"Me too." He gave her a squeeze before taking her hand and leading her toward her car.
They didn't say much as they headed back to her house. It was an average, quiet night. As they drove past the tiny white house where Elvis Presley was born, Danger glanced over at him. "Do you know who Elvis is?"
Alexion smiled. "King of rock and roll, baby. Of course I know him. Simi adores him."
She laughed. "One day I have to meet this Simi." She indicated the house with a tilt of her head. "He was born right there, and I rode past this house a dozen times when he was only a few weeks old, never realizing the infant inside would have so much impact on American culture."
"Yeah. That's the weirdest of Acheron's gifts. He would have known exactly what was coming for the child."
What she wouldn't give for that ability. It would be the best, to be able to see into the future "Can you tell?"
"Not without the sfora. Acheron doesn't let me channel powers that he thinks I can't handle."
Danger frowned. "Why doesn't he think you can handle that one?"
"Because there are times when even he can't."
"How so?"
Alexion expelled a long breath and was quiet a few seconds before he answered. "It's hard to know that serious ill-fortune is about to strike someone and not intervene to make it better for them."
"Then why doesn't he intervene?"
"Because people learn from their mistakes, Danger. Pain and failure are a natural part of life. It's kind of like a parent who watches their child fall down while learning to walk. Instead of coddling the child, you set them back on their feet and let them try again. They have to stumble before they can run."
She shook her head in denial. It seemed callous to her. "I don't know about that. It seems cruel to me. Most people get a little more injured than just a skinned knee."
"Life is cruel sometimes."
True. She knew that better than anyone. Her heart clenched as she saw the faces of her family.
They had been on their way to Germany when her husband's garrison had overtaken them.
Danger closed her eyes as she saw that day so clearly in her mind.
"No, Michel! He is my father."
There had been no mercy on his face, no compassion in his steel-blue eyes. "He is an aristo. Death to them all."
"Then kill me too. I will not let you take them while I breathe."
And so he had shot her… straight in the heart that had loved him so dearly.
"Aristo whore," he had snarled as she lay dying while her father held her. "Death to you all."
The last sound she'd heard had been the shot that took her father's life as well.
Anger and pain swelled inside her as those old memories coalesced with her rage over what would happen with Alexion. She still couldn't believe she had learned to trust another man. But now that she had, she didn't want to let him go.
"Do you really believe that we need to have our hearts ripped out?"
His answer was automatic. "A flower can't grow without rain."
"Too much rain and it drowns."
"And yet the most beautiful of the lotus flowers are the ones that grow in the deepest mud."
She snorted at his words. "You're not going to let me win this one, are you?"
"There's nothing to win, Danger. As John Lennon once said, 'life is what happens while you're making other plans.' It is messy and heartbreaking, but at the same time, it's a thrill ride."
She shook her head. "It amazes me that you know so much about our culture and icons."
He shrugged. "I have a lot of time on my hands."
Danger felt for him. There were times when her life was monotonous… she could only imagine how more so his was. But since it was obvious that the two of them had differing views about how much strife humanity needed, she returned to their original topic.
"You know, I've always wanted to go in and see Elvis's birthplace museum."
"Why haven't you?"
"They close before dark. But they do have an Elvis Festival in June. That's a lot of fun and there's usually a Daimon or two in the crowd."
He laughed. "The way you say that it makes me wonder which part is business and which is pleasure."
She smiled. "I like being a superhero. Not many people are lucky enough to help others."
"Very true."
As she drove, Danger got a strange feeling. "Are we being watched again?"
Alexion shook his head. "I don't know why, but Stryker seems to be on hiatus."
Still, her precognitive powers kept ringing, telling her something weird was going to happen.
It wasn't until they reached her house that she understood why. In her driveway, waiting for them, was a black Aston Martin Vanquish.
That was a car she'd never seen in her neck of the woods before.
"What in the world is Viper doing here?" she asked.
Alexion frowned. Viper was a DarkHunter assigned to Memphis, Tennessee—two hours from Tupelo. "That's a good question."