Battle With Fire by K.F. Breene

Twenty-Four

Penny had madegood on her promise to run to the altar with Emery the moment the battle ended. Well, not that exact moment—Darius had insisted we make more of an occasion of it—but it was no more than two months later that I waited beside Darius at the front of a massive, unreal, gorgeous church in Rome. Columns rose along the main floor, decorated with paintings and accented with stone statues and embellishments. The ceiling arched high overhead, the skylights glowing with light that shed on the floor far below—provided by my magic, of course. Rustic wooden pews filled the aisle in front of us, lined with fragrant baby-blue flowers and festooned with white satin ribbon.

It had been two months since the battle to reorganize the worlds—which was what people had taken to calling it. Not too much had happened, other than a lot of to-do lists. I still hadn’t headed down to the Underworld. Although I knew I’d have to stop dragging my feet eventually, it was a big step, and it felt like I should let Penny take her big step with Emery before I took one of my own.

Courage in the face of monster life changes—it was a fleeting thing.

“We should probably take our places,” Darius murmured to me, his fingers entwined with mine. He squeezed them and stepped away, closer to Emery, who waited nervously by the altar in a white tux with a blue bow tie and vest to match the flowers. His pants slightly squeezed his powerful legs and stopped a smidge short of his shiny black shoes.

He and Penny hadn’t had a lot of time to get everything perfect. Ms. Bristol had very deep suspicions it was because there was a baby on the way.

She would be wrong, of course, but no one wanted to correct her.

The real reason was because Penny felt bad for Emery, who had no family to invite. No friends he didn’t share with her. No aunts or uncles or cousins he’d kept in touch with. If the wedding had been organized in the usual way, with plenty of time and extensive preparations, his side of the church would be filled with strangers or no one at all, and that was something Penny would not allow.

Not to mention she still had so much on her plate with the Mages’ Guild that she didn’t care about having a big wedding. Or much of any wedding, really. She just wanted the man. And the break the honeymoon would provide.

So Darius had arranged for their ceremony to take place here, in one of the finest churches Rome had to offer. He’d chosen the flowers and the satin, Emery’s tux, and all the transportation. The dinner afterward would be held at his private estate in the countryside, featuring a menu he’d chosen and a wine selection that included all of Penny’s favorites. Penny might not like planning elegant affairs, and Emery was mostly terrible at even the concept, but Darius had been happy to pick up the slack.

I took my place beside Veronica, the other bridesmaid. Like me, she was dressed in a blue dress to match all the other blue, something Darius assured us was both proper and elegant, holding a bouquet of cream, blue, and yellow flowers. She looked excited as she glanced down the large aisle, waiting for the bride.

Darius was Emery’s best man. Even so, I didn’t think Emery totally trusted him, a deep-seated issue that would likely never fully pass. Luckily, relationships were complex, and it was possible to both like and respect a person and think they were capable of stabbing you in the back if the situation required it.

Roger sat in the first pew on Emery’s side, and Ms. Bristol sat in the opposite pew in the pride of placement owed to the mother of the bride, a large, flowered hat thing adorning her freshly styled hair. Marie sat beside her, the picture of elegance in a demure light yellow gown, the cut beautiful and the color all kinds of hideous. Behind them sat Callie and Dizzy, though judging by their frequent glances at Roger, the only one on Emery’s side, I wondered if they’d pull a runner and change sides. It was clear they didn’t want Emery to feel bad.

He wouldn’t have noticed. A bomb could go off and he wouldn’t have noticed, because at that point, the string quartet changed their tune to the wedding march. The door at the end of the aisle slowly opened. Nothing happened for a beat, and then Penny stepped forward with her hand on Cahal’s arm.

With Darius’s help and excellent tailors, Cahal had cleaned up incredibly well. He wore a sharp black suit that fit his robust body, power and strength refined into dangerous grace. A cream tie was expertly tucked into his closed suit jacket. His hair had grown out a little from the close cut and was styled in an artfully messy do.

Penny practically pranced down the aisle beside him, her gaze focused on Emery. Happiness glowed in her eyes, and white satin flowed around her legs. She held a cream bouquet, and in her hair glittered a tiara, made from real diamonds because Darius was more than a little ridiculous.

