<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ccff99">Ayla blinked as Lucian moved past her, having stopped questioning for a moment to take a steadying breath. What she wanted to do right now was punch something, a feeling she hadn’t had in awhile. She let the breath out slowly, before confusion once more crossed her face, the look of hurt and betrayal growing as he spoke. She’d never been the nicer girl, the shy servant. She was a spy, here because that bastard couldn’t leave well enough alone.</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#a6ff4d"> “If you touch her, it will knock her out of the trance.”</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ffcc">Alexi immediately moved to put his hands reassuringly on Ayla’s shoulders. Also to stop her from punching the girl, if he had to. But mainly reassuringly. </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4dffa6">“Its been almost three months since we last saw him….”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ffcc"> he said softly. </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4dffa6">“Was it really too much to hope that he’d given up?”</span>