The next morning, Deidre found herself at the wall overlooking the red deserts of Hell. The air was hot and dry, the two suns too dim to shed much light into the black fortress. Any thought she had of trying to make it here faded whenever she saw the desert or thought about how Darkyn manipulated her.
She was scared again. The pictures Rhyn showed her wouldn’t leave her thoughts, even if Darkyn had agreed to stop the slaughter. He would do it again. It’s what he was.
She started to panic.
Deidre drew a deep breath. She missed nature. Real nature, not the barren landscape of Hell. She glanced around her, wondering what would happen if she just … left. Even for a short time to try to relax. Darkyn would find her no matter what, but she had the urge to see trees. Water. Grass. Anything familiar. . She absently reached for the hourglass and realized she’d left it on her nightstand.
She tried not to get her hopes up that a portal out of Hell would appear. Stilling her mind, she calmed herself. The portals didn’t answer her at all when she was upset.
It opened at her request. Deidre was startled. She expected Darkyn to have severed her ability to leave. Glancing down at herself, she decided there was only one logical place for her to start.
Deidre stepped into the shadow world and paused. No one stopped her. Darkyn didn’t appear to force her to return. She crossed the shadow world to the glowing portal that would take her where she wanted to go.
The mate of the Dark One does whatever the fuck she pleases, Darkyn had claimed. She was almost surprised to see he was serious.
She stepped into her own apartment and stopped. It smelled horrible, probably because of the blood-soaked second bedroom. Otherwise, it looked the way she left it, except that the air conditioning was off.
Deidre looked around, struck by how different the place she lived for two years felt. The pile of mail she left on her desk was still there, the living room neat and quiet. With the rest of her life in disarray, she didn’t expect her apartment to look … normal. Like it was just waiting for her and her boyfriend to come home.
One choice. She’d made one choice, and she’d never come home to this place again. She crossed to her desk, where a red journal sat. In it was her bucket list, a list of things she hoped to do before she died from the terminal brain tumor she no longer possessed.
Now, she had an eternity to fulfill the list. An eternity in Hell at the side of the Dark One.
Deidre set down the journal, needing to distract her thoughts before she started to panic again. She sat down on her couch, recalling the nights she spent watching television after work. This world had been all she knew three weeks ago. Now, she felt out of place, like she was sitting in a display at a furniture store. Nothing in the living room was hers.
She went to her bedroom and pushed the door open. It was as she left it. She’d packed her favorite clothes to take with her to Wynn’s a few days before she ended up in Hell. She had a ton left and began sifting through her drawers for jeans. She couldn’t walk down the streets of Atlanta in her Hell gown. She was going to draw enough attention as it was being a sex-demon.
Demon.
Deidre still couldn’t fathom that she’d been turned into some sort of supernatural creature. She paused to look in the mirror. Yes, she looked different. But she didn’t have horns or a tail or anything. Just her little fangs and the odd presence she found subtle but which apparently had a staggering affect on men.
Shaking her head, she pulled out a t-shirt and jeans, tossing them on the bed. She reached for the band around her neck securing the dress.
The sound of someone in the hallway made her freeze. The footsteps were soft, but it sounded like more than one person. Her thoughts went to Darkyn but her instincts warned her it wasn’t him. She didn’t fully understand the demon senses that Darkyn indicated were part of her now. But if they told her she was in danger, she was going to listen.
She tiptoed to the closet and slid inside, peeking through the slats of the door. Two large men entered. Red tattoos flashed on their bodies, indicating they were Immortals. They were dressed more like Gabriel than the Immortals she met at Rhyn’s.
Death dealers.
The demon side of her recognized what they were, even if the human side didn’t. The idea that Gabriel’s people were there brought confusion. If he knew she was there, wouldn’t he come himself? Her instincts were at full alarm, but she didn’t understand what she had to fear from Gabriel’s death dealers.
Unless more than Harmony had betrayed Gabriel. She recalled how his former right hand dealer had turned traitor. Deidre sank back into the closet. She began to steady her breathing and focus, so she could draw a portal when they were gone.
One of them entered the bedroom, cold eyes taking in the surroundings. He walked farther in, appearing to be listening.
Deidre held her breath and hoped her heartbeat wasn’t as loud to him as it was to her. He neared the closet, and she pushed herself back into the clothing. He moved faster than she was able to follow. The crack of the wooden door registered a short second before his hand gripped her throat. She was hauled out of the closet and tossed on the bed.
“Found her!” the death dealer called.
“Anyone else?”
The death dealer looked at her. “You alone?”
She swallowed hard and nodded. His gaze lingered then went over her body. The familiar light appeared.
“Kin, Anyone else?” the other dealer asked again.
“No,” Kin answered.
“I’ll let Harmony know.”
Deidre’s hope sank. So they weren’t there on Gabriel’s behalf but on Harmony’s. Deidre had no bad interactions with the death dealer, but she suspected anyone who betrayed Gabriel wouldn’t be interested in helping her.
