

With a blur of laring at her with s more than a trick?"

She took an instinctive step back fro power that shimmered in the air around hiet his hands on you Do you think he wouldn’t stoop to anyvery close to disappointment clenched her heart Perhaps it was understandable that Styx would treat anything that had been in the hands of the Weres with suspicion, but he could at least try to understand her exciteoodness sake, she had waited for this moment for thirty years

"That is no trick" She pointed at the picture in his hand "Whoever that woh like me to be my mother"

"Darcy"

He reached out as if he would stroke her cheek, but Darcy quickly darted away She wouldn’t be distracted by his tender caress

This was too important

"No I have to know"

Ied to regain that cool control that was so much a part of him