Chapter 24

24

" W hat is this?" I asked, aghast, when we pulled into a parking spot.

"Uh, a parking lot?" Stefan suggested. "Why?"

I looked from left to right and saw nothing but an asphalt wasteland of personal conveyances and a few towers holding high-tension power lines. "Is the park anywhere nearby, or will we be walking for the next five days?"

"Don't be silly," Stefan said with a snort. "It would only take about three hours. Also, no, we're taking the tram. It'll come by shortly. I could have probably parked closer if I'd thrown our status at them, but it feels wrong, somehow."

What was he talking about? "What do you mean?" I asked. "What status?"

Stefan gave me a look. "You mean Gabe hasn't told you?"

"Apparently not, since I have no idea what you're talking about," I pointed out. "Mind cluing me in?"

"We're royalty."

He said it so matter-of-factly, like I should have known, which only confused me further. "Who is?"

"Us," he said, pointing at himself and then me. "So's Gabe. So are Stan and Lucy, for that matter. We're all Princes of Hell."

I sat there, staring at him, my mouth opening and shutting as I attempted to produce words that made any sort of sense, but my brain had shorted. I finally managed to settle on "Excuse me?"

"Leaders of races and their families are considered royalty down here. Your grandfather is the first of the succubi and is their leader. He's a Prince of Hell. As his grandkids, you, Abby, and Gabe are also Princes of Hell. I'm the son of the vampire leader. Stan... Well, he runs the place, and Lucy is his sister. There are a few more of us, but yeah. We're Princes of Hell."

"Okay, I have a lot to unpack with this," I admitted. "First, wouldn't Abby and Lucy be princesses?"

"Prince is considered a gender-neutral term in Hell. Also, Lucy will fight you if you suggest she should be called 'princess.' Just saying."

I made a mental note to never, ever call Lucy a princess. Abby, though... I thought about that for a moment, then shook my head. No, she might be even scarier than Lucy. Better not to chance it.

"Anyway, yes, we're technically royalty, which means I could have bullied someone into letting us park closer. But why? They're just empty titles. We don't get anything out of it except maybe notoriety." He squinted in the distance, then hopped out of his golf cart. "Come on," he urged. "The tram is coming. We can talk about this on the way."

The tram in question looked like it had been in operation for at least half a century. Instead of looking as I assumed, which would have been seating in rows, it was bench seating along the sides, so everyone was facing outward. It didn't seem exceptionally safe to me, but Stefan hopped on without question when it slowed, urging me to sit beside him. I did, glad the tram was slow enough that if I managed to fall off the thing, I probably wouldn't get hurt. Oddly, we were the only ones on board. "Does no one take the tram?" I asked him.

"Oh sure," he said. "But we're at the very back of the lot. It'll take us at least an hour to get to the front gate because the tram will wind through the entire parking lot. It'll probably be packed by the time we get there. Sorry, you're probably going to get a little squished."

"An hour ??"

Stefan grinned. "Oh, come in. It gives us time to chat some more. Once people get packed on here, we even get to cuddle. Kind of forcibly, but I'll take what I can get."

For all the cuddling part sounded nice, I was kind of starting to understand why this place was in Hell. Thankfully, time passes quickly when you're in good company, so even though someone I didn't know had their elbow in my left side, my right side was squished against a diminutive blond vampire. I was okay with that.

When we finally reached the front gate, Stefan grabbed my hand and dragged me away from the ticket booths. "Don't I need a ticket?" I asked him.

He grinned at me. "No. I've got you covered. What kind of date would this be if you didn't let me pay for your ticket?"

Predictably, my cheeks warmed considerably. "I didn't know this was a date," I said. Obviously, I'd hoped it was, but there had been no actual confirmation. We still hadn't had that conversation.

Stefan stopped in his tracks. "Do you want it to be a date?" he asked, looking me square in the eyes. "Because it's okay if you don't. It can be a friend-date thing as opposed to a date-date."

Gabe had once told me something about consent being sexy. I hadn't understood it then, but I thought I was starting to get it. "I mean, yeah, of course I do," I said. "I'm not stupid."

Stefan burst into laughter. I could detect a hint of relief in it, which made me feel a little better.

"What does it mean if it's a date?" I asked, needing clarification.

Stefan looked around for a second. "Well, this isn't where I imagined having the talk we've been putting off, but there are worse places, I suppose." He grabbed my hand and dragged me toward a bench. "Let's sit," he said, taking a seat and tugging me down next to him. Once I'd dropped next to him, he smiled at me. "It means we're on a date, getting to know each other," he said. "I'm going to be blunt and possibly accidentally insulting, but I don't think you're ready for anything more. You've lived an incredibly sheltered, twisted life. You're also only eighteen. This is all purely the opinion of a centuries-old vampire who's forgotten the concept of linear time more than once, but I think you'd be better off taking a while to learn more about yourself before you get into anything serious. Get some therapy. Discover your likes and dislikes. See the world, maybe."

