Revealed in Fire by K.F. Breene

Four

A thud pulledme up to consciousness. The hard warmth of Darius curled around me in the soft bedding. Thick black curtains covered the windows, cinched tight. They were closed, which meant the sun was still out. A look at the clock on the nightstand confirmed it—late afternoon.

I listened for a moment. If the wards had gone off, the alarms would be blaring. Given Penny and Emery had set those wards, I was not at all concerned about a breach. It seemed far more likely that Penny had tripped over something upstairs and possibly tumbled down the stairs. You just never knew with her. She could move quickly, fight effortlessly, and really pack a kick when she wanted to, but sometimes the fight against gravity was too much for her.

Hearing nothing else, and sensing no magic, I turned within Darius’s arms and slid my hands downward. I trailed my fingertips over his chest, feeling the grooves of muscle and then the hard plane leading to the fun factory. I lightly kissed his strong jaw while wrapping my fingers around his quickly hardening length.

His groan made me smile. I leaned against him, and he fell onto his back, sucking in a breath as I stroked. I slid my lips across his neck and pulled a leg over his hip, releasing my hand in favor of rubbing my slickness against him.

I made my kisses more aggressive, sucking in his warm skin as I made my way toward his mouth, sliding my hands back up his chest and curling them around the back of his neck. He responded eagerly, cupping my butt and lifting, the weight nothing to him. His tip dragged against my slit as he positioned himself and then abruptly pulled me back down.

Delicious sensation bloomed, and I pulled up to sitting, closing my eyes. I swirled my hips as I rose and fell, taking him all in and then backing off, our slow lovemaking every bit as exciting and erotic as I’d come to find our dancing. As I’d come to find all the things we did together.

Warmth seeped into my chest and I quickened my pace, crashing down onto him now, his fingers on my nub, massaging so fast that it felt like a vibrator. I moaned with the ecstasy of it and then leaned to prompt a change in position.

He rolled with me, pressing me into the mattress and settling between my thighs. I wrapped my legs around him, opening my mouth to his kiss and moaning when he swept his tongue through.

“Bite me,” I breathed, digging my fingers in as I pulled them across his muscular shoulders and down his strong arms.

He kissed along my jaw, thrusting his hips rhythmically. A dull ache pressed against my artery, followed by the sharpness of teeth. In moments, his vampire’s serum pumped through me, overcoming the pain and flowering into a delicious sensation, heightened by the feel of him sliding into me. He drew deeply and my stomach fluttered. I wrapped my arms around him, knowing this was the height of intimacy for a vampire and craving the closeness of it. Craving him.

He pulled away, pumping into me harder. I swung my hips up to meet him.

Crash.

I flinched and adrenaline flooded me.

“It’s just Penny,” Darius murmured. He kept going, not at all troubled by the interruption. Vampires weren’t really worried about others seeing their intimate moments.

Sure enough, around Darius, I could just make out Penny staggering like a drunk, holding her shoulder and looking pleased with herself. She’d just busted in the top half of the unlocked double door.

“Hah! I did it, I— Oh gross. Oh no, oh gross. Oh my God I’m so sorry—” The door wobbled, the top hinge loose, as she tried to yank it shut. Since it was listing now, it banged off the top half of the other door and bounced back. “Snap dragons, farting frogs! Why won’t it close?”

Another attempt, another bang.

“Benedict Cumberbatch’s toe ring, this stupid thing!”

Darius was off the bed in a flash, grabbing the door and pushing it into place.

“Suffering ding-dongs—no!” Penny’s footsteps echoed down the hall.

Barely a second passed before Darius was again over me, pressing against my thighs. But I couldn’t stop laughing. He didn’t resume, instead looking down at me with twinkling eyes.

“She probably had an actual reason for being here,” I said, the laughs still coming. I hugged Darius and then wiped a tear out of my eye, but the thought of her horrified expression started the laughter again. Darius moved off me for a moment so I could hold my stomach and let the laughter come. “Did you see the look in her eyes when you went to the door?” I shook with it. “She’s only ever been with Emery. She is not equipped to handle a drive-by cocking.”