Everyone stood as she came closer, the sound of wings reverberating above us. A feather floated down, twirling through the air. A moment later, in time with Penny walking down the aisle, Michael lowered from the ceiling from some portal or other that I didn’t really understand. He wore a cream-colored gown cut through with blue and yellow, his person glowing with ethereal magic. If anyone had happened to walk by, they would’ve had a genuine religious experience, especially since this church had been fashioned in honor of Michael himself back in the day.

Cahal had asked for a favor, and since Michael was a bit of a turd (and also because Penny blasted him with magic at the end of the battle), he’d insisted on meeting Penny in person before he would consent to marry her and Emery. The angels now had another couple of favorites. Michael had immediately seen the goodness in Penny, and I guess he wasn’t totally awful, because he felt for the turbulence poor Emery had endured before finding her.

I was still only mildly tolerated. My father had not been allowed to come to the wedding—not that he’d been invited.

“Oh my stars,” Ms. Bristol uttered, her hand on her chest, looking up at the descending angel.

“Holy shi— Is that— What is that?” Veronica exclaimed.

They had been told of the existence of angels but…well, it really was a “see it to believe it” situation. Clearly.

Michael touched down as Penny met Emery, no veil blocking her face, something she’d insisted on, and Darius had grumpily let go. Emery reached out, and Penny gave him her hand, tears in her eyes and utter love and devotion in his.

“We are gathered here today…” Michael began, but I doubted Penny or Emery heard any of it. They continued to stare into each other’s eyes, soul mates if ever there were any. They’d met by chance, a couple of times over, and their bond had grown until it had become the solid, enduring connection I witnessed now—endearing in a way that didn’t annoy me.

I slowly blew out a breath and blinked my glassy eyes, sliding my gaze over to Darius. He was looking back at me, and love glowed through our bond.

I smiled a little, wishing I could be beside him, our hands linked. I thought back to when I’d stood in my rooms in the Underworld, looking out at the beautiful view spread beneath me. I’d wanted him to share that with me. I hoped I could still make that happen. At least there wouldn’t be an arrogant, badly dressed angel there, I’d say that much.

“You may kiss the bride,” Michael finished.

Emery stepped forward in a rush, connecting his lips with Penny’s. She clutched him, her rock in any storm. Actually, yes, it was a little annoying how cute they were.

“My baby is all grown up,” Ms. Bristol said, dabbing her eyes with a white handkerchief.

With a smile that could blot out stars, Penny took Emery’s hand and turned to Michael. “Thank you for making this so special.”

Suck-up.

He bowed. “May you both find peace. Guard our gift to you, and guard it well. It will serve you in dark times.”

After hearing the story of how Penny had come by her angel magic, Michael had taken it away—and then given it again of his own free will. I was pretty sure he’d only done that so I could stop making fun of Penny for offing the Redcap. Killjoy.

Penny beamed at me before Emery walked her down the aisle, off to start their new life together. Or so the storybooks said. Really, they were just giving Ms. Bristol different things to gripe about. But whatever—at least they could say they’d been married by an arrogant angel. That had to count for something.

Veronica and the others followed, but I hung back with Darius. Roger slowed to keep pace with us.

“What’s next for you, Roger?” I asked, finally taking Darius’s hand.

“Same ole,” he said, snazzy in his formfitting suit. The guy had glossed up like a new penny. He could be incredibly hot when he wanted to be, which was apparently not often. Not in the “I’m a millionaire” sort of way, at least. “We’re still hammering out the particulars of the changes in the Brink.” He cut his gaze to Darius. “There will be a lot fewer restrictions on what vampires are allowed to do, so long as you have willing partners.”

Darius bowed his head. “I thank you for that. It takes a good leader to push back on popular opinion and judge the situation with a logical, unbiased mind.”

“And I just barely managed.” Roger chuckled, pausing near the door of the church. His dual-colored gaze hit mine. “Michael has all but promised to…” His lips tightened, and I knew he was struggling to figure out the best way to phrase it.

I helped him out: “Dabble in the lives of humans? Barge in and mess with all your crap? Swing his dick around and act like the greatest thing since sliced bread?”

He blinked a few times. “Help, is what I was going to say.”

I grinned. “Sure. Help, yeah.”

He centered his weight. Uh-oh, he planned to ask for something. He always got very aggressive when he was cornered into doing that.

“I wondered,” he started, like pulling teeth. I could feel the mirth swirling through the bond with Darius as he watched this unfold. “You have pull with Lucifer, and Lucifer seems to be…comfortable pushing back with the angels.”