I was at least mature enough to recognize that I agreed with his assessment, even if I didn't like it. I still huffed a little in irritation, but that was more for show than anything.

"Look, you and I have all the time in the world. Literally. More than that, even, considering Hell will continue to exist after the end of Earth. Let's take some of that to see if we want things to be serious and give you some time to grow."

I sighed and leaned back, staring at the green palm tree swaying above us. It contrasted sharply with the dark void, and I looked away. "I hate that you're right," I said. "But you're right. So we're...friends?"

"Friends," he agreed. "Who happen to be dating casually. We're going to have to have a conversation with your brother, though, because I may not technically be alive by your standards, but he still makes me fear death sometimes."

"Gabe?" I said with a laugh, giving him a look of pure disbelief. "He's a marshmallow."

"Not when it comes to you, he's not," Stefan countered immediately.

I shook my head and laughed softly as I stared into the crowd. "Can I ask why you even want to date me? I get that means you're at least somewhat interested in me, but why? I'm just..."

"You shine."

I turned and looked at him, confused and assuming he was teasing me again, but his expression was solemn. "I what?"

"There's just something about you," he said, squeezing my hand. I hadn't even realized he was still holding it, but the sensation eased my tension. "Even when you ended up having an out-of-body experience in my kitchen all those years ago, I remember being sad that it likely meant you were dying because I wanted you to experience everything you could in the span of a normal lifespan so you could tell me about it when you inevitably passed of old age. I couldn't take my eyes off you. It wasn't a literal shine, not like Gabriel and his perpetual glitter, but your aura, I guess? When I saw you again in Gabe's living room, I thought, 'Oh, I remember this feeling.' Even if I didn't know you were the same person as the kid I'd once met, I still found myself captivated. I don't want to look away because I want to see what you do next."

I was so far past blushing that I was impressed I hadn't set off my own personal mushroom cloud. "Oh," I said, staring down at our still-entwined hands, unable to find any other words.

Stefan lifted my chin with his free hand, encouraging me to look at him. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "I'm a little overwhelmed," I admitted because I knew he wouldn't hold it against me.

He smiled. "Want to get this party started, then? Less thinking, more having fun?"

"Yeah," I said, returning his smile with my own. "So what was this about you already getting me a ticket?"

"It's not a ticket, really," he said, his grin morphing into one of mischief. "Not so much a ticket as a lifetime pass. Except your brother wrote them a letter pointing out that 'lifetime' was a poor word choice, all things considered, so they call it an 'eternal pass' now."

I gaped at him. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," he said with a laugh. "It was pretty funny. You'd think they would have considered that when they named the thing."

"Not that ," I sighed. "You got me a pass? You didn't have to do that. It probably cost a fortune."

"You don't know how the economy works down here, do you?"

I thought back to everything Gabe had told me about Hell, then shook my head. He hadn't touched on that.

"Okay, well, just know that our existences are not paycheck-to-paycheck here. Also, Era gives royalty discounted rates on eternal passes." He nudged me. "Happy birthday."

"Yeah," I said, sounding so shy it surprised me. "Thanks."

Getting my pass involved signing a bunch of paperwork, taking a picture, waiting for the plastic card to print, and letting Stefan laugh about how bad the picture was. It took about as long as you'd imagine, so I was beyond ready to get into the actual park by the time we were done at the special counter off to the side of the ticket booths I'd been dragged to.

"Don't go into the shops until we leave," Stefan suggested. "Otherwise, you'll just end up having to get a locker or carrying stuff around all day, and that's just silly. Except for one..."

And that was how I ended up wearing a ridiculous hat with large round ears. With my name embroidered on it.

"It's obligatory," Stefan explained as he adjusted his own hat. "It's just not the same without the silly-looking hat."

After that, it was a whirlwind of train rides, boat rides, a haunted house, a train-themed roller coaster that mercifully did not flip me upside down (I screamed a lot but ultimately talked Stefan into riding it twice more before we moved on), several dark rides, and finally another boat ride whose soundtrack would be stuck in my head for all eternity and likely haunt my dreams. Not to say we barreled through the attractions. We spent a lot of time strolling down the paths, window-shopping, and people-watching. We'd occasionally stop to buy a drink to share, finding a place to sit out of the way and rest our feet.

"I'm sure we'll go through the entire thing again once Gabe and Stan show up," Stefan remarked as we took a break near the carousel.

