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“What a disgrace.” She frowned. “Hell certainly has gone downhill.”
Helius snatched the glass of champagne from the winged servant’s claws, downing it in one swallow. “If you want, we can ask our mother to put you back in your lamp.”
“You’re not very funny, Helius Fangborn.” She swatted his chest with her fan.
He looked at her with a surprisingly straight face. “I wasn’t trying to be funny.”
Nervous-sounding laughter bubbled up from her throat. “Well, at least there’s champagne.”
“Yes,” Phoenix answered wryly. “At least there’s that.”
“Oh, I think that taurus is eyeing me.” She snapped her fan shut and picked up her skirts. “I wonder if his cock is as magnificent as his horns.” She tapped Phoenix’s wrist with her fan. “Excuse me while I go flirt.”
“An eternity with Abera,” Helius whispered as he squeezed her to his side. “I’m starting to understand why so many mortals are afraid of hell.”
She snatched a glass of champagne from a flying servant, taking a few large gulps before handing it back. “Thank you for putting up with her.”
He nuzzled her ear, letting out a low purr. “Anything for you, my love.”
She bit her lip when he quickly pinched her nipple.Behave,she warned, even as she longed for him to pinch the other breast.
She smiled when Amara Thunderfoot and her mates, Phoenix’s adoptive brothers, approached them. Amara had been named after their goddess, but she’d been an orphaned Amaroki, a lone wolf, just like Phoenix, until her mates had found her. Amara looked like she’d stumbled into a dream. Either that, or she was trying to catch flies with her mouth. She wore a knee-length blue dress and flats, her long blonde hair pulled back in a braid. She clutched a white purse as if she expected a demon to snatch it. Her mates wore jeans and suit jackets with bolo ties—all perfectly normal compared to the rest of the demon freak show.
Helius released her when Amara held out her arms for a hug. “Congratulations, Phoenix,” Amara whispered in her ear. “I hope you’ll always be happy.”
That was an odd thing to say, but Phoenix understood. The Amaroki wolves were still getting used to their hellish cousins. “Thank you.” She pulled back, clutching Amara’s elbows. “And thank you for coming.”
Amara’s smile reflected the sincerity in her eyes. “I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”
Phoenix hugged her adoptive Thunderfoot brothers. Then they bowed up their chests as they shook hands with Helius. Phoenix inwardly smiled. The Thunderfoots had been the biggest shifters in all the Amaroki, probably the apex predators of the mortal realm, but Phoenix’s mates were bigger and wielded magic. The Thunderfoots looked out of place in hell.
“How are the children?” she asked, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice. How she’d wanted her niece and nephews to come. It had been almost a year since she’d seen them. She’d practically grown up with them and wanted to see how much they’d grown, but she didn’t blame their parents for not taking them to hell.
“Wonderful.” Amara swallowed as she stepped back, pressing into her alpha mate, Hakon. “They’re with their Bunics and Bunica, who send their love. The children miss their Aunt Phoenix.” She looked at Phoenix’s mates and quickly looked away. “I hope you can come visit them soon.” There was no mistaking the slight tremor in her voice.
Phoenix forced a smile, fearing if she went to the top with her mates, she’d conceive a baby. “We’re definitely planning on it.”
“Good.” Amara adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder, looking around the garden. “It’s really beautiful here.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
She leaned into Phoenix, whispering, “I was expecting more fire and brimstone.”
Phoenix chuckled. “It’s a long way from here. I’d probably scratch that stop off your vacation itinerary.”
Her eyes bulged. “Oh, we don’t plan on leaving the palace.”
“Shadow Lake really is quite lovely,” she said. “If you get a chance, you should visit it.”
Amara ran a trembling hand over her braid. “Um, are there dragons out there?”
“Just Tan’yi’nug.”
Amara pressed her lips together, looking like she had something to say but thinking better of it. “We’ll probably just remain here.”
Phoenix stiffened when she saw Eilea approach, a dark look in her eyes. Something was wrong.
“What is it?” she asked as Eilea pulled Helius and her to the side.