“We’ve ascertained that they are brothers, after all, are they not?” Darius asked.

Roger ignored him. “I don’t want any one world to have too much power in the Brink. We’ve been given the opportunity to create our own organization, and I’d like to keep the power in the hands of elected officials. Given the elves and the other representatives in the Realm are busy rebuilding their own lands, that leaves the Brink wide open for the angels to…”

“Help, I think you said,” Darius supplied.

Roger cocked his head and somehow continued to ignore him. Kinda. “I wondered if you might take an interest in the Brink on behalf of the Underworld. You know it better than most, both the underbelly and the normal workings. You also have the power and the…wherewithal to push back on the angels where you see fit.”

I would’ve gone with stubbornness, but wherewithal works, Darius thought.

It was my turn to ignore Darius.

“I haven’t decided if I’m taking the—a role within the Underworld,” I said carefully. “I need to head down and talk to my father. I just haven’t had the time, what with Penny’s wedding and everything…”

I blamed everything on Penny. What was one more thing?

“Well.” Roger nodded to me. “We could use you. Most of the fae have been called to duty in the Realm. A small subset will remain with Charity and Devon’s pack because of their schooling. We’ll join forces if need be, but it’ll largely be the job of the shifters to patrol the Brink again. Until the Realm is more stable, at any rate.”

“You’ll have much less to do,” Darius said. “I’ll be speaking with Vlad shortly. We’ll keep our factions in line. We’ll police our own, so to speak.”

Shivers coated me. Whereas I had been dragging my feet about my father, Darius had been much more proactive with Vlad. He didn’t say much, but I had a feeling he was worried about the outcome of their meeting. He had a sentimental attachment to Vlad, even if that attachment might not be shared. I didn’t think he wanted to keep brawling with the other vampire. We’d find out soon, though. That was next on our to-do list. Followed by my biting the bullet and figuring out my future.

“That would be a help,” Roger said, taking a step back. “We’ll be in touch.” His gaze slid to me before he left. “Don’t be a stranger, whatever happens with the Underworld, okay? I’ve gotten used to you. I’d hate to have to work on a new normal.”

“Aww.” I winked at him. “You’ve grown to actually like me, haven’t you? You can’t live without me.”

“Actually, I was just hoping you’d bring Penny around. She’s much nicer than you.”

“Yes, she is, but you totally like me.” I grinned as he headed for the doors. “We’re going to be beasties—get it? It’s best friends between animals and their people familiars. I just made it up. I’ll get matching necklaces. Want to do mood rings?” I called after him.

The door shut, leaving one presence behind us.

Darius kissed my temple. I’ll be outside. Don’t make an enemy.

I turned slowly as Darius left me alone with Michael.

The angel had a little smile on his handsome face. His robes hung straight, and I was glad they didn’t magically ripple like an elf’s would’ve. At least he had that going for him.

“So…” I said, suddenly not sure what to do with my hands. “Thanks for saving my life.”

“Your journey has been an intriguing one, Reagan Somerset. It is not your bloodline that sets you apart from Lucifer’s other heirs. That simply allows you to exist within Lucifer’s corrosive magic without your soul bleeding out of you.”

“Graphic.”

“What sets you apart is within you.” He touched his sternum. “Despite our grievances, I will admit that Lucifer has created a strong, balanced world. That is easier when it is closed off, however. Now creatures will be able to come and go once again. He will meet with other leaders and nobles. He will need help to keep the balance. I think you would be a welcome relief to him. You’ve brought about change. You should partake in the effects of it.”

It was a very long-winded way of telling me to go work for the family business.

“Thanks again,” I said, to cut it short. Honestly, what did this guy know? His world was still closed off, last I heard. They might come down to meddle, but it wasn’t a two-way street. Not yet, anyway.

I wondered what my father would have to say about that.

“You are welcome.” Michael bowed, and so I did the same. “We are family, in a way. Don’t believe all the things your father tells you. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer.”

I nodded because I didn’t want to thank him again. I sounded like a broken record.

“Until next time.” His wings snapped out, and he lifted into the sky.

What a crazy life I was living. Angels were real and I was the princess of the Underworld. What in the holy fuck??

Clearing my mind, I straightened my back and headed for the door. Freaking out could go on my to-do list.