“She did seem embarrassed, yes.”

I let the laughter subside, knowing I needed to go find out what she wanted…as soon as I finished with Darius, which I had every intention of doing after I let myself savor the memory of Penny’s reaction one last time. When the laughter subsided again, I swung a leg over Darius and guided him into me.

“Hmm,” I said, sitting down. His eyes were hooded. “Now, where were we?”

He cupped my breasts, and a sudden urgency overcame me. I sped up as he ran his thumbs over my budded nipples. Pleasure and feelings bombarded me. Sensations overwhelmed me. I clenched my jaw as the onslaught reached a crescendo and then pulled me under and drowned me in bliss. I shook, calling out his name. He pulled me down to him, crushing me against his chest, shaking with completion.

I lay on top of him in the aftermath, breathing deeply, his skin warm and my body sated.

“We ruined Penny’s door-busting moment, do you know that?” I asked, moving to his side and resting my head on his chest.

“I think we did her a favor. Her missteps can be chalked up to distraction. Maybe next time, she’ll perform the action with a little more confidence and flair.”

“Kicking them in is more my thing, though. You know, because of the strength and temper. It wouldn’t really suit her.”

“This is true.”

“She should make an entrance by opening a door slowly. Like…really slowly. Annoyingly slowly. That’s more her speed.”

I pushed off his chest and propped my head on my hand, my elbow planted on the bed beside him. He was smiling, his eyes a perfect spun honey flecked with green, sparkling with fire and mirth and intelligence. He was an incredibly handsome devil, with his high cheekbones and straight nose, his hair tousled on the pillow and his body perfectly cut with muscle.

His lips fell a little and his eyes turned serious as he studied me. He laid a hand on my cheek and traced my jaw with his thumb. “I have enjoyed our time here, mon ange, with just us and our friends. I feel human in an age where being human is sublime. All these years as a supernatural, my mortal life before it—this is the happiest I’ve ever been. It feels like I am truly living for the first time. I am blessed. Truly.”

I leaned forward and kissed his lips. “I’m happy, too. I love you.”

Despite knowing Penny wanted something and I should really go find out what, I lost myself in Darius again, relishing the peace and serenity of the moment and of this place. Because yes, this life was sublime. Darius made it that way. I could stand living it for a while longer. More than stand it, if he’d be here with me.

A while later,with a deep inhale and a slow exhale, I leisurely walked down the halls in a flowing white dress that danced around my ankles. The neckline plunged between my breasts, revealing plenty of cleavage, and even a peek of my stomach when I bent over. The back swooped down low, too, almost to my butt. With the light around me, the thin material revealed what was underneath -a muscular female form, the same thing Penny had recently seen wrapped around Darius’s thrusting body.

I stopped and tried to hold back laughter.

To complete the ensemble, I went without shoes and jewelry and left my hair down in a wild halo of sex hair. The goal: embarrass the shit out of Penny. The look would undoubtedly remind her of the big ol’ dong that had suddenly appeared in front of her, pointing her way.

I bit my finger to try to hold back the guffaws. Why I found this so funny was anyone’s guess, I just knew it was, and poking fun at her was one of life’s greatest pleasures.

The dying sun dappled the stamped concrete patio as I came around a large square pillar to the pool area. Cahal stood off to the side next to the bar, his shadows swirling around him as though he didn’t want to be seen. He was probably grumpy about something. He had moods.

Three people were gathered at the round stone table beyond the bar, sitting in Darius’s comfortable wicker chairs. I stopped dead at the sight of the broad back of the one across from me. It stiffened noticeably, and Penny and Emery, seated across from him, looked over his shoulder, finding me.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted, unmoving.

