"Why did you go there?" Penny was indignant, and anger and a desire to give Ethan a good beating rose up again. "Why did you stick your head in there like the last fool?"
He was silent for a moment, and then tried to shrug his shoulders.
"They had your blood. My blood. There was simply no time.
"I could go with you." If you hadn't knocked me out, I could...
"For the two of us to die there?" Not at all. I alone was enough. Ethan paused and confessed in annoyance, "If I could take someone with me and burn the bowls of blood, prevent them from finishing the spell, the plan wouldn't look so stupid. If you lived, everything would be fine.
"You shouldn't have taken Corin with you.
"Corin?" Ethan repeated, puzzled. "But she did everything as I thought. If I wanted someone to stay with me until the end and die stupidly, I would take Sean. Corin escaped and was able to tell the others how many demons there were in the nest. It would have been destroyed sooner or later by a bomber, and that would have been the end of it.
My nose stung, my eyes were baked. Penny squeezed Ethan harder, desperately trying to hold back and not hurt him even more. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and Penny rubbed against the top of Ethan's head in annoyance to stop them.
"Idiot," she sobbed. "And all this time these creatures would have tormented you, and then you would have died, and I would have nothing, nothing at all...
"I was hoping that at least I would make it impossible for them to get to you. It was a stupid plan.
"I'll give you more for him," Penny threatened childishly. "You can't sit.
"I can't do it anyway. Ethan threw his head back to look at Penny, his face stretching. "Penny... angel... You will... you...
"Wings, yes. Penny straightened them and held them up to show Ethan. And then she wrapped them around him, like at night when she tried to warm him up. Ethan reached out and touched the feather, stroking it gently.
— Real.
"Yes," Penny shrugged. She just didn't have the strength to be surprised by the wings, all her strength ran out the moment Ethan was in her arms. "I'm an angel, why don't I have wings?" Now it is at least clear why the scars hurt and itched so much.
"Do they hurt now?" Ethan's face showed excitement.
"I was afraid," Penny said to Ethan's shoulder, which she buried her nose in. "That I will come, and you are no longer there, that you no longer have a soul. That there was only one doll left. I can imagine what you had to endure, no, I'm afraid to even think about it, but... I'm so glad you survived. That endured. And that they didn't have time to finish the spell to deprive you of your soul by force, without waiting for consent.
Ethan shook and coughed as if he were choking.
"I couldn't, Penny. My angel," he said, and Penny realized it was laughter. Bitter, bursting from somewhere inside, but laughter. "They went wild when they realized that I no longer controlled my soul.
"What do you mean?"
"My soul is no longer mine, that's what they said. I think it's just yours, for a long time. You made me strong, love for you made me strong. So the demons could only bite and climb the walls in anger," Ethan snorted again and smiled, throwing back his head.
Stupid Ethan.
"So all they had to do was torture you," Penny finished grimly. She did not share Ethan's amusement, and wiped the blood under his nose with a vengeance, knowing that it would cause a short pang of pain.
"Auch," Ethan said indignantly, but stopped laughing. He shifted his gaze to the sea and fidgeted, trying to make himself comfortable, touched his wings again. His heart was beating like crazy, so Penny knew that the outward calm was only feigned.
"So you've been to the seaside," Penny said. "What would you like next?" Go back to camp?
"That's out of the question," Ethan shook his head. "You have wings now, and I don't want to test whether the Bishop will believe in your holiness or take a harpy for an exotic look. We're leaving. But where? Where would you like to go, angel? Penny?
She shrugged her shoulders. The sea smelled of salt, the wind ruffled his hair and the tips of his feathers. There was no trace of a mermaid, a kraken, or a leviathan around. It was good. Penny liked the sea.
"I am an angel," she said, "and you are my beloved. We will live, if not forever, then for a very long time, don't ask how I know this, I just know. We will go where we want and do what we want. And, you know, someday I'd like to see if you're right about the fact that I'll like living in the city. In the meantime... Perhaps it is worth checking if I can burn out any evil spirits as effectively as demons. I have accumulated a long list of complaints about them.