"Gabriel, can I talk to you?"

His pulse quickened. His mate didn't know he knew about the human yet, but he didn't think he could pretend everything was okay.

"I've gotta do a mind check," he said, trying to keep his voice even. "Is it quick?"

He faced her.

His mate had been crying. She nodded and swallowed then motioned him away from the lake, towards the trees. Uncertain he could handle more bad news, Gabriel trailed. Thankfully, Deidre was too upset to notice his tension. He watched her pace, wondering how she could do what she'd done.

"You want the truth," she said and drew a deep breath. "I owe you that, Gabriel. Even if you reject me or hate me or ..." She cleared her throat.

He didn't expect her to confess. Gabriel crossed his arms, surprised.

"I swear to you, Gabriel, I never meant to hurt anyone. All I wanted was a chance with you." She rushed on. "But I can't ... it's killing me not to tell you." For a moment, she appeared to be lost to her emotions.

"What is this about?" he made himself ask.

She shook her head and focused on him.

"I lied to you about the deal with Darkyn," she whispered.

Chapter Eleven.

Gabriel listened to her tell him what she did, the mind check and traitor forgotten. He suspected there was much more to past-Death's story but never expected to discover the human was alive and well in h.e.l.l. If he hadn't seen her, he wouldn't believe it possible.

Hearing the lengths his mate went through to condemn the human rendered him speechless. He gazed at Deidre as she admitted to abandoning human-Deidre in h.e.l.l. She was crying. He wanted to hold her. The buzzing in his ears was too loud. Had he ever been this angry?

Just when he thought things were going well and they spent the night making love and talking, he woke up in a new nightmare.

It took him a long moment to realize that she was finished talking. She gazed at him fearfully, terrified he was leaving her.

He couldn't. But he couldn't stay right now either. Gabriel reached out to her, wiping away the tears on one cheek with his thumb.

"I'll be back," he promised.

"Where are you going?"

"I need a minute to cool down."

She looked away.

Gabriel left the forest. Dusk had caused shadows to darken the forest. He went to the lake and the souls, the only place that seemed to calm him. Landon was waiting with the dealers for their mind checks. He barely registered they were there. Landon approached then paused.

Gabriel stood for a long moment, numb, and then flung a knife into the forest with a roar.

What the f.u.c.k did he do now? His mate admitted to basically killing the woman he'd fallen for last week. But what did that mean? He loved them both? Did it matter, since Darkyn had double-bound the human?

Gabriel wiped his mouth.

"Boss?" Landon called.

"Rea.s.semble them later," Gabriel barked.

Even the lake wasn't calming him. He flung his head back, trying to remember the last time he'd felt some semblance of peace. It was the night he sat with human-Deidre on the beach. The night he slept with her and condemned her to walk the path that led her to h.e.l.l.

Grief made him angrier. He'd played a hand in sentencing the sweet human to h.e.l.l.

He opened a portal and returned to the beach where they met. The soothing sounds of the ocean greeted him. It was nighttime on this side of the world, and the sky was clear. The moon was non-existent, and the waves sparkled in starlight.

Being here was probably a mistake. He shook out his tension but felt an even heavier sense of guilt.

Gabriel sat on the beach. He'd seen Darkyn's mate yesterday and knew she was at least alive. She'd seemed uncertain and scared, though. He didn't know if it was because of Darkyn or because of being attacked by death dealers that defected.

Also potentially his fault.

What was worse: he suddenly realized he might have the means to get into his underworld. Darkyn would never let him through h.e.l.l, but Deidre ...

He felt like s.h.i.t just thinking about it yet recognized the danger he was in. If he didn't find his soul and quell the rebellion, more than his fate was f.u.c.ked.

Gabriel sat in silent thought, comforted by the ebb and flow of the waves. The other night, he sat on a beach with one Deidre and watched the moon cross the sky. Tonight, he was alone, but he needed to be for a while. His soul, the underworld, rebellion ... everything that mattered didn't when he considered how the mighty Death hadn't been able to save one innocent human from a dark fate.

Only when the moon was halfway across the sky did he rouse himself. He saw Darkyn's mate yesterday. She'd been shaken, and he wanted ... needed to verify that she was okay.

"Deidre," he summoned the demon lord's mate.

A moment pa.s.sed. Gabriel suspected the Dark One wasn't going to let his little human out of h.e.l.l, especially not to see her former mate. His fury grew.

"Hi, Gabriel."

He twisted, staring. He'd been too shocked yesterday to notice how much she changed. Deidre glowed darkly with the Dark One's power and something else, an aura that drew his gaze and left him feeling slightly addled. He looked her up and down.

Dressed in the seductive clothing of h.e.l.l, her body's gentle shape appeared voluptuous, her narrow shoulders exposed, her round hips and b.r.e.a.s.t.s enhanced. The black dress she wore fit her like a second skin, outlining every curve, dip and nook of her body. s.e.xy little fangs rested on her full lower lip. They were the kind of fangs a man fantasized about, not too large to cause damage but sharp enough to offer an exquisite combination of pleasure and pain if she nipped him. The perfect bow of her mouth appeared red, roughened and plump from kisses. Her large eyes were steady, her porcelain skin clear and smooth. He noticed her eyelashes, long and thick. She oozed fragile innocence and sultry s.e.x appeal, her allure capable of ensnaring even a deity.

