“We’re all still a little shaken. No point in denying it.”
“True.” Ronin took a gulp of his drink and stared out at the sky.
Dagan waited a moment before cautiously asking, “How’s Lina?”
When Ronin’s arm grew rigid, Dagan braced himself for a potential beat-down.
“I want to talk to you about that,” Ronin said, his gaze on the horizon. “I saw you kiss back in Romania. Heard what you said to each other.”
“I…” Dagan flushed, despite himself. He knew what his big brother was going to say, but he couldn’t help but wish Ronin would understand. Would accept him. “I can explain.”
“I’m not mad.”
Dagan blinked, processing those words. “Uh, what?”
A shadow of a smile tugged Ronin’s lips upward. He turned to face Dagan, his gaze stark and earnest. “Oh, I was for a second there. But then I realized, you two really meant those words you said to each other. All I truly want is for my baby sister to be loved. Protected. And hell, who better to do that than a man I’d trust with my own life?”
Holy… Recognizing his mouth was open, Dagan snapped his jaw shut. Unexpected moisture built up behind his eyes, and he blinked to dispel it. “Shit.”
“Heh.” Ronin let out a soft chuckle and punched him in the shoulder. “Made you cry.”
“You fucker,” Dagan said without heat. Grinning, he turned back to the horizon.
They passed a few minutes in companiable silence before Ronin said, “I still can’t believe Mammon is dead.”
“Me either.”
After a whole lifetime of fearing the evil demon who’d sired them, the bastard was finally gone. The scary thing was, Dagan didn’t quite know how to feel about how it had gone down.
“You know, bro, I…I think he—”
He cut off at the distant sound of Keegan’s front door slamming.
“Thank the devil,” Ronin muttered. “They’re back.”
Dagan followed Ronin back inside, just in time to see Keegan and Taeg step into the living room. The tightness in his gut alleviated at the welcome sight of both his brothers.
“How’d it go?” Ronin asked.
Keegan and Taeg had accompanied Tenos to the dimension that housed the Council headquarters. Though they’d brought good news of the demise of both Belpheg and Mammon, there’d been no telling how the Council would react to it—or to Keegan and Taeg’s presence. Part of Dagan had feared they might refuse to let them leave, or automatically deport them back to Infernum.
Keegan and Taeg exchanged a loaded glance.
“It was…unexpected.” Their eldest brother strode toward the bottle of whiskey Ronin had left on the bar.
Uh oh. When it came to the Council, “unexpected” rarely meant a good thing.
Ronin’s fist tightened around his glass, betraying his nervousness. “Don’t keep us hanging. What did they say?”
“We thought it was going to be a real shit storm at first.” Snorting, Taeg sauntered over to the leather sectional and slumped into it, kicking his feet back onto the coffee table. “You should have seen those bastards’ eyes widen when me and Keeg walked in.”
Dagan could only imagine. He doubted the Council members had been expecting that. “So what did they do?”
Keegan loosened the cap on the whiskey bottle and dug out a glass, pouring himself a stiff drink. “Well…the Council members who were responsible for destroying Belpheg’s clan have disappeared.”
“No shit.” Dagan leaned against the wall, absorbing that particular bit of news. “Can’t say I’m too surprised.”
“Nope,” Taeg agreed. “But that means they had three fresh spots on the Council. Guess who snagged one of them? Our friend Tenos.”
Ronin grinned. “That’s fantastic. Did he make the case for us to stay here on Earth?”
“Hell’s bells, he did more than that.” Taeg grinned and crossed one ankle over the other before shooting Keegan an amused glance. “Guess who scored one of the other openings?”
Dagan’s breath caught at the insinuation behind Taeg’s words. “You mean—?”
“Our big brother Keeg is Infernum’s newest Grand Councilman.”
Ronin let out a disbelieving guffaw. “Holy shit!”
“You said it,” Keegan muttered. He tossed back the contents of his glass in one big gulp, and then poured himself a refill. His hand shook just the slightest as he lifted the drink to his lips.
“Jeez.” Dagan studied his big brother. “What does this mean? Do you have to move?”
“No. I simply report to the Council headquarters for work every day.”