He rose as though uncoiling from an attack-ready crouch, the kind of move powerful shifters excelled at. Pushing the chair out of the way with the scraping of wood feet against stone, he swung around, pecs popping in his overburdened white T-shirt. Good thing cotton was stretchy, though I wasn’t sure why he always felt the need to put it to such extreme tests.

Penny and Emery didn’t bother moving, and I didn’t have the presence of mind to savor the red hue that quickly flooded Penny’s cheeks. Roger always spoiled everything.

His dual-colored eyes, one blue, one a faded green, like a beat-up dollar bill, found my face. A crease formed between his brows, and his eyes flicked downward.

Gorgeous. I forgot she was so striking, he thought, and it took everything in my power to keep from mouthing off with a sarcastic comeback.

He didn’t know I could pluck thoughts out of someone’s cranium, and he couldn’t know. Very, very few creatures could do something like that. Although Roger likely knew—or strongly suspected—that I had demon blood, he didn’t know my exact lineage. Much better to keep it that way—which meant I couldn’t inform him that he needed to protect his thoughts around me.

I cut off the echoes from his mind, a tactic Cahal had helped me hone.

And while I was thinking about it…

I glanced Cahal’s way subtly, acting as if I wanted a drink and was checking out the bar. The druid’s magic kept him in people’s blind spots, and I didn’t want to out the guy if he was trying to be all seekrit.

I opened up to his thoughts, and a beat later I heard, I’m online.

Apparently he thought he was a computer. Whatever worked.

“You might want to wait to start drinking,” Emery said, though I was sure he knew what I was actually doing. That meant he was playing along, just like I’d done with him last night. “Though, given your joke is ruined, I can see why you’d want to start early.”

I spat out a laugh despite myself. He knew why I’d dressed this way, it seemed. Penny had chosen well.

“What joke?” Penny asked, her beet-red face making me laugh harder.

…enhances her beauty. Too bad she’s with that vamp…

I’d forgotten how forceful Roger’s thoughts could be. He was used to broadcasting them to lead his pack, which he’d apparently taken a vacation from to be here. I hadn’t realized he thought about the bang-bang train when he looked at me, though. And if I hadn’t heard his thoughts, I still wouldn’t know—he seemed as annoyed and impassive as ever.

I worked harder to block him out as I started forward again, tossing my hair over my shoulder. I could screw with him as easily as I could screw with Penny. One would have to fight his male reactions, and the other would be embarrassed and probably do weird things in response. Could be worse.

“Darius isn’t going to be thrilled you found his hideout,” I said nonchalantly as I crossed behind Penny and Emery before taking a seat on Emery’s other side, letting those last rays filter through the light cream fabric flowing over my body.

To Roger’s credit, his eyes did not waver from my face, and he did not tense even a little. Ironclad self-control, this one. Though I guess it helped that shifters were used to wandering around in the buff. Their animal forms didn’t usually have opposable thumbs with which to carry their clothes.

“Hmm, Reagan, what’s that scent?” Emery asked as I lowered into the empty seat, nearly flashing Penny as I bent.

“It’s called afternoon delight. You should try it, Penny,” I mused.

Her face practically glowed.

“Roger…” I turned his way, leaning back and clasping my fingers over my stomach. “Did you know that Penny has learned to bust in doors? She’s still working up to breaking them down. It’ll come.”

“Blood-spattered crustaceans,” Penny murmured. Through her teeth she said, “Try to be professional, would you? I thought you’d be sleeping.”

“Don’t lie, you wanted to catch us…dancing. Tell me, do you like to watch everyone when they dance, or just Darius and me?”

Emery coughed laughter into his balled-up fist. “Excuse me.”

Get answers before the vampire gets here,Cahal thought.

He had a point. Darius would not be pleased to find one of the world’s most powerful shifters in his secret hideout. Given they didn’t trust each other at the best of times, and there were hardly any of those, I needed to get some answers before Darius lit a fire under this pile of dried leaves. Penny’s torture would have to wait.

