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.Herparents are still waiting for me to report back! Aleksei held him back as he tried to leave the room. Get dressedfirst, he said firmly. I will call Monique, get the number of yourclients, and call them.Is the girl safe? I think so.She s alive, if that s what you mean.At first, she wasconscious and able to talk.But then she passed out.Exhaustion, I think.She was sort of lost inside the portal, if that makes any sense to you.Isit true the use of the portals has been prohibited by the fae council?Because that s what Kyril said and why he wouldn t let me get backhome. A brief flash of bitterness shone in the fae s eyes. How would Iknow? he said. After my argument with Lia, I left, preferring thepeace of the woods to more arguments with the council.I do not knowwhat happened, and certainly Lia did not inform me about anydecisions that were made.S chn Tg ai told me he forbade the use of theportals.Too many have gone missing; too many have died in theprocess of crossing from one world to the other. So not only did I break my promise to you, I also ignored the faecouncil s decree. Aleksei cast him a smile. You didn t know.And a child s life ismore important than any promise you gave.As for the fae council s 240SAM C.LEONHARDdecree since you appear to be partly dragon, I believe their wishes arenot relevant to you. Gabriel tightened his grip on Aleksei s hand. I still believe I mlosing it.This memory loss worries me no matter what he says.I didn teven know how bad it was until I woke up here, saw your face, andcouldn t remember your name. His throat was tight.Admitting it washarder than he d thought.And now, upon glimpsing part of his naked feet, he rememberedsomething else. I turned into a wolf again! Another smile. I know.You came through the portal as a wolf.Impressive sight, I must admit, though slightly unexpected.Youchanged back while unconscious. I lost my knife! Frantically, Gabriel patted down his body,hoping against hope the knife s shape would show underneath theblanket. It is just a knife, Aleksei said calmingly, taking his hands andholding them still. It can be replaced.You can t. Fighting back an urge to scream, Gabriel just shook his head. More than that, he managed. It was a present, it Suddenly, athought struck him. Are you jealous? he asked. Of& this? Himkissing me? Because you don t need to be.You are the only one Ilove. A tiny flare lit in the fae s eyes, and had Gabriel not been lookingfor it, he would have missed it. You are jealous. Aleksei sighed. Of course I am.What did you expect? A lot hashappened in a very short amount of time.We did not have the luxury totalk about any of it.Not about what happened in the Poison Prince.Notabout the calling.Not why you didn t tell me sooner.Not about thememory loss you suffer from or, for that matter, your admission ofhaving cheated on me. There it was, the edge in his voice, the pain, the disappointment,and the fear.Fear of losing him showed in his lover s eyes.Aleksei sface was rarely that open and unguarded.Now it was, and it spokevolumes. 241TAINTED SOUL I never, Gabriel stammered. I mean& I didn t mean to hurtyou with any of this! Keeping things to myself is the way I am,Aleksei.Not sharing my fears or uncertainties is how I was brought up.You know this.You know me! Gabriel saw Aleksei frown, then turn his head as if he heardsomething, a small noise, or maybe a nagging thought chirping up atthe back of his mind. I thought I did, the fae said somewhat coldly. Iwas wrong.You are dragon, Gabe, partly, in any case.I am not yourfuture.He is.S chn Tg ai offered you wings.How can you deny thetruth? Staying here, staying with me, is not what you want.Followinghim is. Aleksei let go of his hand and stepped back, putting somedistance between them. You don t mean that! Gabriel started to reach out, pull Alekseiinto an embrace and make him take back the stupid words he d said,only to see his lover back away from him. I should have seen this from the beginning, Aleksei mused,crossing his arms over his chest as if to keep his body in check. Freedom was always what you treasured most, was it not? The frownon the fae s face deepened, and he rolled his shoulders, turned his headever so slightly.Listening to an inaudible voice? You ve always run from the ones who cared for you, be it yourfoster parents or lovers or your few friends.You ran from me morethan once.You even turned into a wolf to get away from me faster.Denial does not suit you, Gabriel.You might have loved me at somepoint in the past.I am certain you stopped loving me a while ago, ornone of this would ever have happened. With a nod toward the silent figure at the window, Alekseiindicated that none of this mainly meant the dragon. You don t mean that, Gabriel replied weakly, not knowing whatelse to say and not understanding why Aleksei was so different fromhis usual self all of a sudden.A faraway look had claimed Aleksei s eyes, and lines appearedon his face that had not been there before.Around his mouth Gabrielsaw a hard twist he did not recognize. 242SAM C.LEONHARDA glance at the dragon told him S chn Tg ai was not yet ready tojoin the conversation.He would have liked to ask the dragon if he sawsomething strange in Aleksei.But the dragon stood with his back tothem, head low, eyes closed, lost in thought.Or memories.What had the banshee said?I would have called your fae.Through the binding, I can reachhim.Remembering the creature s threat made his blood freeze. Are you being called? Gabriel asked, barely daring to ask thewords, and Aleksei reacted as if he d been slapped: he slumped ontothe couch and dug his hands into his hair.A low moan escaped him. Fuck, Gabriel said, dropping beside him. This is my fault.Thebanshee has gotten to you.Seems I m safe, but you are not.I m sodamn sorry! On Aleksei s face, suspicion and hope and fierce anger foughtwith each other. I can hear a voice, he said, desperation in his voice. Right now, it s faint.I cannot make out any words [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.Herparents are still waiting for me to report back! Aleksei held him back as he tried to leave the room. Get dressedfirst, he said firmly. I will call Monique, get the number of yourclients, and call them.Is the girl safe? I think so.She s alive, if that s what you mean.At first, she wasconscious and able to talk.But then she passed out.Exhaustion, I think.She was sort of lost inside the portal, if that makes any sense to you.Isit true the use of the portals has been prohibited by the fae council?Because that s what Kyril said and why he wouldn t let me get backhome. A brief flash of bitterness shone in the fae s eyes. How would Iknow? he said. After my argument with Lia, I left, preferring thepeace of the woods to more arguments with the council.I do not knowwhat happened, and certainly Lia did not inform me about anydecisions that were made.S chn Tg ai told me he forbade the use of theportals.Too many have gone missing; too many have died in theprocess of crossing from one world to the other. So not only did I break my promise to you, I also ignored the faecouncil s decree. Aleksei cast him a smile. You didn t know.And a child s life ismore important than any promise you gave.As for the fae council s 240SAM C.LEONHARDdecree since you appear to be partly dragon, I believe their wishes arenot relevant to you. Gabriel tightened his grip on Aleksei s hand. I still believe I mlosing it.This memory loss worries me no matter what he says.I didn teven know how bad it was until I woke up here, saw your face, andcouldn t remember your name. His throat was tight.Admitting it washarder than he d thought.And now, upon glimpsing part of his naked feet, he rememberedsomething else. I turned into a wolf again! Another smile. I know.You came through the portal as a wolf.Impressive sight, I must admit, though slightly unexpected.Youchanged back while unconscious. I lost my knife! Frantically, Gabriel patted down his body,hoping against hope the knife s shape would show underneath theblanket. It is just a knife, Aleksei said calmingly, taking his hands andholding them still. It can be replaced.You can t. Fighting back an urge to scream, Gabriel just shook his head. More than that, he managed. It was a present, it Suddenly, athought struck him. Are you jealous? he asked. Of& this? Himkissing me? Because you don t need to be.You are the only one Ilove. A tiny flare lit in the fae s eyes, and had Gabriel not been lookingfor it, he would have missed it. You are jealous. Aleksei sighed. Of course I am.What did you expect? A lot hashappened in a very short amount of time.We did not have the luxury totalk about any of it.Not about what happened in the Poison Prince.Notabout the calling.Not why you didn t tell me sooner.Not about thememory loss you suffer from or, for that matter, your admission ofhaving cheated on me. There it was, the edge in his voice, the pain, the disappointment,and the fear.Fear of losing him showed in his lover s eyes.Aleksei sface was rarely that open and unguarded.Now it was, and it spokevolumes. 241TAINTED SOUL I never, Gabriel stammered. I mean& I didn t mean to hurtyou with any of this! Keeping things to myself is the way I am,Aleksei.Not sharing my fears or uncertainties is how I was brought up.You know this.You know me! Gabriel saw Aleksei frown, then turn his head as if he heardsomething, a small noise, or maybe a nagging thought chirping up atthe back of his mind. I thought I did, the fae said somewhat coldly. Iwas wrong.You are dragon, Gabe, partly, in any case.I am not yourfuture.He is.S chn Tg ai offered you wings.How can you deny thetruth? Staying here, staying with me, is not what you want.Followinghim is. Aleksei let go of his hand and stepped back, putting somedistance between them. You don t mean that! Gabriel started to reach out, pull Alekseiinto an embrace and make him take back the stupid words he d said,only to see his lover back away from him. I should have seen this from the beginning, Aleksei mused,crossing his arms over his chest as if to keep his body in check. Freedom was always what you treasured most, was it not? The frownon the fae s face deepened, and he rolled his shoulders, turned his headever so slightly.Listening to an inaudible voice? You ve always run from the ones who cared for you, be it yourfoster parents or lovers or your few friends.You ran from me morethan once.You even turned into a wolf to get away from me faster.Denial does not suit you, Gabriel.You might have loved me at somepoint in the past.I am certain you stopped loving me a while ago, ornone of this would ever have happened. With a nod toward the silent figure at the window, Alekseiindicated that none of this mainly meant the dragon. You don t mean that, Gabriel replied weakly, not knowing whatelse to say and not understanding why Aleksei was so different fromhis usual self all of a sudden.A faraway look had claimed Aleksei s eyes, and lines appearedon his face that had not been there before.Around his mouth Gabrielsaw a hard twist he did not recognize. 242SAM C.LEONHARDA glance at the dragon told him S chn Tg ai was not yet ready tojoin the conversation.He would have liked to ask the dragon if he sawsomething strange in Aleksei.But the dragon stood with his back tothem, head low, eyes closed, lost in thought.Or memories.What had the banshee said?I would have called your fae.Through the binding, I can reachhim.Remembering the creature s threat made his blood freeze. Are you being called? Gabriel asked, barely daring to ask thewords, and Aleksei reacted as if he d been slapped: he slumped ontothe couch and dug his hands into his hair.A low moan escaped him. Fuck, Gabriel said, dropping beside him. This is my fault.Thebanshee has gotten to you.Seems I m safe, but you are not.I m sodamn sorry! On Aleksei s face, suspicion and hope and fierce anger foughtwith each other. I can hear a voice, he said, desperation in his voice. Right now, it s faint.I cannot make out any words [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]