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over Will's face. She was having difficulty getting a read on him. His emotions were jumbled like a ball of yarn. There was no clear feeling, just a tangled mess.

Reggie added, "There's a simple, red-headed reason for that."

Kahli scowled, and looked at the door as she pressed her lips tightly together. Her gaze lowered to the door latch, and lingered there. It was long enough for Will to realize that she was thinking about jumping. Will took her hand in his before Kahli reached for it. "Please don't jump out the door. Then I'd have to jump out after you and I'm really not up to it right now." He smirked, rubbing her hand in his, not hiding his feelings toward Kahli from Reggie. When questioned later, Reggie would find out anyway...if there was a later. At the rate Reggie was going, he'd be lucky if they got the Queen's palace alive. As it was Reggie was driving like a madman. The truck was bouncing along the icy road with the back fishtailing, as they turned onto another blindingly bright road. The way the sun shone down at this time of day made it difficult to see. The ice reflected the light back up into their faces, illuminating everything like they were standing under a massive search light.

Kahli smiled at Will sheepishly. It was the most girlish look Will had ever seen on her face. Will wanted to reach out, press his hand to her cheeks, and kiss her. It was perfect, until Reggie muttered, "So, you can tame the beast? I knew you were good for something."

Before Kahli could say anything, Will turned to Reggie. Cutting Kahli off, he said, "The Queen might be more powerful than you think."

Reggie's voice changed from certain to irritated, "Just let me handle my sister. I know things you don't, all right?"

"Such as?" Will promoted, not thinking that Reggie would answer him. The vampire was strange. He never acted predictably. Reggie probably thought it was too mundane to behave in a normal fashion.

Reggie tightened his grip on the steering wheel, making his knuckles crack. Finally, he growled, "All those fights you saw over the years, well, guess what? They were staged. STAGED, as in fake. As in not real." Reggie glanced at Will, but Will didn't speak. He knew Reggie was holding back for some reason. Now he knew why. Reggie rolled his eyes, his gaze narrowing as he looked out the windshield. "Sophia's insane, in case you haven't noticed. She's weaker than I am. I let her win."

"Why?" Kahli asked, her lips pulled back in disgust.

Reggie arched a dark brow at her, like she was a moron. "Blood. She gave me extra, sometimes it was even fresh." He scoffed at her, "Why else would I do anything?" Will knew Reggie well, and had no doubt that he was telling the truth, but he could sense there was more to the story. Reggie continued, "Sophia has been staging those fights for years. She wanted to make the other Regent thought she was stronger and more fearsome that she actually was. It kept her from real fighting, from dealing with challengers that would try to take her throne."

While that may have been true, Will knew she was strong and merciless. He'd been by Sophia's side since he was sold to Reggie. The Queen favored his looks and his wit, so Will had gotten access and heard things that no one else knew. Reggie had been able to pry most of those secrets from him due to the runes. Ownership was nearly all of the law, but one rune trumped them all, and no one knew he had it. Reggie had no idea how deep Will's debt was, neither did Sophia. While the King thought about branding him with another rune, he never did. At least that was one person Will didn't owe a damn thing, but at the same time, Will couldn't escape his bonds without the King. There was a reason for all those years of favors, all those things he'd done that he shouldn't have. Loyalty, runes, and blood compelled him. Will's hand tightened around Kahli's.

When neither of them spoke, Reggie blurted out the obvious, "You know you can't save her, William, so why have you allowed yourself to grow attached to this one?"

The way he said, this one, made Kahli glance at Will. The expression on her face made her thoughts transparent - there were others?

Damn you, Reggie, Will thought. "I