I slid my focus to Roger. “So, Roger, to what do we owe this very dangerous intrusion?”

He cocked his head to one side, his gaze zipping from Emery back to me.

…something is…wrong…

He was cluing in to Cahal, I’d bet, his senses picking up the danger waiting thirty feet behind him.

“Yeah, I don’t always wear leather. Surprise,” I badgered, bringing his focus back to me. “Want a picture? Unlike the guy who owns this place, I’ll show up in photographs.”

His brow lowered. That did it. He did not like being on Darius’s property, probably especially because it was an island and he wouldn’t be able to easily escape if everything went pear-shaped. Which raised the question, why was he putting himself in this situation?

“I’ll ask again, why are you here, Roger? I don’t really want company out here—or didn’t you pick up on that from my disappearing act?”

He glanced at the sky and then the sun, sinking into the horizon like a big, melting tangerine gumdrop. I made a mental note for the next time I trained with Cahal. “The fae sent me. As you know, they have a Seer like Karen…”

“Never say those words to my mother,” Penny said.

The Red Prophet was a rare breed of…eccentric. Karen would be pissed if she heard anyone comparing her to the fae Seer. At least, she would be once she actually met the whacko with fuzzy, unbrushed red hair who sometimes hung from trees like a bat and made owl sounds. That was how I’d first “met” her.

“What about her?” Emery asked, his smile long since wilted.

“I don’t want to repeat myself, so I’ll wait for Durant,” Roger replied, “but she said to make sure to tell you I’m the only one in the supernatural world who’s been informed of your whereabouts. She gave me the company to use for the private jet and suggested the best way to bribe them into falsifying the ending point. It’s parked next to Durant’s jet. She said he would probably want to…speak with the pilots. I assume that means addle their thoughts.”

I’ll recover them and stash them in the house so they can’t escape, Cahal said, and then he was gone, hurrying away from the scene. I knew he’d be back by the time Darius got out here.

“We’ve had a lot of demons in the Brink, popping up all over,” Roger said. His tone was casual, almost conversational, but only a fool would believe it. “I thought demon hunting was kind of your thing. Yet…” He turned and looked back at the enormous residence behind him. “Durant has you living the good life, huh? Hanging up your bounty-hunting hat?”

“Yeah. He needed a pet, and I love wearing collars. A little kink goes a long way in a relationship.” I gave some side-eye to Penny. “That’ll be the encore. You can come back at dawn for that.”

“Seriously, you really need to let that go,” she groused. “I had a good reason for barging in.” She shook her hand at Roger before mumbling, “I thought you’d be asleep!”

Roger snorted. “Reagan Somerset as a pet. I’d love to see the guy dumb enough to attempt that.”

“You can say that again,” Emery murmured.

Roger stiffened right before Darius sauntered toward us wearing khakis, a loose white button-up shirt, and loafers, his hair done just so. He looked casual and laid-back, the theme and color combo of his outfit matching mine. This wasn’t to mock Penny, though. He was providing a unified front.

“Mr. Nevin.” Darius came around to me as Roger rose, pushing the chair back as he had with me. This time, though, his body was all tense lines, his power pulsing and pumping around him. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Darius’s tone and his stance—body positioned over me, hand lightly touching the back of my chair—clearly communicated a threat. He would defend me with his life and snuff out Roger if the alpha posed any sort of a risk, shifter and fae organizations be damned. He’d always been smoothly aggressive with Roger, but I’d never seen him this outwardly hostile.

I reached back and touched his forearm. “The Red Prophet sent him. Cahal is securing the pilots of the jet as we speak. You can chat with them later.”

“Of course.” Darius pulled out the chair next to me and gracefully lowered into it. Roger did the same.

“He has been waiting for you before telling us anything,” I said as Cahal drifted back into the area, stopping by the bar again. If Roger knew, he showed no sign of it. “I assume Penny didn’t want to lead him into the sun-protected areas of the house because she was worried she might find us…dancing again.”