Struck by the change, Gabriel laughed in bewilderment.

"He turned you into a s.e.x demon!" he said. He saw her blush in the dim starlight.

The ocean breeze made her dress move as if it was alive, and her pink hair swept across her features. She pushed it away and crossed her arms, shivering.

"I like it," he added. He patted the sand beside him.

"Of course you do. You're male. Me? Not so much!" she retorted in a silky voice. She hesitated then sat beside him. "This is where we met."

The sadness in her voice chased away his mirth.

"I'm surprised he let you come," he said, eyes returning to the sea.

"He says the mate of the Dark One can do whatever she wants. Apparently, evil is equal opportunity."

"Not sure seeing an ex-mate is included."

Deidre glanced at him. Gabriel kept his eyes on the ocean.

"Are you really okay?" he asked.

"I think so."

As hard as it was to believe, she looked great. Gabriel took in her body and face again. He saw the ma.s.sive scarring that could come from no other than the Dark One, probably when he turned her. Otherwise, she appeared healthy. Not at all like Darkyn was bleeding her dry or torturing her.

"He, um, has been very a.s.sertive and direct," she added.

"You mean violent and aggressive."

"Not violent. Not with me, at least. He leaves no room for failure or my hope that certain things will change," she said.

"You don't think you'll ever leave h.e.l.l."

"I can come and go. But he will always be my ... mate." She said the word in a hushed voice that sounded husky and s.e.xy with her newfound status as a seductress.

Gabriel didn't know what to think. The immortal mating rules from the time-before-time couldn't be broken. Yet, his mate had found a way to reset them. He didn't think it was possible for that to happen twice, but if it were ...

Would it matter? Human-Deidre was now a demon, blood-bound to the Dark One. Nothing not even Darkyn could change that, even if the Immortal mating script changed again. She was effectively trapped in h.e.l.l with the devil for eternity.

"I'm serious about taking you to the underworld, if he hurts you," he rea.s.serted. "Immortal Laws be d.a.m.ned. If I'd had the b.a.l.l.s to ..." he stopped.

She rested her temple on one knee, eyes on him. Her smile was gentle.

"It's scary to be with him," she admitted. "But ... he doesn't mistreat me and there's potential for me to do good from h.e.l.l. I helped Rhyn already. We stopped Darkyn's demons from ma.s.sacring the kids."

"He told me it was over," Gabriel said, surprised. "How did you convince Darkyn to stop?"

"I asked him."

Gabriel snorted. "You make it sound easy."

"Well, it was," she admitted. "I don't understand his motivation."

"You were right yesterday about saying I wouldn't take a chance," he started. "I want to clear the air, though. There's more to the story than what you know."

"Gabe ..."

"I have to." He took a deep breath. "I didn't take a chance on you for the reason you think. It had to do with the tumor. Wynn said your happiness made it grow. You were so close to the end, we couldn't take a chance. It had nothing to do with you or how I felt."

"Instead of making my last days happy, you decided to make me miserable in the hopes you could find a solution," she said.

"Pretty much," he replied. "I was going to Darkyn myself to make a deal to save you."

"Really?"

"You beat me to it."

Deidre was quiet for a moment. "I think we both did things imperfectly."

He chuckled at her polite phrasing.

"Up until today, I wasn't convinced that this might have been destiny from the beginning," she began. "This will sound weird, but bear with me. h.e.l.l has a library, and the librarian has been teaching me about the deities through these little video tutorial things."

"You've been sitting in h.e.l.l watching movies?" He smiled.

"It's like these books and when you open them, these movies spring up," she said, motioning with her hands. "I don't know how to explain it."

"It's called an Oracle. h.e.l.l has one, and Death does as well. The book houses the spirit of a dead Oracle from the time-before-time that records history, among other things."

"You mean it's possessed?"

"Yeah."

Deidre appeared taken aback.

"Voluntarily. The Oracles wanted to be put in books," he explained. "Though saying it that way does sound strange."

"It's totally bizarre."

He laughed.

"Anyway, I saw how Darkyn was created from a lowborn demon scorned by others because he was smaller. He had nothing but ambition. I saw how you were created from a seventeen-year-old boy who wanted nothing more than for your mistress to love you." She paused. "I saw what was between you and the original Deidre. Her plan didn't just happen when I was born. She really did create me. She waited thousands of years and worked with both Dark Ones to make it happen. Fate played a hand, too, as did Wynn. I don't think she knew they were working as much against her as with her. She had one focus: to be with you in a way you couldn't be together when she was Death."

Gabriel listened, jaw clenched.

"I was meant to be ..." Deidre cleared her throat.

He glanced at her and saw the tears in her eyes.

"Disposable," she managed. "Basically. Or would've been, if Darkyn hadn't decided to honor the informal deal he made with her."

"G.o.ds," he muttered. "You were never disposable."

"Seeing the relative lack of consequence your life has in the grand scheming of deities and Immortals kind of makes you view things differently, Gabe."

"Sometimes when you look at a grain of sand in your hand, you forget that there couldn't be a beach without every one of them."