This bonus scene takes place between To Enthrall the Demon Lord and To Tempt a Witch to Sin.
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“Rhun, can you get the cookies out of the oven?” Merle yelled from where she balanced on the couch in the living room, straightening the pink and gold garland on the wall for the hundredth time. Not that it needed straightening, but Merle needed something to do other than sit on the couch and fidget.
No one let her do anything in terms of prepping, and she suspected it didn’t have so much to do with her being the one for whom this baby shower was being thrown as everybody thinking she was suddenly not capable of doing manual labor anymore at five months pregnant.
“What are you doing up there?” Lily all but screeched from somewhere behind her.
Merle turned around while still standing on the couch cushion and glared at her friend, who immediately rushed over.
“I leave you alone for one minute,” Lily groused as she demon-handled Merle down from the couch, “and you start climbing the furniture like some ill-mannered goat.”
“I have the appetite to match.” Merle beamed at Lily and snatched a breadstick from the glass on the couch table.
“Just…sit down and let us do the prep, okay?”
“I can’t!” Merle threw her head back and dramatically stared at the ceiling. “I’m way too nervous.”
Lily stood with her hands on her hips and an assessing glower on her face. “What, just because that big doofus of a Demon Lord is coming to the shower? Why are you nervous about that? It’s not the first time he’s been here. And you’ve met him like a gazillion times already.”
“I know, but…that was for official business. This here is…different. We haven’t invited him to anything private and family-related yet, you know?”
And there’d been quite a few occasions over the past few months where one would normally include the partner of a sibling, like birthday celebrations and a holiday get-together here and there. It had been about four months since Maeve and Arawn had mated, but so far, they’d all kind of skirted around actually inviting the enigmatic Demon Lord to any of these occasions.
Maeve hadn’t pressed the issue and seemed understanding, apparently realizing that it would take time for the others to get used to the idea of Arawn not as an enemy to keep an eye on, but as a member of the inner circle courtesy of his bond with Maeve. Merle had been on antagonistic terms with Arawn for so long that it had been hard for her to wrap her head around him being suddenly on their side. When the time came around to consider having a baby shower, though, she’d felt she could no longer hide behind old resentments and wanted to take a step forward.
She’d long switched her allegiance to Arawn and had worked with him to show the witch community what had happened—and was happening—with regard to ancient beasts awakening and the Powers That Be getting weaker, and she’d actually found it surprisingly easy to have a professional rapport with him. He was, indeed, a good partner to work with when he wasn’t playing god games and throwing his dominance around. Which he’d been doing a lot less ever since Maeve claimed him as hers.
He wasn’t tamed, per se, but Maeve definitely made him more tolerable.
And so when Merle had written Maeve’s invitation to the baby shower, she’d deliberately added Arawn’s name.
Maeve’s eyes of fire and smoke—so reminiscent of her phoenix nature—had grown wide as saucers as she read the invitation after Merle personally handed it to her. “Are you sure?” she’d asked in a whisper, a note of hope in her scarred voice.
Merle nodded. “Please tell him he’s welcome.”
Maeve’s smile was like a burst of sunshine, it was so bright. She threw her arms around Merle and hugged her tight. “Thank you.”
Now Merle looked at Lily, chewing on her lip with nerves fluttering in her belly. “This is the first time he’ll join us for a private family gathering, and I’m just…I don’t know. It’s kind of big.”
A slow smirk spread on Lily’s face. “You want him to like you.”
“What? No.” Merle grimaced. “I mean, I don’t want him to not like me, but—”
Lily grinned. “Oh my gods, you’re totally trying to impress him! Wait, wait, I gotta show him the list of names you gave him when you cursed him for using up your magic. It’s somewhere on my phone, hold on.” She fished the device out of her back jeans pocket and started tapping on it.
“Lily Azalea Murray,” Merle hissed, “stop that right now, or I’ll tell him you called him a big doofus.”
Lily froze, considered that for a second, and then surreptitiously slid her phone back into her pocket.
