Penelope's thoughts were making lazy spirals in her mind. Watching Romeo's and Sera's lovey dovey moments always brought a smile to her face. When she first met Romeo last year, she thought him rather aloof. Then she got a chance to get to know him better and realized he wasn't aloof, just a little lost. She could tell he wasn't from the mountains based on his accent. He was adorable in a good old boy kind of way. Not that she minded.
Romeo's honest nature was attractive. It also didn't hurt that his magic was tantalizing to her and the others. However, his magical appeal paled in comparison to Sera's magic. The girl reeked of the purest kind of magic. Penelope felt like a cat with catnip whenever Sera was nearby. She knew the guys had the same problem. Not that they would admit it. No, they didn't want to look weak.
After arriving in this dimension over five hundred years ago, humans with magic were few and far between. To find two in the same town at the same time was unheard of. Penelope was suspicious of the Lancaster and Holland families. There was something afoot. She hadn't quite figured it out yet. Drake, Karl, and Griff didn't have any clues either. So, they stayed close to the two humans and watched from afar.
Eventually, they would figure it out. Preferably before Amy seriously harmed Sera. Penelope scowled at the idea of that narcissistic witch hurting her friend. Then, as if conjured up by her thoughts, a loud knock on the conference room's glass door made her look up. "Great, just great," she muttered.
She watched as Amy demanded that Sera come outside with her. Amy's fake sweet tone was grating to her ears. She could hear the insincerity a mile away. She knew Sera and Romeo did, too. However, Sera, wanting to keep the peace, followed her sister from the room.
The moment they left, Romeo slammed his fist on the table, startling Penelope.
"I can't stand that bitch!" he snarled. "I'm giving Sera three minutes, and then I'm going after her. I don't trust Amy as far as I can throw her."
Penelope wholeheartedly agreed with his plan. Sera's magical aura was pure and refreshing. Amy's was the opposite, polluted and disgusting. She knew the stench of evil, having encountered it through the millennia both in the old world and this human one. Those who lusted for power and trampled those they considered lesser than them by sadistic and cruel methods, she despised them. Autem had gifted her and the boys various gifts to help them keep balance in the old world.
Five hundred years ago, Autem summoned them and told them he was sending them to Earth to watch over it. He didn't explain why; only that they were needed there. None had protested. They were eager to see a new world. And here they were, enjoying a peaceful life in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia in a quiet, idyllic town. She hoped that peace would remain, but something told her that the arrival of the Lancasters and Hollands had changed everything.
She sighed as she watched Romeo pace. He kept glancing at his cell, and then he left the room at a run. Penelope got up and quietly followed him. Her heightened hearing caught the end of Amy's and Sera's conversation, and Romeo and Sera talking. The fleeing footsteps of Amanah told her all she needed to know. She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. She tapped Romeo's shoulder.
"I'll go talk to her. We'll be back in a few minutes."
Romeo frowned and reluctantly nodded. She gave him a reassuring smile and set off after Sera.
It didn't take her long to find Sera. She simply followed the sound of crying.
Penelope walked in, went to the last stall, and stopped. "Sera? Want to talk about it?"
She heard Sera's whimper and leaned against the wall next to the stall door. "I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."
She patiently waited until Sera's quiet sobs stopped. She straightened and moved out of the way as the stall door slowly swung open.
Sera's eyes were red from crying, and her defeated gaze tugged at Penelope's heart. She reached out her hand to comfort Sera, but was shocked by Sera's recoil. She dropped her hand.
"Sera, what did Amy do to you?"
Sera averted her gaze, her hand going to her left arm. Penelope frowned.
"Sera, let me see." She saw Sera's flinch and decided it was time to play hardball. "That wasn't a request."
Sera's shoulders slumped, and she reluctantly pulled up her sleeve to reveal the beginnings of a nasty bruise. Penelope cursed. Gently, she took Sera's arm and moved it so she could see better.
"I'm going to kill your sister," she hissed.
"No!" Sera jerked her arm away and dropped her sleeve. "Just, Penelope, please don't. Let it go, please. I beg you!" she pleaded.
Penelope was torn. She really wanted to rearrange Amy's features before dropping her off a mountain. She knew that Sera's family life wasn't the greatest, but she didn't know it was this bad.
"Fine!" she threw her hands up in defeat. "I'll let it go for today, but this won't be the last time, Sera. You're my friend, and I will protect you even if it means going against your family to do it."
Sera's mouth fell open, her conflicted expression, screaming louder than words of her shock at Penelope's words.
"C'mon, let's go back. Make sure that Romeo doesn't see what Amy did to you. If he catches sight of that, he might end up in jail, and we don't want that."
Sera whispered, "I understand. I don't want that for him."
Penelope hugged her, careful not to touch her injured arm. "Let's go." The two girls left the bathroom and went back to the conference room. Each was lost in her thoughts about the day's events.