Shadow stared down at her, and I almost laughed. My poor beast was so unused to being defied that it took him by surprise when it happened. Unlike when I did it, though, he might kill Simone.

I stepped between them. “Simone,” I said softly, “I can’t have you in danger. Seriously, I would lose my brains. And while I know you’re a total badass, you can’t bring claws to a god fight—it just won’t work.” Her lips trembled, and I reached out to take her hand. “I promise I’ll come to Earth as soon as we handle Dannie.”

“What if you don’t?” she whispered. “What if I never see any of you again and I just have to assume the damn worst happened? Again, Mera! I’ve already done that once this year.”

“I agree,” Sam added. “You’re already important to me, Mera. I’m going to be worried as hell if I don’t hear anything.”

Shadow laughed dryly. “If we fail, the worlds will fall. Even Earth.” The Shadow Bastard was nothing if not blunt. “So I wouldn’t worry too much. We’re the only chance anyone has, and we can’t effectively do our jobs when we’re worrying about those weak and vulnerable.”

Both of the ladies were offended by that, and I couldn’t blame them. Weak and vulnerable were not admirable shifter traits, but in this sort of “god fight,” Shadow wasn’t wrong.

“I concede to this with one stipulation,” Simone finally said. “That if you get a chance to send me and Sam a message or smoke signal or misty communication, you do it. Let us know you’re okay.”

Shadow paused, and it was clear he was thinking about the best way to grant this request. “I have an idea,” he finally said. “I’ll be right back.”

He strode off into the library, and all of us watched silently until he disappeared from sight.

“Phew,” Sam said, letting out a long breath. “He’s intense.”

Simone snorted. “Mera doesn’t seem to mind.”

“Yeah, not even a little,” I said with a laugh, shaking my head at my obsession with that beast. “I keep having to pinch myself to believe this is even real. Just wish there wasn’t war hanging over our heads.”

Simone’s joking smile disappeared in an instant as she hugged me hard. “I’m so scared for you,” she said against my shoulder. “I think I’d rather be here and die, than stuck in Torma imagining the worst.”