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under the influence of truth potion to murdering wealthy heiress Eva Drizell. The Jackal,
apparently enraged when Drizell spurned his advances, attacked and killed her with a
sword.'" He raised his eyes. His silver brows bunched together. "But this makes no sense.
Why would he confess if he didn't kill her?"
"I don't know," she said, "but this means you're safe now, doesn't it? They have their
murderer."
"You know something about this," he said. "You had something to do with it."
She widened her eyes and gave him her best innocent look. "Why would you say
that? I was as surprised as anyone else when I read about this."
"Wendy."
She sighed. "Okay. Maybe I planted one or two little suggestions in his head. It
doesn't matter. He was slated to be mind-wiped anyway. He's got seven counts of murder
and thirteen counts of rape to his name. One more killing won't change his sentence. It's
not like I framed an innocent man."
"But if he was given a truth potion& "
"Truth potion just prevents people from telling deliberate lies. In his mind, it is true."
He stared at her, his eyes searching her face. "You made him believe he really did
kill her? You have that kind of power?"
Wendy bit her lower lip. "I guess I do. My powers have grown quite a bit in the past
month."
"That was reckless," he said.
Her back stiffened. "I cleared you of suspicion& at great personal risk, I might add. I
spent almost a month flying around, asking questions and traipsing around in the woods
to find you. And after all that, what do I get? Not even a thank you." She crossed her
arms over her chest and scowled. "What's wrong with you? Why are you being so cold?"
She heard the note of hurt peeking through the anger in her voice and hated it. "I thought
you'd be glad to see me."
He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I am. More than you can imagine. But
it's& complicated."
"Why? What's wrong? The case has been solved, you're not under suspicion any
longer. You can come back with me. Come back to Garna."
He bowed his head. "I can't," he said. "I can't go back with you. I'm sorry."
"I don't understand."
He closed his eyes, as if in pain. "I didn't think I would have to do this. I never
thought you'd find me."
She stared at him, stunned. For a moment, she couldn't speak. She felt as if she'd
been punched in the heart. "Oh," she said. Her voice emerged cold and flat. It barely
sounded like hers. "I see."
"Wendy, it's not "
"I guess that 'I love you' stuff was only because you thought you'd never see me
again." She narrowed her eyes. "You bastard. You were never planning to stay with me.
You never wanted to."
"That's not "
"I would have preferred honesty," she said. "Sometimes the truth hurts, but at least it
doesn't leave you with false hope."
He buried his fingers in his hair. "Damn it, it isn't like that!"
"Then what is it like?" She was mortified to feel tears stinging her eyes. She blinked
them away. "Why don't you want to come back with me?"
For a moment, he didn't reply, just stared into space. She waited, grinding her teeth.
"Have you ever really thought about what it would mean for you to have someone like
me in your life?" he said at last. "And I'm not just talking about my appearance. I'm a
mercenary. A killer. I've lived by the sword since I was thirteen, and before that I was a
street thief. I know nothing about living a normal, decent life. I've never had an honest
job that didn't involve slaughtering people. I'm not a part of the world you live in. How
do you think your family would react if you brought home someone like me?"
"They'd accept you," she said with more conviction than she felt.
"Are you so sure?" He stared at his scaled, clawed hands, then curled them into fists.
"I make people uneasy. I see it, I feel it everywhere I go. Perhaps you can accept me for
what I am, but what about them? And what about the rest of the world? If people know
we're lovers, you'll be tainted by association."
"Is that all this is about?" she asked. "I don't care what they think, Zander. I don't
care what anyone thinks. I love who I love. If the world doesn't like my choices, it can go
fuck itself."
He shook his head. "It isn't that simple. Do you really think you could deal with it,
day after day? The cold stares, the silence that falls when you enter the room with me?
Maybe at first, it wouldn't matter, but eventually, you'd start to resent it. Eventually you'd
start to resent me." He stared at the ground. "I've been an outcast my whole life. It's a life
I wouldn't wish on anyone, least of all someone like you. You have too much to lose. I
can't& " His voice caught in his throat. He lowered his head, hiding his eyes. "I do love
you," he whispered hoarsely. "That's why I can't be with you. You deserve someone
normal, someone who can give you a normal life."
She reached out, took his face between her hands and lifted it. He looked at her with
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