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“Oh!” she exclai around Her hair was a silver cloud around her face and her eyes ild “What…how…?”

“I’m not sure if it stopped because it sensed ere dry or because I touched the wall,” Rarev growled “But look…”

He pointed to the wall he was touching, where the door had reappeared

“God, let’s get out of here!” Eed and her blue eyes were desperate—not that Rarev blamed her

“Come on” He pushed open the door, lifted her into his arms, and carried her back down the short hallway to the bed chamber

He had been playing with the control before the Goddess spoke to hihtfall with snow softly falling down to coat the leaves and ground below The center crystal panel, right in front of the bed, showed a flickering fire, as though they were caht

Rarev was glad the rooht, and the scene was a soothing one It see

Gently, he laid her, still naked on the bed For a , her eyes unreadable Then she turned on her side and curled into a tight, fetal ball Her shoulders hunched inward and then began to shake as low sobs were dragged froh by force

Rarev stared in concern, at a loss for a moment The formidable Emilia Oxley, who had showed iron control froun to cry

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Em didn’t want to cry—she hated to cry in fact But the events of the day had siry mob in front of her house, then Rarev had broken in and taken her out through said s at her Then she’d witnessed an attack on the Earth and been told that she was expected to save it by pretending to be the Monstrum Kindred’s partner

After agreeing to all that, she’d been taken to an alien planet and put through the Trial of Truth where she was forced to ads for Rarev, then attacked by the monstrous octo-lobster-scorpion creature at dinner Her wrist and forearm and breast still ached fiercely where its tentacles had stung her And finally, to cap it all off, she’d nearly been drowned just atte to take a bloody shower