“What’s all that screeching and bickering in here?” Alek asked, standing in the doorway, wearing an apron over his clothes and a grumpy expression on his face. “How am I supposed to work my magic in the kitchen with you two barking like chihuahuas?”
From the kitchen came the perfect imitation of a tiny dog’s bark in Rhun’s voice.
“Call me a chihuahua one more time,” Merle growled.
More barking sounds from the kitchen.
“You’re sleeping on the couch tonight!” Merle yelled.
Rhun made a whining sound.
“Did someone bring dogs?” Merle’s father asked with a note of excitement in his voice as he poked his head into the living room from the door to the library.
“No, Dad.” Merle sighed. “You know that would stress out Sauron.”
The black cat in question sleepily blinked at her with his one eye from where he lay on an armchair across the room. Her dad had always been a dog person and had only grudgingly accepted that he now had to share his house with a feline instead, and one that absolutely hated dogs, to boot. He was now a compulsive dog petter and delighted in getting to know any canine he encountered on his daily walks through the neighborhood.
The doorbell rang at that moment, and Merle jumped a little, eliciting a snicker from Lily. Which Merle promptly rewarded with a feigned slap to her shoulder.
“I’ve got it,” Rhun called out and went to open the front door.
When Hazel stepped inside, followed by Basil and Isa, Merle released the breath she’d been holding. It was ridiculous how on edge she was. It shouldn’t even be a big deal.
And yet, when the doorbell rang again just as they’d greeted and seated Hazel and the others, and it was clear from the almost completion of their group who the last two missing guests were, Merle’s heart beat faster than it should and her hands were a bit clammy as she opened the door herself this time—and beheld Maeve and Arawn standing on her porch.
“Hi,” Merle said with a smile. “Please, come on in.” Her gaze tracked from Maeve to Arawn as she spoke, making sure he noted the deliberate invitation aimed at him as well.
“Hey, sis.” Maeve enveloped her in a hug and then stepped inside.
Arawn, impeccably dressed as always—this time in a shirt of deep burgundy paired with black slacks—inclined his head. “Merle.”
A notable change in how he addressed her—he’d often used to call her fire witch, sometimes MacKenna, and rarely used her first name.
They were, both of them, taking small steps toward a less formal way of dealing with each other.
The entire house seemed to hush when Arawn made his entrance, a beat of silence coming over the people assembled in the living room. Everybody’s gaze was glued to him, as if they all waited for him to do something Demon Lord-ish.
Rhun, meanwhile, stood up from where he leaned against the wall and started rummaging through a box he’d plucked from the shelves.
What are you doing? Merle asked him on their shared mental pathway.
Just looking for…aha! He pulled something tiny from the box, walked to the middle of the room and let it drop with a flourish.
A quiet, little ping broke the silence of the room.
Alek crossed his arms, his expression equal parts incredulous and annoyed. “Did you just drop a pin?”
Rhun shrugged, a smirk lighting his face. “Thought it was appropriate.”
A chorus of groans rose from the ranks of the guests, and someone threw a pillow at him.
The tension now successfully broken, everyone visibly relaxed in their seats, and quiet chatter began, amid which Maeve coaxed Arawn to sit on one of the chairs dragged over from the library. Merle watched the Demon Lord actually take a seat in her living room, a civilized guest like the others—if one ignored the pulse of dark power around him, the way the shadows clung to his form, and how his sable hair swallowed all light.
“All right!” Lily clapped her hands together loudly and got to her feet. “Now that everyone’s here, let’s commence the festivities! I’m your humble emcee for the day, and the first order of business for celebrating this beautiful baby’s impending arrival is, of course, gifts! Let’s see the presents! I’ll go first.”
And with that began a parade of thoughtful and useful things Merle’s friends and family had brought for her, some of them inspired by the items she’d listed on her registry, others born of personal experience having a baby, in the case of Hazel and her dad.