"Probably," I agreed, taking a sip from the bottle of soda Stefan offered me before handing it back. "I mean, it's only fair, right? But I'm glad I got to see most of it with you first."

Much to my surprise, it was Stefan who was blushing this time. "I feel the same way." He took a swallow of the cola, then screwed the lid back on. "Think we should call Gabe and see if the geese have decided they've caused enough chaos for the day?"

I wasn't sure what had made him so bashful, but I let it go. It was adorable, sure, but I didn't want to embarrass him by remarking on it. "Yeah, what time is it anyway?" I asked out of reflex. I wasn't used to carrying a phone. When the words were out of my mouth, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. We'd been there for a good five hours already, I noted when I saw the time.

Stefan had pulled his phone out, too, but he held it to his ear. "Hey!" he said when he finally got an answer. "Yeah, we've been through all the areas but your favorite. Nah, not everything, just my favorites. I figured we'd just go through again anyway, so we could ride the other stuff then. Are you guys done?" He listened, then burst into laughter. "Yes, please, go shower first. Where do you want to meet?" He listened, then nodded with a smile despite Gabe not seeing him. "Sounds good. I could use some ice cream anyway. We'll see you in a while."

"What was so funny?" I asked after he'd pocketed his phone again.

"Flaming goose guano."

I decided I didn't want to know any more than that. "Yeah, I'm glad they're stopping for a shower. Where are we meeting them?"

"The ice cream parlor," Stefan said with a grin. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

I was starting to wonder if he was ever not hungry. Not to say I was any better. I definitely wouldn't say no to food.

We walked over to one of the shops on the main road and got in line. Once we'd managed to secure our gelato (which Stefan informed me was far superior to ice cream), we grabbed a table outside and waited for Stan and Gabe to show up.

And, okay, yeah, the key lime pie gelato I'd gotten was superior to any of the mediocre vanilla ice cream I'd secured on rare occasions during my short lifetime. Stefan's mint chip wasn't bad either, as I found out when he offered a bite to me. From his own spoon. Which he insisted on feeding to me. I was sure he'd done that because seeing my face go red amused him. And then, when we polished off those helpings, he went back inside and got more.

I was finishing the banana cream gelato he'd brought back for me when trouble arrived.

"Well, fancy meeting you here," Stefan said to my brother as if we hadn't been waiting for them exactly where they told us to be. "What a small world."

I groaned and dropped the palm of my hand onto my face. "Yeah," I agreed. "It's a small, small world."

Gabe cackled.

"Ah," Stan said sympathetically. "I see you've come to understand why this place is in Hell."

"Yes," I admitted with a sigh. "Yes, I have." I eyed the two newcomers, but they didn't look worse for wear. "How about you two? Everything okay?"

"The flaming geese are never fun, but it could have been worse," Stan admitted. "The mime revolt Gabriel had to deal with was far trickier to solve."

I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out if Stan was kidding or not. "Mime....revolt."

He nodded. "It came about because clowns are in both Heaven and Hell because, for some reason, there are people who like them. Why, I will never understand, but they do. Anyway, mimes had been kept solely to Hell for a long time. To work, mind you. I've never actually met an evil mime. Anyway, one day, they finally had enough, led an invasion into Heaven, and suddenly Gabriel had a mime revolt."

"Okay," I said slowly, still unsure if I should believe him. "So, how did he take care of that?"

"He put them in an invisible box until they agreed to a compromise," Stan said, matter-of-fact.

I gave him a look, and he just stared back at me. He had to have been making a joke, right?

...Right?

Ultimately, I could only take him at face value and sigh. "The afterlife is so weird," I said, rubbing at my face.

"It takes some getting used to," Gabe agreed. "So, what do you think?" He gestured around us, indicating the entire park.

"It's kind of amazing," I said. "But it's kind of weird that it stops in the 1980s. Why not beyond that? Should they move into at least the 90s at this point?"

"It's all legal stuff," Stan said. "The original owner does still own the place, and we weren't allowed to progress beyond that point in time without his okay. He tends to get caught up in new projects, so at some point, he'll probably tell us to include a new decade or two, but our hands are tied until then. Right now he's building the city of the future he always wanted, but..." He made a face, then shook his head. "I don't see it ending well. He wants too much control over people's lives, like he's playing The Sims. That's why it never panned out in the living world, and Florida got an amusement park instead."

"Huh," I said. "Is that how it worked?"

"Well, it was more complicated than that, but basically? Yeah."

"So, are we ready to go?" Gabe asked, clearly having reached the limit of his patience.

I looked at my empty gelato cup. "Yeah, I am. I need more banana creme gelato before we leave, though."

