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damned Pierce. But even though she'd knowledge of what might come, she'd no way to stop it. |
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She was going to let Thorn down. He was going to die. |
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She would be the unreliable one. |
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They were just outside René's open door. Fortunately, he wasn't there, for in a fit of pique at herself and her impossible situation, Mariah kicked her toe hard into the hard earth floor. She was glad as pain shot through her. |
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''What, deary, is the matter?" Holly hurried after her as Mariah limped into the stable. Taking her arm, Holly swung Mariah around so they faced one another. In the nearest occupied stall, a sorrel horse snorted and stamped. "If you slept at all last night, your eyes didn't get the message, for they painted great dark circles beneath themselves. And now you're stubbing your toe on purpose. I want to know what's ailing you." A sly glint appeared in her close-set hazel eyes. "Of course I know what it is." |
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"You couldn't possibly," Mariah said coolly. |
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Mariah closed her eyes for a pained instant. |
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"I was right!" Holly sounded pleased with herself. |
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Mariah pulled away and slowly walked through the stable. Misery filled her insides like air in a balloon, its pressure expanding as though she were going to explode. |
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Were there such things as balloons now? |
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She turned suddenly at the door. "All right, Holly. I'll tell you the truth. You won't believe me any more than Thorn does, but when things happen the way I predict, at least I'll have another witness." |
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Holly's eyes widened even further, and her lips rounded in surprise. "Predict? Then you're a seeress?" |
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They exited the stable. The compound was filled with soldiers on their way to the outhouse or standing around talking. |
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Thorn was nowhere in sight. That didn't surprise Mariah; he was seldom in the compound early in the morning. |
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She wasn't looking forward to their next encounter. |
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"Why don't we go after some water?" Holly suggested. |
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They went into the kitchen first. René had already stoked |
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