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I made to move past him, but he put out his arm like a gate to stop me. Apparently, he wasn’t finished with me.

“Also, the Goddess and Demon of Telepathy,” he continued, his loud, booming voice still going strong. “The Angel of Purgatory, Angel of the People, Angel of Hope, Angel of the Plains of Monsters, Angel of the Earth.” He kept going, his wind power impressive. “Daughter of Faris, King of the Gods. Daughter of Grace, Queen of the Demons.”

Finally, he took a short, measured breath. He didn’t even look annoyed by all of my titles. He just did his job like a true professional. But we weren’t done yet. He still had to do Nero.

“General Nero Windstriker, the Chief Marshal and the Executive Officer of the Legion of Angels. The Slayer of Traitors, the Victor of the Crimson Coast, and the Destroyer of Darkness. The former Angel of New York and the former Angel of the East Coast of North America. Son of the Immortals Cadence Lightbringer and Damiel Dragonsire.”

The herald turned a prospecting glance on Sierra.

“She’s good,” I told him.

“This is a royal ball, madam,” the herald said stiffly, clearly offended. “No man, woman, or child may enter until I have announced them withalltheir titles.”

Madam? Wow, way to make me feel old. I was tempted to correct him, to say that ‘madam’ should actually be substituted for ‘your holiness’ or some such, but I was afraid he’d start over with all the title announcements and add that one on too. He had saidalltitles.

Instead, I deflected. “Sierra is three. She doesn’t have any titles yet.”

Well, unless you counted ‘Savior of the Universe’, but that was just speculation at this point and certainly not official.

“Hmm,” was all the herald said, but he let us go with a quick, “Sierra Pandora Windstriker, daughter of Leda Pandora and Nero Windstriker.”

Well, almost.

His gaze dropped to Angel, and he frowned. “Your cat will have to wait outside.”

“Why?” I asked.

“This ball is for royalty only,” he said with an impressive amount of ego, especially for someone talking to two angels.

Things really were different on this world.

“Angelisroyal.” I gave my giant cat a rub behind her ears.

“Oh?” he said, looking skeptical.

And when I provided him with my cat’s titles, that skepticism elevated into mild annoyance. But he didn’t turn away from his sworn duty.

“And Her Royal Pussycat Angel Pandora Windstriker!” the herald declared loudly. “Chaser of Mouse Tails and Slayer of Dust Bunnies!”

His duties fulfilled, the herald waved us along, glad to be rid of us. Sierra and I entered the ballroom giggling. Nero followed behind us, looking as serious and dignified as always. Angel looked quite dignified herself, descending the stairs like a queen, her nose lifted high in the air, her tail swooshing with elegance.

“You are not taking this seriously, Pandora,” Nero whispered to me.

I linked my arm with his. “Sure I am.”

“Chaser of Mouse Tails and Slayer of Dust Bunnies?”

I snorted.

“Angel is a great warrior,” Sierra told him, very serious. “She won many battles. She wants titles too.”

Nero looked like he didn’t know how to argue with her logic. Meanwhile, the herald was announcing Aspen. She was soon standing beside us.

“Ok, now we just need to wait for Cupid and Dreamcatcher,” I told her as Angel and Sierra went to go chase down a server for snacks. “They’re preparing the next phase of the plan.”

“Which is?” Aspen asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Lavinia said sharply, cutting in. “Whatever it is that you’re planning, it won’t work.”