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He morphed to be no bigger than a common housecat, so that he wouldn’t be seen.

He either walked along the ground beside them or behind them some safe distance away from the child’s sight. He also jumped from tree branch to tree branch, flapping his wings and using them to glide.

Valerie was carrying her sister on her back since she was weak. Geryon had healed her wounds, but she’d still lost a lot of blood. As much as he wanted to help, there was little he could do for her.

However, he was learning much about them, just by watching and listening.

The first thing Valerie did was take them to the men who currently lay dead.

He was surprised she would take her young sister right through the middle of such carnage until she removed a weapons belt from one of them so she could strap it around her own waist. She was making sure she had the ability to protect them on their travels.She told me they would not need my help should trouble occur.

Valerie began to go through the personal items the bandits had in their campsite. The first thing she did was give food to her sister so she could restore her strength. She sat on the ground while Valerie searched. She took a drawstring bag and filled it with a blanket, food, and a water sack.

It wasn’t long before they set off again, finally making their journey through the forest.

“Are you okay, Valerie?” Kaeylyn asked with crinkled, sad eyes.

Valerie looked over her shoulder at the girl hugging her back, like she was surprised by the question. Geryon was as well, since she wasn’t showing any signs of distress.

“Of course. Why would I not be?”

“I know what those men were going to do to you,” she whispered. “I saw them lifting your skirt.”

“It is not the first time something like this has happened to me.”This was why they were attacked?“You should be more concerned with what happened to you.”

“No, I barely remember it.” She patted Valerie’s hair like the woman needed comforting. “Do you hate men now, like Aldora?”

“No. I cannot hate men when they are not all evil. What happened to Aldora was terrible, and far worse than what any human men can do to me. She has every reason to reject men, in any form.”

“But you saved her from those dark Witches who tried to use her in a ritual.”

Valerie shook her head. “I did not arrive in time, and I was not alone.” She turned her head back to her. “You forget that Mother and Carwyn helped me.”

Geryon imagined Aldora and Carwyn were her other two sisters.

“But you were the one who healed her of her wounds.” Kaeylyn hugged her neck tighter. “It is always you who comes to save us. You always fight for us.”

“I am the eldest; it is my job to protect you. I will always come for you.”

A small silence was shared between them before the girl pressed her face against Valerie’s shoulder and let out a wail.

“I am so sorry!” Geryon reared his head at the sudden change in the girl’s emotions. She burst into tears, clinging so tightly, he could tell she was gripping Valerie’s throat in a suffocating squeeze. “I did not mean to venture so close to the road. I was playing with the fairies when you and Mother told me not to. I-I did not mean to be seen, I promise.”

They play with fairies rather than pull them apart?The idea was foreign to Geryon. Since Witches turned on other creatures, used them to fuel strong, dark magic, pixies and fairies avoided them out of fear.

“Kaeylyn, it is fine. Do not worry yourself. You are safe now.”

“B-but,” the girl blubbered. “You had to come save me. I knew you would come for me, but I was so scared you would be hurt because of me.”

“I saw you had toys in your confinement,” Valerie commented, obviously trying to change the subject.

Kaeylyn nodded with a sniffle, bringing her arm back to wipe her snotty nose on the back of her sleeve. “Mhm. The man gave them to me to play with.”

Geryon imagined the child would have been bored without them.I am a hunter, not a monster.He wanted to kill evil Witches, and he’d known the child was pure.

“Was he nice to you?”

Her tears began to slow as she became thoughtful. As a child, her emotions were fleeting.