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Original Edition: CHAPTER 26 - ZYR

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September 8 | After Midnight

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September 8 | After Midnight

Aurie lay in a satisfied heap in bed. She hardly moved when I padded to the couch and sat with the sword I half-regretted not needing tonight. With a flick of the switch, the curved blade sprang from the deceptively small hilt. I lifted it for her to see closer when I noticed her gaze brighten with interest.

"Enchanted Damascus steel," I said.

The album from earlier played quietly in the background. Aurie shifted position in a tangle of white sheets, flashing naked brown skin. Her beauty captivated me. It was a chancy thing. It made me want to climb in bed and go beyond oral sex, but it also made me want to run.

"What makes you sure my sister is who Darcy wants?" Her voice was husky and too trusting. Intimacy had coerced her to let down her guard.

I considered how to answer. "You reported he told you something special allowed you into his exclusive event...Well, Haley was following someone that night, someone she by all rights shouldn't have been able to see."

My reflection in the sword's gleam showed bags under my eyes. It was after three in the morning. I had a text from my source at the Council asking to meet at my place. I wondered when Mys would return.

"The Guardian?" Aurie murmured.

I nodded. "It's possible he gave her safe passage."

She tugged the comforter higher and sat up in bed. "I've been thinking about it. My sister Haley saw things—imaginary friends, monsters in the closet, you name it—but nobody took her seriously. It never hit me she might be a Seer, not even after being in Overlay City and finding out this is real. Mom always said she had a vivid imagination."

"They're calling it paranoid schizophrenia now."

"Right. While I'm living it up, she's on lockdown." Aurie shoved her hands through her hair and huffed.

"Hey, come here." Moving to the bed, I pulled her into my lap. She didn't immediately yield to my embrace. Putting those walls back up. "I know it's scary, Aurie, but there's nothing wrong with Haley being in a safe place where she can get better."

"I'm doing this for her." She fought dejection as she gestured at her clothes on the floor, the rumpled bedcovers. "Is it in vain? Darcy is on the loose while Haley is a prisoner in her own mind, and I'm dead. Nothing's changed!"

I wanted to say everything would turn out alright, but I couldn't. Things could go very wrong, especially since the Council of Overlay Affairs wouldn't open an official investigation. I shuddered to think about what would happen if Cyprian got his hands on Aurie again.

"I think you should take the Light as soon as possible and cross over. Hear me out. I know you don't want to abandon your sister but moving on is best for everyone. In Overlay, you're a target we have to protect, and it's taking resources from putting Cyprian away."

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