Holly's heart pounded in her chest. They had slipped away, but for how long? They couldn't keep this up. She could still see her friend's eyes before that monster had eaten her.  All she wanted to do was throw herself down on the ground and sob. Atropos hadn't deserved that kind of death, no one did."I won't let anything happen to you," Angel promised. "Don't worry, okay? I promise. I've always protected you, and I always will." He stared into her eyes and Holly's pulse raced. What was with her that even Angel could bring about that kind of response? But as she looked at him, the way everything about him was self-confident, she believed him."Except that time you weren't even here yet," Eros pointed out with a snort. His eyes narrowing at the other in a silent challenge. Holly hid her wince. She didn't need Angel, she had Eros. Eros was the one that was always at her side, always helping her. He had been her protector. There was no need for her to soften up

Holly winced as her eyes met Krim's.  Flashes of what the man had done to her, what he'd subjected her to ricocheted through her brain. "Why are we fighting?" she demanded of Sloth. "We could do this battle all day. This isn't solving anything.""You're the one seeking to eradicate me and my family," Sloth replied in a hiss. "Why should I ever stop fighting you? You think you're the good guy because you've been told that over and over? What makes it true?""Enough," Eros interrupted as he strode toward the other side. Holly watched him go but an ache blossomed in her chest and she reached out to him."Shouldn't you be keeping your attention on the fight?" Demanded Krim. "You wouldn't want to lose another reaper, would you?" he questioned as he summoned his own scythe and gestured at Quix. "That one would hurt a lot more than Ruby. You forgot about her so fast.""I didn't forget!" Holly almost howled the words. "You're wrong!"Krim threw his he

 Atropos landed in the middle of the group hitting the ground with a thump as she rolled to safety. The teenager righted herself and froze. "What?" she demanded as she faced the other two Fates. "Did you bring me back?""You were about to die. We couldn't allow that." Clothos responded with a nod of her head."Though you deserved to suffer for that," Lachesis added with a sneer. "You've messed up the tapestry. If we hadn't removed you when we did you would have been trapped inside without a chance for escape.""So you ripped me out?" Atropos rushed to the threads and ran her fingers over them. "Where's Holly?""Juniper has started her next life, her next battle. We helped transfer that tangled web over." Clothos' eyes narrowed. "I expect you to be appreciative of all the work we did. We managed to detach the Sin of Sloth from the tangle, and a few of the others but there are too many souls that got reborn with her."Atropos tugged at the tangl