They went to the fifth circle to a store he knew that sold the best artificial trees. In Hell, the plant life endured a precarious existence, and those that survived had to be tough—aka deadly to most other species. So the denizens of the pit tended to avoid anything that might suddenly try and eat them for something they could control. A fake tree could be as wondrous as a real one. Although he would admit some appeared strange.

Merry cocked her head at more than one iteration. She even clung to him at one point as she exclaimed, “That one’s made of snakes.”

“Very popular with the gorgons and basilisks in Hell.” He dropped bits of information all the time, and she soaked it up, not disputing or freaking. She always appeared utterly accepting and had this way of always finding the positive.

“I’ll bet it keeps their homes rodent free. How practical.”

See? Always half-full. It made him wonder if there was anything that could make her snap.

They wandered the store, Miguel showing more animation than usual. He skipped ahead, the puppy with no name still at his heels. Merry hadn’t named it, which was a good thing. Dog belonged to the boy. Boy should name it.

She held his hand, which made his chest swell and his scowl mighty. It kept any of the demons, imps, and even the damned from coming too close. Merry could flit from tree to tree, happily exclaiming over each one.

“Look, Duke”—her nickname for him that used by anyone else would have meant violence—“it’s sparkly.”

“Nope.” A demon had some lines he wouldn’t cross even for love.

Love?

He froze, and she had to tug hard before he moved.

When had that happened? It couldn’t be. What if she didn’t feel the same?

Whack. The wall didn’t budge when his head hit it and neither did the thought of love.

“Duke, what are you doing?”

Knocking sense into himself. “Sorry, had something bugging me. Fixed now.” Or should he say resigned. He’d fallen for Merry.

“Don’t hurt that pretty face.” She patted his cheek, and he saw a demon do a double take that made him snarl in his direction. “If you hate glitter that much, then we shall find something more manly. But I draw the line at sharp things, like that dagger tree we saw in the front. I don’t want Miguel to get hurt.”

“How about we keep looking and see if we find one that seems like it wouldn’t suck?”

Her grin was precious as she said, “I think we can manage that.”