Dying Wish: A Novel of the Sentinel Wars Read Online Free PDF Page B

down into her lovely face. So sweet, his Hope. He’d never tire of looking at her. “What do you mean?”
    “My memories of Temprocia have continued to come back.”
    Temprocia, the world where she’d been born and raised. Her memories of the place had been removed for her protection, but they’d been returning slowly ever since she’d taken his blood.
    “How does that help Grace?” he asked.
    Her blond brows drew together in concentration. “I don’t remember everything, but I remember a woman, a healer. I can’t recall her name, but I can see her face. She had no wrinkles, but there was a wisdom there—a kind of timeless intellect, as if she knew all the secrets of the world. I remember looking at her and
knowing
she could do anything. What if she can help Grace?”
    Warnings sounded in Logan’s head. Hope had proved she was more than willing to put herself in harm’s way to save another. He didn’t want her anywhere near danger ever again. “Perhaps she could, but since there’s no way of reaching her, it’s best if we don’t mention this in front of Torr.”
    Hope pulled her gaze away from his and stared at the floor. “What if there is a way?”
    “The fact that you won’t look me in the eye when you say that tells me that it’s far too dangerous to even consider. Grace is dying. We have to accept that and move on.”
    “I can’t. I have so much. My life is full and happy. What kind of person would I be if I didn’t try to give that chance for happiness to someone else?”
    That was just one more reason why he loved her.
    Despite the fact that he knew he’d regret asking, he did anyway. “What were you thinking?”
    “I came here through the Sentinel Stone in the Tyler building.”
    “The one I had relocated here, just in case any more women like you come through.” He desperately hoped that they would, too. His fellow Sanguinar were starving, and there was something special about Hope’s blood that took away that hunger. At least it had for him.
    She was what his kind should have been if they hadn’t been cursed before their birth. She had no thirst for blood. She could walk in the sun. And while Logan wished that he, too, had such freedoms, there was no other person he’d rather see happy than Hope.
    “What if we can somehow get a message through the Stone? We could call for help.”
    “Assuming we can, how would that help?”
    “I am having flashes of a memory—just little bits that keep teasing me. There’s something there, and if I can uncover it, I think I’ll know how to operate the Stone.”
    “Gateways are tricky things. Dangerous things.”
    “I can do this, Logan. I just need your help.”
    He didn’t like it. He didn’t like anything that put her in possible danger. But he knew better than to deny her. If he didn’t help her, she’d find someone who would. She wouldn’t let this puzzle go—not while Grace’s life hung in the balance.
    Logan nodded. “If you wish, I’ll help you, but you have to promise me that you won’t do anything without me.”
    She smiled, and Logan’s entire world brightened. “I promise.”
    Her vow settled gently over his shoulders, comforting him. “Mention this to no one. If Torr gets even a hint of our purpose, he will be relentless. I won’t have him pushing you beyond what’s safe.”
    “I agree. We’ll do this alone. If it works, then we’ll tell him.”
    And after they determined the outcome of this attempt to save Grace’s life, he’d tell her what he’d done and give her what he hoped would be her wedding gift.
    *  *  *
    Jackie entered Joseph’s office, and he immediately rose to his feet. She averted her gaze, seeking out anything that would distract her from the hope she saw spring into his expression with her mere presence.
    The room was cluttered with maps and papers, photographs, and a stack of unopened letters. Weapons hung on the walls, and she was certain that they were for more than mere show. A