Emma

8 p.m.

Danny stood in the kitchen, trying to make sense of what Morrigan had told him.

Three bloodlines. Ancient powers. His family hiding secrets for generations.

It was absurd.

And yet something felt different.

He noticed it first in his hands. A faint tingling sensation ran through his fingers, spreading slowly up his arms. His skin felt unusually sensitive, almost as if every nerve had become more alert.

The room seemed sharper, too. He could distinguish individual conversations across the kitchen, hear the ice shifting in someone's glass, smell perfume, sweat, and the faint bitter sweetness of arousal.

He blinked.

What the hell was happening?

Then he saw Emma.

She walked into the kitchen, talking to another guest. Her black hair fell over her shoulders, and the little red horns nestled in it caught the light.

Danny felt an unfamiliar warmth spreading through his chest.

He wanted her.

Not merely to flirt with her or admire her from a distance. He wanted to walk over, put his arm around her, and refuse to take “no” for an answer.

He crossed the kitchen.

"Hey, Emma."

She turned. Her face lit up.

"Hi, Danny."

Her affection seemed strangely natural.

"Enjoying the party?" she continued.

"Definitely. You?"

"Getting better by the minute."

She laughed. Her gaze drifted from his shirt to his pants and lingered there longer than necessary.

Danny noticed. He noticed everything: the way she leaned towards him, the admiring look she tried to hide, the quick lick of her lips.

Old Danny would have wondered whether he was misreading the signals. He would have made a joke and backed off before risking another rejection.

But something had changed.

"You look incredible tonight," he said.

Emma smiled.

"Already told me that."

"Then I'll have to say it again. You really do."

She looked him in the eyes.

"You're being unusually forward."

Danny grinned. He could hardly believe how easily the words came to him.

"Listen, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"Go on."

"Would you like to get away from all this noise for a while? There's a room upstairs where we could talk without half the party listening."

Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Talk?"

Danny smiled.

"That's entirely up to you."

She studied him for a moment. Then she put down her glass.

"All right. Show me."

Danny offered his hand.

She took it.

As they left the kitchen, he glanced back towards the living room. Morrigan stood near the fireplace, watching him. Ronan was beside her, his arms folded. Lilith had a faint smile on her pale face.

He was getting the feeling that the three of them knew something he himself didn't yet understand.