Revealed in Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights #9)(11)

“I got it, I got it.” Emery grinned.

“Don’t laugh. I’m serious. She would go absolutely nuts. You think she’s unhinged when she gets bored? Well…” Penny hit him with a poignant look.

He laughed and put up his hands. “She’s territorial, I got it.”

“She’s more than territorial. Once she trusts, she’s a ride-or-die kind of person. She would never let any harm come to Darius if she could help it. Me either. She’ll always have my back. Our backs, I guess, though you are basically marrying into it.”

“I hope to, at any rate.” He rubbed his thumb across the power stone in the ring he’d given her when he proposed. The stone purred in contentment. It liked him more than Penny, she was pretty sure. “Though…ouch.” He smirked.

“You know it’s true. You’re in her circle of protection because of me.”

“So, for your sake, she’d blow the world to save me?”

“I mean…Emery, she would kidnap a person’s family and hold them for ransom. She might even skin a pet or something, I don’t know. She’s nuts, man. Don’t mess with her loved ones. She’s not rational—”

He fell away from her, leaning against the arm of the sofa, laughing. “I got it, I got it.”

“I know that you’re laughing at me, but you have no idea. If you’d been on as many bounty hunter gigs with her as I have, you’d know that the woman has no sense of self-preservation. Literally none. She’s not here to protect herself, and she’s not here for vacation, like we are. She’s here because the people who love her want to keep her safe, and she worries that if she leaves, she’ll drag us all into danger. Then she’d have to, like, light cars on fire or something, I don’t know. Burn Roger’s house down, though that might just be for fun.”

His big body shook with laughter next to her, and he wiped his eyes. Penny cracked a grin, because the last had been a joke. Reagan knew better than to mess with Roger. Hopefully.

“Did she say this?” Emery asked, finally calming down.

“She hasn’t admitted it, but I see it more and more every time we visit. I think she really hates it here.”

“That’s crazy. This is literally paradise. I would give my left nut to own this place and hang out here whenever I felt like it.”

“Ew. That’s the thing, though. You’d choose when to hang out, and when to go back to your life. She doesn’t have a choice, and I think it’s eating away at her. I was sheltered for most of my life, and now, after getting a taste of the magical world, I would wither and die if I had to go back to that. She’s never been sheltered before. Not really. She was sequestered away, but from the sounds of it, her mother exposed Reagan to plenty of danger so she could learn her magic. Her mother found a balance. And that was easy when no one knew she existed, but with so many people out there, looking for her…”

Emery sobered and leaned back toward Penny. “Yeah, I suppose.”

“She can’t hide here forever, Emery,” Penny said quietly. “Even if so many people weren’t actively trying to flush her out, Darius can’t keep her hidden forever. He’s good, but he’s up against the literal creator of hell.”

“The Underworld isn’t hell—”

“Well, the demons we’ve been fighting sure look like the harbingers of hell, so excuse me for the confusion. Show me proof to the contrary, and maybe I’ll believe it.”

“You’re right, though. Even if she wanted to stay here forever, and you say she doesn’t, Darius wouldn’t be this on edge if he had everything locked down.”

“I mean, even if no one finds her, sending all those demons is like tapping her on the shoulder. She knows she can help put them down. We have the situation under control right now, but the second those demons get too much for us to handle, she’ll step in. You know she will.”

“Will that be with dynamite and earthquakes, or will it—”

She elbowed him. “It’s not funny!”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I’ve seen her in action. It’s just your deadpan certainty of it that makes me laugh.”

Penny had no idea why, but she let it be. He’d only try to explain, and then start laughing again when she didn’t get it. She wondered if her dad, whom she was apparently most like in personality, had always been the butt of jokes when he was alive. She’d asked her mom once, but had been told, “Don’t be ridiculous. No one made fun of him!” Given her tone, Penny had figured that probably meant yes, so she hadn’t asked for specifics.

Emery wrestled the smile off his face. “It’s hard to feel the gravity of the outside world in this place. Anyway, yes, I suspect you’re right. You spoon-fed Darius everything we know about Vlad’s plans and motivations. Hopefully it’ll help him shrug off any lingering sense of duty he might have toward his maker. If those two go head to head, it’ll be a test to see if the pupil has outstripped the master.”

Penny’s stomach twisted. Looking over, she watched Reagan glide across the dance floor. Darius often called Reagan mon ange. My angel. That was exactly what she looked like right then, her face tilted up to him with a serene smile, her dress sparkling and flowing around her legs, her handsome prince (of darkness) holding her hand while his other arm encircled her back. An angel…or a princess.