“That’s not why,” she murmured, her cheeks firing up again. “The sunset is pretty. I…didn’t know how long you’d be…” She popped up. “I’ll get drinks.”

A smile worked at Emery’s lips.

“No staff?” Roger asked in a level tone. He was piecing together the seriousness of the setup.

“As you see,” Darius replied. “Now, Mr. Nevin, I assume you didn’t come all this way to watch the sunset. Please, how may we assist you?”

Penny placed a pitcher of water on the table, followed by glasses. She avoided looking at me or Darius.

Roger leaned to his right and reached under his butt, pulling out a square of what looked like parchment. He placed it in the center of the table, a cracked red seal on the top.

“How much have you guys heard about what’s going on in the Brink?” Roger asked.

“Darius pried a bunch out of me last night,” Penny said, sitting down again. She still wouldn’t look my way.

“We are well informed,” Darius said.

Roger nodded, like he’d assumed that would be the case. “You know, then,” he said, “that some very powerful demons have been gaining access.”

“It takes some power to tear them down, yes,” I replied.

“And you know there have been rumors about a woman and a vampire traversing the Underworld.”

Roger’s beta had asked me about that in the Realm, and my knee-jerk reaction had been to punch him in the face. It hadn’t been brought up since, but clearly Roger knew about it. Roger was too far away to punch, sadly.

“We have heard, yes,” Darius said smoothly.

“The rumors started circulating at about the same time Charity was coming into her own. You have probably heard that they stopped her party in the Realm, wanting to take her to the Underworld and ask her some questions.”

Roger waited for a reaction and didn’t get one. We had heard that, yes. We’d known who the demons were really looking for, obviously. If it had been possible to help, we would’ve, but by the time we heard the news, the demons were all dead.

“Word clearly never reached the Underworld that Charity was not the person they sought,” he said. “They recently sent a few powerful demons to Santa Cruz, looking for her. When they found her, she was…assessed.” He paused, his eyes beating into me.

“Look at you,” I said with a smirk. “I didn’t know you had such dramatic flair. Have you been taking classes at the junior college?”

His eyebrows lowered. “They determined that she was not the person they sought. They must’ve been able to feel her magic.” He paused again.

I see now why you lack patience, Cahal thought, and I felt vindicated.

Roger’s gaze flicked to the parchment. “Devon told me the demons didn’t even try to fight back. They seemed content to be killed, although it proved a hard enough task, even with an Arcana using hellfire.”

I frowned, not sure why the demons wouldn’t at least have fought to get back to the Underground.

“Before they were taken down, one of them left that. It was rolled up.” Roger gestured at the square.

“Excellent job keeping it in its original shape,” I said, reaching for it. I showed Darius the broken seal, but he shook his head, indicating he didn’t recognize the design. I wondered if Vlad would have known it. After opening it, I read the short, scratchy words out loud, my heart speeding up. “‘The Great Master requests an audience with his heir. Summon her.’”

I showed Darius and then tossed it to the natural dual-mages.

“Does that mean anything to you?” Roger asked, that dual-colored gaze pinning me to the chair.

“Why don’t you tell me what you know, and I will tell you what I know,” I replied.

His gaze flicked to Darius. “You’ve been hanging out with him too long.”

“Annoying, right? But it gives Penny an outlet to explore her voyeurism, so who am I to say boo?”

Penny’s face closed down, her cheeks getting even redder. Teasing her just never got old.

“Obviously the heir it is talking about is Lucifer’s,” Roger started.

“Obviously,” I replied. No sense beating around the bush. It would just eat up time.

“Lucifer had a meeting with the elves shortly after Charity came into her full power. We don’t have the exact details, but it seems he was questioning the elves about the disturbance in the Underworld. The elves aren’t supposed to go there without approval, just like his people aren’t supposed to visit the Realm. The elves were tight-lipped about the situation, and it seems Lucifer got the idea they were trying to hide something.”

