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Yet Geryon had walked away from her, just as the others had

Am I so terrible? So horrible a person?

More than the others, she had wanted Geryon to find pleasure with her because he meant more She liked who she ith him Liked how she felt when he was near Worthy Precious Instead, she had…disgusted hihtest way?

"Stay bydouble doors They were the first words he had uttered since re her of their quest "And keep your hood over your head Just in case Actually, are you versed in glah and caressed every one of her weeping senses Surely she did not disgust him Surely she did not repel hi their kiss, had stopped it, but when he looked at her, he made her feel as if she were the only woman in the world The"Kadence?" Cleared his throat "Goddess?"

"I will glah inside she beseeched, Tell me why you continually push me away She only wanted to draw closer

He didn’t, of course He nodded and stepped forward She stayed close, as proe of bones and scales Anyone who glanced in her direction would think they saw one of their own She could only hope her fear was masked as well They would not hesitate to devour one of their own

Taunting laughter and pain-filled cries iaze around the room So many demons…they cae she projected, bones and scales Soons with snouts toslab?

No, not rip and nearly crushing her lungs Hu theods

Unfortunately, there was no peace for the da," she couldn’t help but breathe "How can we defeat a horde of these?"

"All we can do is try"

Yes Sadly, they had no guarantee of success But I told Geryon I would protect hied them to the side and out of the way, and she kneas so that they could observe the happenings without drawing notice "The creatures you see here are minions, soldiers and servants They are not ill be fighting"

That’s right, she thought, sto Violence, Death and the like were Deony, their er

The Lords cared only for the agony Prolonging it, increasing it to the depths of insanity And the ony they inflicted, the er they beca here

She would never be able to keep Geryon safe

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"SSSMELL GOOD, LIKE FEAR," sory"

Startled, she gasped I’ve already givento force Geryon to return to the gate Now this Hell No, she thought

Geryon tried to pull her behind him, but she resisted This ti hiht

"Move away or die," she told the demon

It frowned at her "Look like ood?" It licked its lips, saliva dripping from the corners of its paper-thin mouth It was covered in yellow scales and only reached her navel And while it appeared lean, she suspected unyielding strength rested underneath those scales

A treh her Remember who you are Remember what you can do

It stepped closer "Tassste"

"You arned," she said, bracing herself

"Wait outside, Kadence Please" Geryon tried to move in front of her "I will handle this"

She blocked hiht them alone"

As they spoke, the de

"Please, Kadence" Geryon tugged at her "I need to know you’re safe Otherwise, I’ll be distracted, and a distracted warrior is a defeated warrior"

Defeat would not be theirs "I cannot act the coward Not anyht him at all" She was Hell’s warden; it was past time she acted like it Past tiood enough Not when it comes to your safety"

She did not have time to bask in his beautiful concern AnyShe knew it, felt it Kadence reached inside herself as she angled her chin to stare deep into its eyes, surprised to find her power easily accessible She shouldn’t have been surprised, though She ht try to suppress it, but it was always there, never silent, a churning sea inside her