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They all converged on the cemetery; two Romans, four mutores, and a pissed-off Brit, but all Nicholas wanted was to be the one as able to make it past the enchantone into Hell without him He kne badly she wanted to find Ladd He knew her , and he didn&039;t fault her for that But they were partners, goddaht to risk her life without consulting hi him at her back when she did it

She would feel his wrath

But he had to get to her first

A foot in front of hiravesite, and without a word et to the headstone But after one step in he was thrust back by an invisible force He cursed, landed on his ass, andI don&039;t have de to stand near Nicholas, who had stopped where Lycos had stood a moment before "If you would just wait for Cruen to coe frooing in withhi in"

"I hate cockroaches," Nicholas heard Phane mutter to Helo as the pair stood behind the for them"

"We all have our vices, bro," Helo returned

As if he weren&039;t listening to anything but his own stream of consciousness, Synjon barked at the mutore beside him "Take me in"

Raine gaped at hiet through the portals"

"My ravestone "How did she get through?"

"I don&039;t know"

"Can soyback on one who has it?" Synjon asked, his gaze shifting to Nicholas

Nicholas grinned with quick understanding "My twin brother is part demon, which would h forcloser

"&039;Course it is," Lucian uttered, standing a good five feet away frorowled at him "This is none of your affair, Frosty"

"Bullshit," Lucian returned "None of you know anything for sure It&039;s like walking outside without knowing if it&039;s night or day A fucking crapshoot"

"He&039;s right," Raine told the for sure you could both end up dead Before you even reach Hell, you could both be nothing but ash"

Synjon shrugged "We&039;ll see"

Raine turned to Nicholas, his eyes i him to think rationally It was one of the few times in his life where that objective was virtually impossible Clearly the ht into danger

"Perhaps," Raine suggested with conviction, "your mate didn&039;t walk into the hellfire Perhaps she is back home in New York or at Erion&039;s castle"

"No" He&039;d already been in contact with both, and Kate wasn&039;t there

"Sod off, you bloody git," Syn snarled "We&039;re wasting ti undeterred, Raine said, "Perhaps she did try to get into the Underworld Tried and failed"

A low, foul snarl exited Nicholas&039;s ht, that abominable, impossible version of what happened to his mate, would not even be considered

"Don&039;t listen to this knob head" Synjonlook "Shall we join hands or yback experience?"

"You could be ju to your death," Raine told him

"The possibilities are endless"

"Hey, London," Lucian called to Synjon, though he stared hard at Nicholas&039;s back, "that ain&039;t the way"

"Life and death isan idiot," Lucian said to Nicholas, then turned to Syn "And you Are you seriously going to risk death? Risk leaving Cruen here to live?" Lucian lifted one pale eyebrow

With an irritated growl, Synjon patted the blade at his hip and eyed Nicholas "Is your deo?"

"My demon blood wants to leave your sorry British ass behind" Nicholas grabbed the paven&039;s arm and yanked him close "But unfortunately, I may need backup"

Hellen advanced on the vampire female "Release him, or I will make you do it" She raised an eyebrow "And it&039;ll hurt A lot"

The blond fe an i up the ic that hummed within her, the vampire female had no idea what stood before her-as truly protecting the boy Hellen wasn&039;t so sure either But she knew that whatever she had unleashed back in the theater, it was iain

"Back off, deht with you I just want to take the balas"

"It will be a fight to the death if you take that balas" She raised her hands "And I in"

Erion moved past her to stand between her and the vampire female "Hellen, wait"

She stared at his concerned expression "She wants the boy"

"She is his-"

"Guardian," the female provided with deep irritation

"What?" Hellen stepped to one side and studied the fe in lanced over his shoulder "Kate, I&039;ht," she answered

Jealousy poured through Hellen and she felt her hands curl into fists Erion knew the female This blond, beautiful varowl that erupted from Hellen&039;s throat made both Erion and the female turn to face her

But it was the boy who spoke

"She is my Kate" Ladd stepped in front of the female and spread his arms wide "She takes care of ood at her job"

The boy&039;s words, his care for the fe here? She backed up a foot She glanced at the female, Kate Her eyes ith tears, but she quickly wiped them aith the back of her hand

What was this? Was this the boy&039;s mother? The one Erion made the child with?

Ladd eyed her, not with any trace of anger, but as one as protecting so he loved "I won&039;t let you hurt her, Hellen"

Shock barreled through her "You knowwith momentary ht She drew back another foot "I wouldn&039;t hurt her, Ladd"

But if she has been with Erion, cares for Erion, I ot down on her knees and faced the boy "I think we are all trying to protect you," she told him "Your friend Hellen didn&039;t knoho I was, and she was afraid so you"

"Oh Well, that rinned at her "Sohed "True, balas Very true"

"Then everything is okay?" he asked, turning to look at Erion

Erion granted the boy a sturdy nod, then turned to Hellen "This is my twin brother&039;s arded her with a surprised expression "Kate, how did you get here? You need demon blood to enter Hell Is Nicholas with you?"

She stood, looked tired and worried "I waited for Nicky, realized as I stood there that he would have the blood to get through But he didn&039;t coh A blue specter, a ghost-I don&039;t kno else to describe it-cah the portal It took one look at me and was headed back in I panicked All I could think about was getting to Ladd I flung ht, and I was here"

"It et through the portals, cause trouble, but they can&039;t survive long up there You were very lucky"

She put her hand on Ladd&039;s shoulder "Yes, I am"

"Hellen!" Levia rushed inside the room, followed by Polly "There you are We were so worried You looked terrifying"

Polly grasped her around the waist "Oh, Hellen We didn&039;t knohat he was forcing you to do How you protected us We thought you wanted the ood match" Tears fell onto her cheeks "I&039;m so sorry"

"It&039;s okay," Hellen soothed, her heart breaking for the loss of her sisters&039; innocence Damn their father He could&039;ve had what he wanted, had two daughters who feared him but didn&039;t know the absolute truth about him-that he was a loathso

"He was going to kill Erion and Ladd" Levia stared at her, horror-struck "He would&039;ve killed you too, Hellen His own flesh and blood I saw it on his face We all saw it"

"I never thought he loved us," Polly said sadly "I wasn&039;t silly enough to think that, but I believed he had a trace of soood deep within him" Her eyes locked with her sister "When he spoke to you on that stage, how he treated you, all that he said and did-I realized my beliefs weren&039;t based in truth, but in hope"

"Oh, Polly," Hellen said, shaking her head

"No, don&039;t I&039;lad you showed your power, and I&039;roup before her, Erion and Ladd clinging to Kate "Are you leaving? Going aboveground?"

"Yes," Hellen confir with you," Levia said

Hellen felt a pull inside her, a responsibility to the citizens she was leaving without a leader To this place she&039;d always called home To her mother&039;s memory

She looked at Erion, Ladd, and her sisters She wanted to be with them For once, couldn&039;t she choose what she wanted? Couldn&039;t she be done with the role of perpetual sacrifice?

"Let&039;s go" Erion took Hellen&039;s hand and motioned for her sisters as well as Kate and Ladd to follow

But it wasn&039;t Hellen who refused the call It was Ladd

"I don&039;t want to leave," he said, his lower lip jutting out "I want to seeat his hand