“In other words, he thought they were guilty,” Emery surmised.

“Yes, exactly.” Roger adjusted his position. “I think the elves know less than Lucifer, other than that the woman in question isn’t Charity. They want to find this other woman, though, and they aim to do it before Lucifer can.”

“Why is that?” Penny asked.

“The elves won’t want Lucifer meeting his heir. They won’t want a possible repeat of the past,” Darius said, steepling his fingers, “because this time, they might not win. Unrest in the Realm is at an all-time high. If the vampires join Lucifer, and I’m sure they’ve gleaned Vlad’s interest in such a connection, the elves would be in a poor position.”

“Except they have the warrior fae as a fighting force, newly trickling out from the Flush.” Emery stared straight ahead. “And they have the shifters.”

“Yes.” Darius turned his attention back to Roger. “What about the shifters? Will they stand by an increasingly power-hungry and corrupt ruler in order to secure their assets?”

“As opposed to being ruled by a different power-hungry and corrupt ruler, like Vlad?” Roger shot back.

“Both good points, but let’s table that for now.” I dropped my hand to Darius’s knee.

Roger rolled his shoulders. “The vampire does have a point. The warrior fae used to be the peacekeepers of the Realm. They offered fair, impartial judgment on the elves’ rulership and prevented them from abusing power. Romulus wants to reestablish that, but he can only do that if he surpasses his mother and becomes the new ruler. He also needs to present Charity to the elf royalty. Hopefully we can re-establish a fair system in the Realm. He did mention, however, upon receiving that note…” Roger’s gaze bored into mine again.

“The suspense is absolutely killing me.” I lifted a finger. “Wait… No, it’s boring me, not killing me.”

“He is concerned that if an heir were to step forward, Lucifer’s ambition would once again blossom. He also expressed a concern that the elves and vampires might both try to use the heir as a pawn to bring Lucifer to heel. Romulus had to own that the elves might seek to snuff her out to prevent any possible repetition of the past.”

I was careful not to move a muscle, but there wasn’t much I could do about the sweat suddenly coating my forehead. I’d largely stayed out of the Realm to help keep my magic a secret. I hadn’t wanted someone figuring it out and blabbing. I hadn’t considered the elves might paint a target on my back, though. Even though I now knew the history with Lucifer and the elves, it hadn’t dawned on me that they might want to kill me.

My enemies were multiplying, and they were the most powerful enemies in all the worlds.

“Did you know about that?” I asked Darius softly.

I considered the possibility, he responded.

“Time to clear the air…” Roger leaned forward onto his elbows, his stare predatory. “You are demon spawn, correct? I’d already surmised that much.”

I hesitated. It felt like the future was bearing down on me. Threats were materializing, enemies circling, and I was teetering on the edge of a fate that I’d been hiding from my whole life. Regardless of how bored I’d been here, and how much I wanted to get back to my life, it seemed like an impossible feat to take that step.

Courage is not about the absence of fear, but finding the fortitude to push on in spite of it, Cahal echoed within the walls of my mind. This is the beginning.

I will stand by you through everything, mon coeur, Darius thought. I will let you choose the path you take, and I will step forward with you.

RIDE OR DIE, BITCHES! Penny thought-screamed at me. She was really good at blocking her thoughts, but communicating with them was another story.

I filled my lungs, held the air for a moment, and then let it out slowly. I met Roger’s eyes. “Yep,” I replied.

“You are the woman who went into the Underworld,” he said. “With Darius. You got him through the fog because of the bond.”

“Right again.”

“You are Lucifer’s daughter—his heir—and Vlad knows it, but Lucifer does not.”

“Three for three. What do we have for our winner?” I did a circle in the air with my finger, but I felt anything but mirth.

“Why hasn’t Vlad told Lucifer?” Roger asked, leaning back in his chair as though defeated. I had no idea what his deal was. It wasn’t like this had anything to do with him. Unless he felt it his duty to deliver me to the elves and thought, correctly, that he’d die before that happened.