"I'll make it happen," Stefan promised. He grabbed our trash and headed for a nearby garbage can, meeting us at the exit. He grabbed my hand, and I could almost hear Gabe's effort to keep his comments to himself. Stefan just looked at him with amusement. "We'll talk about it later," he said.

"Yeah, we'd better ," Gabe agreed, giving him a stern look before turning his not-very-threatening-at-all glare on me, only to be distracted when Stan leaned against him and smiled. Once again, I was grateful for the presence of my brother-in-law.

We immediately headed toward Gabe's favorite part of the park, where we rode another roller coaster. This one was in the dark, making it seem more intense a ride than it was. Gabe, who'd opted to wait for us instead of chancing motion sickness, asked me what I'd thought of it, and I said something about wanting to ride it three more times, at which point he questioned whether we were related or not.

Having gotten the thing he wouldn't ride out of the way, we were immediately taken to a ride where we were shrunk to the size of an atom and put into a snowflake. It was a neat effect, though I got why the incorrect aspects would irritate someone science-minded like my brother. We took a rocket to Mars, then rode a slow ride that meandered above that part of the park and through a weird CGI tunnel. Gabe promised to make me watch the movie it was based on at some point so it made sense. I had my doubts about a film clearing up any of that confusion.

We watched a bunch of animatronic animals sing, played in the arcade, rode some rocket jet things that circled a large tower—relatively slowly, thankfully—and hopped on a sky tram to head over to the other side of the park, where we proceeded to ride everything all over again.

We ended the day by wandering through shops. I bought some souvenirs for Abby and myself, and then we watched a nighttime parade involving a metric ton of lightbulbs and finished the day with fireworks.

"Happy birthday," Stefan whispered into my ear after the last fireworks exploded in the sky, and I turned to smile at him. That probably would have been a perfect time for a kiss, but my brother immediately destroyed the atmosphere by loudly asking if we wanted to pick up a pizza before we called it a night and went back to Stefan's for cake. Stefan rolled his eyes but had the grace to agree.

So we left the park, took the monorail to the hotel, and then took the tram back to Stefan's golf cart. Stan had parked closer to the front, which thankfully gave me more time with Stefan without my brother lurking like he wanted answers immediately. I still wasn't sure how we'd explain the slight change in our relationship to him without him blowing a gasket.

Stefan solved that problem by waiting until we sat at his kitchen table with the fourth of several large pizzas in front of us. The first three were already in our stomachs. "So," he said, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands. "Your brother and I are dating casually."

I'd been waiting for a roar that could probably be heard in the parking lot of the Burbank Denny's, but Gabe just nodded slowly. I tilted my head in confusion and stared at him. "What?" he asked. "At this point, it seemed kind of inevitable. I'll rage about it privately to Stan later."

Stan rolled his eyes fondly. "You're ridiculous."

"Just..." Gabe sighed and looked at Stefan. "If you hurt him on purpose, you're going to wish you could die. Do you understand? Not that I necessarily think you would, but..."

Stefan snorted. "Have some faith in me, will you?" Then he told Gabe about the conversation he and I had had outside of Era, with Gabe nodding some more as he listened.

When Stefan finished, my brother sighed. "Well, I'm glad you both have more common sense than me, at any rate."

"Also, pretty sure I should start seeing a therapist," I chimed in.

Gabe closed his eyes and let out a long, relieved sigh. "Thank you," he whispered, and I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or a higher power. He looked at me again and smiled. "Talk to Rose," he said. "She won't be able to recommend anyone you can talk about visiting Hell with, at least not without possibly ending up diagnosed with schizophrenia or something similar, but you'd be able to talk about your childhood and your parents. And while you could technically find someone here, I don't think that's a good idea since..." He shrugged. "Well, you haven't decided if you're staying or not. If you go back up, you won't be able to keep seeing someone down here."

I lowered my head, not wanting to be reminded.

"Hey," Stan said, and I glanced up at him. "You don't have to decide today. No matter what you decide, we'll all support you."

"He's right," Stefan said. "Either way, it's not like we'd never see you again. One choice would add a bit of a delay, that's all." He reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing it.

"You have more important things to worry about right now," Gabe told me. "Like cake."

Stefan laughed and squeezed my hand again before he stood up and went to the fridge, returning with a full cake pan. Gabe looked like he was about to pounce, but Stefan pointed at him threateningly before turning to open one of the kitchen drawers. When he joined us again, he held a box of birthday candles and a lighter. He placed a few candles, lit them, and grinned at me. "Okay," he said. "Now, make a wish."

As I blew out the candles, I wished with all my heart that I would always be as happy as I was at that moment.