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“Kaz is definitely a bad choice,” Daniel said. “They know she’s been lying to them about her identity for years now. They’re unlikely to trust her.”

“That’s true, Matt,” Sarah said. “The Merryweathers are nasty but they aren’t stupid, they’ll realise she’s up to something.”

“That’s not exactly the plan,” Matthias said. “And who else could do it? Lyd’s out due to being a dragon, Andrew’s not subtle enough – sorry, Drew – and Dan would irritate the hell out of Helena given her empathy and how different their mental frequencies are. Plus he has a promise to Rini to keep.”

“Hmm?” Daniel said. “Oh, you mean finding her heart friend.”

“Yes,” Matthias said. “James says that she’s getting touchy about it again. I know where her heart friend is so you just need to take her to meet them.”

“You need someone they’ll believe is not working for you,” Daniel said. “Ideally someone they’ll believe they can turn against you. That’s none of us.”

“It could actually be Rini,” Karen said. “But she’s too young to take such a risk.” She tapped her fingers on the chair arm. “And Helena’s too sensitive to be fooled anyway. No, I honestly am best for this because even though I always gave her the same cold shoulder as everyone else, I swear she likes me. It’s risky but we’re planning to reach out to her rather than manipulate her.”

Sonia stared at them in disbelief and opened her mouth, clearly about to give them a tongue lashing when she paused and frowned. “That’s a really stupid idea but my gut is insisting it might work… but what if she tells her family?”

Karen snorted. “They know how we feel already, mum,” she said blandly. “I doubt they’ll kill me for saying it directly to one of them.”

“Don’t bet on it,” Sonia said.

“I’d be more worried about her,” Karen said. “Jasmine and Ryan already bully her and call her soft. I don’t think the Merryweathers care for empaths.”

“I still don’t like it,” Sonia said. “Promise me you’ll try and find another way.”

Matthias and Karen looked at each other for a moment before promising. Lydia didn’t believe them and from the look on her face neither did Sonia. After a moment Sonia shook her head with a sigh.

“Why did I ever marry a Morgan? Just don’t get killed, okay?” She shook her head again before changing the subject. “Do we know how the preparations to deal with the tear are going?”

“Yes, we’ve had a message from Darlryan,” Matthias said. “He’s tweaking the wand Andarian gave to Lyd; he thinks it’ll be a couple of days, maybe a week before it’s ready. Though he does want to test it before using it for real just in case it’s booby trapped in some way he hasn’t thought of.”

“That seems sensible,” Sonia said. “We don’t want to make the situation any worse.” She looked towards the window. “I just want this mess done with so we can concentrate on dealing with Xantaria.”

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