Merle had just added the black-and-white contrast play gym that Maeve had gifted her to the pile of unwrapped presents when Arawn’s deep voice made her turn back to the couple.
“Here.”
She blinked at the small, artfully wrapped parcel he held out to her. The room hushed as everyone’s attention turned to the last gift and its giver.
“I didn’t know you had a present of your own,” Maeve said to Arawn with a warm smile while Merle took the gift and carefully unwrapped it.
Arawn didn’t respond, just watched with quiet intensity as Merle pulled a small wristlet out of the wrapping. Magic sparked around the piece of jewelry, a silver chain with an obsidian stone inlet in the middle.
The power pouring off it felt indisputably like Arawn.
Merle’s gaze met his. “A protection charm?”
He nodded. “For the little one. It contains a spark of my magic and will serve to deter aggression by otherworld creatures. The chain will grow with the babe, so it can be worn from infancy to adulthood.”
Merle sucked in a breath, and Maeve pressed her lips together, the corners of her mouth inching up just a little.
An incredibly powerful gift, thoughtful and considerate. But not just that…the real significance didn’t lie in its protective qualities. With this wristlet, Arawn didn’t merely give Merle and Rhun’s daughter some additional security—he was claiming her as his. Not as one of his favor-bound creatures, but as family.
Because when this child would be out in the world, adorned with a spark of the Demon Lord’s own power, otherworld creatures would sense his magic on her the same way they could sniff out blood relations and mating bonds.
Merle knew of one other person who wore a wristlet like this, and she was widely considered something like Arawn’s unofficially adopted daughter/protegée—Lucía.
Maeve’s subtle, not quite hidden smile said she, too, had parsed out the significance of this gift. She gently grasped Arawn’s hand and intertwined her fingers with his, squeezing once.
“It is not entirely foolproof,” Arawn said, his voice a dark rumble in the otherwise quiet room. “Its power is more of a deterrent nature rather than reactive defense. Those of sound mind who recognize my magic will heed its warning, but there are always those who lack the intelligence to consider long-term consequences of their actions.”
Meaning that idiot otherworld creatures might still attack despite Arawn’s stamp of patronage, simply because they were too dumb to realize that Arawn would kill them for it. Still, the wristlet and the blessing it carried was a mighty gift, and it would serve to claim Merle and Rhun’s daughter as part of Arawn’s immediate family in stronger and more tangible terms than the relation through his mating to Maeve.
Merle cleared her throat, her chest tight and her heartbeat thrumming against her ribcage. “Thank you,” she said, catching Arawn’s gaze again. “I appreciate it.”
Arawn gave a single nod. “You are welcome…sister.”
Merle’s eyes widened, and she flinched involuntarily. Oh, gods, she’d never really get used to actually being family with him, would she? It was just too weird!
“Ah, yes, divine relations,” Rhun drawled and slung his arm around Merle’s shoulders. “Makes me feel all holy.”
“You’ll have some additional holes in your body if you keep this up,” Merle muttered under her breath, which Rhun countered with a chuckle and a quickly stolen kiss.
In that moment, Sauron the black cat jumped up onto Arawn’s lap, gave him a head bump and then proceeded to knead his legs while purring loudly.
“Huh,” Rhun said. “That’s interesting. He’s not usually comfortable with people he doesn’t know.”
Arawn scratched the cat under his chin, the hint of a smile softening his features the tiniest bit. His forest-green eyes on the feline, he said, “All wild things answer to me.”
“Question,” Basil said and leaned forward on his chair. “Could you do something about Lily’s hair, then? It looks positively feral.”
“What?” Lily shrieked and threw a soft baby toy at him while laughter erupted around the room.
Merle giggled, her gaze meeting Maeve’s, her little sister grinning widely, such happiness radiating out from her. Happiness and contentment, in large parts thanks to the fallen god sitting next to her, who watched the hilarity around him with saint-like patience—and a glint of amusement in his age-old eyes.
Yeah, Merle thought with a smile of her own, this might just work.