“At first, it had to do with me and the bond,” Darius replied, curling his fingers around my hand, still resting on his thigh. “He did not want to cross me, because he did not want me to return the favor. Further, it is forbidden to endanger a lawful bond-mate, especially a bond-mate of a vampire in excellent standing, such as myself. To do so would invite scrutiny and punishment. However, if he tries to tantalize my kind with the promise of more freedom and power, of leaving our lair in the Realm behind for the golden castle, the standing of a bond-mate would likely be overlooked. The only thing stopping him at this point, I would wager, is not knowing where she is.”

“He can spin the bond-mate thing easily,” Emery said, leaning forward, elbows braced on the table. “If he delivers her to Lucifer, he could claim he is protecting her from the elves. He is protecting her from those who would wish her harm. Lucifer would not kill his child, and thus, she would be in no danger from him. Not of death, anyway. He could get away with it.”

“Yes. Many vampires would follow him,” Darius said. “He is the most powerful in our faction.”

“What about Ja?” Penny asked.

Darius squinted a little. “She is physically more powerful, with more experience, and I have no doubt more cunning, but her motives aren’t clear. She does not have any kind of standing at the moment. She hasn’t properly inserted herself into our hierarchy.”

“Where does that leave you?” Roger asked Darius.

He squeezed my hand. “My children are loyal to me. They will follow me.”

“And who will you follow?”

“Reagan, naturally.”

“And why is that? What play do you have with her? Do you hope to sell her to Lucifer yourself?”

“I do not expect you to understand this, dog,” Darius seethed, “but she is my beloved. I have sworn to do everything in my power to protect her. I will keep her from Lucifer and from the elves as long as I am able. I will, for the first time in my very long life, pit myself against my maker.”

“Since when do vampires love?” Roger asked, clearly not buying it.

“Since when do they ejaculate during sex?” I replied, and Roger froze. “Since me. Penny can tell you—she got a peek.”

“Really? Even now?” Penny demanded.

“Darius does love me, Roger,” I said. “I can feel it through the bond, among other ways. He isn’t like Vlad and the others, not anymore. Believe me.”

“His ability to ejaculate isn’t because of you, specifically. The magic of the Underworld allows vampires to procreate,” Cahal said, and Roger started out of his shocked daze, jerking his head back to find him. “You are slow, Alpha Shifter.” Clearly he’d adopted Romulus’s name for Roger. “You need to be better aware of your surroundings. I have been here almost the entire time.” He drifted closer. “Traveling through the Underworld would have unlocked Darius’s potential to procreate. It will dry up in time if he doesn’t head back. Although…maybe that isn’t true, with his constant access to the heir’s blood. I am not sure. But yes, vampires can be created naturally, like shifters. They can be made through intercourse and born, a process that actually makes them stronger. That’s another motivation for the vampires to ally with Lucifer—the elves insisted on shutting them out of the Underworld as a condition of the treaty with Lucifer. They wanted a sort of population control, and Lucifer wasn’t in a great position to barter.” He glanced at Roger. “The vampires are not the only ones they sought to control. Elves could not stop the shifters’ procreation, so they instead withheld the knowledge that shifters can be made in the same way as vampires—but with dragon blood instead of unicorn blood. Again, population control. The elves might hire shifters to police the vampires within the Brink, but had the vampires sworn fealty to the elves, as the shifters had done, I doubt they would have interfered. The elves care nothing for humans and the Brink. The rules are enforced to exert their control, even in places they do not reside. Why no one has questioned that is beyond me. There are a lot of these little maneuverings in the Realm. It is endlessly fascinating.”

Penny held up her hand and shook her head. “Wait. Just wait.” She rubbed her face. “Let me see if I am up to speed. Vampires can procreate, shifters can turn humans into their kind without procreating, dragons and unicorns are both real, and elves only created rules in the Brink to be asses to vampires?”

“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.”