Revealed in Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights #9)(18)

“Trying to add to your list of the creatures you want to see fornicating?” I asked her, waggling my eyebrows.

Her shock turned to embarrassed anger, and she balled up her fists.

“We have gotten off track,” Darius said, his eyes softening as they beheld me. It seemed as though a question had been answered, and he was now seeing his future span in front of him. A future that involved me, and probably his newfound ability to procreate. A future I couldn’t dwell on until I survived the present.

Everyone else stared, dumbstruck. Vampires and shifters were apparently a lot more similar than anyone had given them credit for. That wouldn’t go over well.

“How are those secrets?” Penny asked, incredulous. “Like, seriously, how come no one knows all of that?”

“Vampires know about the unicorns, and they usually kill anyone who finds out,” I responded, “and demons know about dragons. As for the other…”

“Shifters have short life spans in comparison to other supernatural creatures,” Cahal said. “They lose much of their knowledge from one generation to the next. It is why they repeat so many of their mistakes. The life span of vampires is long, but they grow tired of living. Some die in wars, some by others of their own kind, and some let their minds go to sleep. The vampires that do know of what I speak, like Ja, who has been around at least as long as I have, keep it to themselves. Knowledge is power, which is likely why the elves are so wary of them.”

“And you?” I asked. “Why hasn’t your mind gone to sleep? Or did Penny burst in on you, too, and wake you up?”

“I did not burst in on Ja when— Oh, you didn’t mean it that way.” Penny snapped her mouth shut, her face flaming again.

I turned to her slowly, my eyebrows rising. “You dirty dog.”

“I said I didn’t! I heard her through the door, and then I walked away!”

Emery chuckled into his fist, his whole body shaking. “You’re busted, Turdswallop.” He laughed harder, squeezing his eyes shut.

“And when was this?” I asked, bemused.

“Let’s leave poor Penny to relive the memory of her escapades in peace,” Darius said in a comforting tone, but he was just roasting her in his own way. Emery doubled over laughing.

My mind will not sleep until I find her, Cahal thought, and the wispy quality gave me the impression he’d forgotten I could hear him. Until I find my true mate.

“I think it is time to break,” Darius said, leaning forward to stand, cutting off my sight of the stoic druid. “How about some food, and then regroup.” He took the demon-scrawled note and stood. “Roger, you will be staying the night. I will show you to a room.”





Five





“So you smell like Lucifer?” Roger asked me, shaved and showered and changed, though only into a cleaner version of his white shirt and blue jeans combo. I couldn’t fault the guy—he looked good in it.

He’d met me outside by the pool, where I was soaking up the starlight and waiting for dinner. There would be no training tonight. We needed to figure out what came next, which would be easier once we had a chance to get over Cahal’s truth bombs. He’d leveled the place with those.

“I don’t know. I’m sure I smell similar,” I replied, closing my eyes and enjoying the cool breeze on my lids.

I heard rustling and assumed he was getting comfortable. “I knew there was something about you. Not just the smell, but the sheer power you displayed at the Mages’ Guild. I thought you were bred from a powerful demon. I had no idea you could be Lucifer’s heir. Not until the Red Prophet sought me out.”

“Yep.”

“Unicorns? They’re in the Underworld?”

“No, but I won’t say more. Like I said, it’s a secret the vampires will kill to protect. There are dragons in the Underworld, though. I had to fight one, and let me tell you, that was not a good time. I would advise against it. I want one, though. If I get trapped in the Underworld someday, my first order of business will be to get a dragon. Might as well make the best of it, you know?”

“You aren’t going to get trapped in the Underworld,” Roger growled, and I peeled an eye open.

“Oh no? You’d prefer I got kidnapped and killed by the elves, then?”

“That’s what I was going to tell you before the druid…got us off track.” He ran his fingers through his hair, and I wondered if he was still processing the fact that dragon blood could equip him to turn a human into a shifter. He was being very loose with all his mannerisms and reactions. It wasn’t like him. “Before I saw the Red Prophet, Romulus spoke to me about the note and the potential problems of an heir. He’s worried the heir—you—could become a pawn, like Charity surely would have been if she’d been allowed to fall into the wrong hands before finding her family. He also believes the heir is a part of Charity’s quest.” He hesitated. “That’s when—”

“I know what her quest is. The fae are positive a war is coming, and that she will stand against Vlad and Lucifer.”

“Well, now…things have changed. Her most recent vision showed her standing against the elves and their army.”

I frowned at him. “It flipped?”