“Up. Come on,” Kin said, motioning to the hallway.
Deidre rose and crossed her arms, walking ahead of him into the living area. A portal was open, and the second death dealer was waiting. Deidre’s heart beat hard. She could summon Darkyn, though she feared his reaction to her leaving more than what these people would do to her.
Kin stood right behind her, way too close for her comfort. One of his hands brushed her hip then returned.
“Sexy little thing, isn’t she?” he murmured. He walked around her, trailing his hand around her midsection.
Deidre tried to ignore him, afraid reacting would only draw more attention to herself. He touched her hair and the sensitive skin around her neck. She flinched away as his fingers rested on the clasp of her dress.
“Fangs?” the other dealer asked, frowning. He was older, in his mid-thirties, and the light took longer to appear in his eyes than it had the younger man.
Kin’s hand rested against the bare skin at the small of her back then continued south. Deidre stepped away.
“Hey,” Harmony said, stepping through the portal. “You got her.”
“You didn’t tell me she’s fucking hot,” Kin said. He took Deidre’s arm and pulled her against him, rubbing his hips against her backside.
Panic was beginning to set in. Darkyn gave her the power to seduce without the knowledge on how to turn off its effects, if it was even possible. The second dealer was moving closer, and she couldn’t free herself from the thick arm wrapped around her.
She strained against him. He snatched her neck and squeezed until her ability to breathe was hindered. Deidre went still.
“Stop it,” Harmony said. “Something’s not right here.” She looked Deidre up and down with assessing green eyes. “Turn her around.”
Without releasing her neck, Kin spun her and locked the arm around her body again. Deidre felt Harmony’s light touch as the death dealer brushed her hair aside.
“Shit,” the dealer murmured. “This isn’t the right girl. You were supposed to grab Gabe’s mate, not Darkyn’s.”
“Darkyn’s?” Kin asked, uneasiness replacing the glow in his eyes.
“Get rid of her,” Harmony ordered. ??
?Take her soul and brain. Darkyn can read either to find out who grabbed her. We’ll make it look like the Immortals did it.”
“Can I have a little fun first?”
“I don’t give a shit but make it fast. Darkyn can track her. If she’s here, it’s because she’s allowed to be here.”
“I’m due back in two minutes,” Deidre voiced.
“Even has a sexy little purr,” Kin said, lust crossing his features. “I only need one.”
He dragged her by the neck down the hallway. Deidre choked. He threw her on the bed again. Her eyes watered, and she coughed. The death dealer stripped off his shirt and weapons to display a muscular body.
Deidre rolled off the bed, darting for the hallway. He snatched her around the waist and laughed, dragging her onto the bed with him. She struggled. The dealer slapped her hard enough to daze her. He placed a knife at her neck. It bit into her skin, and she gasped, afraid to move. Kin shoved her knees a part and yanked up her dress. His face glowed with frenzied need while he worked quickly to unzip his pants.
She whispered the first name that came to mind.
“Darkyn.”
Deidre sucked in a deep breath, praying the demon lord answered the summons.
“One of Harmony’s men.”
Kin froze at the inhuman growl. Deidre squeezed her eyes closed, not wanting to see Darkyn response and afraid his anger might be directed at her.
“Did he see your markings, love?” Darkyn asked.
“No,” the dealer said, scrambling off her. “My apologies, my lord.”
Deidre released her breath as the knife left. She opened her eyes. Darkyn’s dark gaze was on her, not the dealer. She didn’t feel him rifling through her thoughts, but she sensed it was what he did. Her blood stirred at the sight of his lean frame. Smaller than the dealer, he nonetheless radiated quiet power. And the sweet scent of his blood made her gums itch.
The demon lord glanced at the dealer and tilted his head to the side. The death dealer snatched his shirt and left quickly.
Darkyn held out a hand to her. Deidre took it, shaken by the experience. She met his gaze then looked away quickly. His scent and warmth only made her panic increase. Deidre braced herself for his violent reaction or words. The demon lord released her hand, silent, with her standing before him. He lowered his head and nudged hers aside, nipping at her neck. His growl turned to a purr.
Surprised by the intimate motion that seemed meant to comfort her, Deidre glanced up at him before nuzzling his neck. The scent of his blood made her mouth water, and she breathed him in.
“You’re not angry at me?” she whispered.
“If I didn’t want you leaving, I’d close the portals,” he replied. “You summoning me shows you’ve begun to accept your place, love. If anything, I am satisfied, or will be, after I deal with the death dealers.”
“What will you do to them?” she asked.
“Do you want to know?”
“They didn’t hurt me,” she said, not wanting to think about what he planned to do.
Darkyn touched her neck. She flinched. His fingers came away with blood.
“Stay here.” He stepped away from her and strode through the doorway. He closed the doorway behind him.
Deidre’s insides shook. She sat on the bed, panicking silently. At any minute, she’d hear him tear them apart and then, she’d freak out.
No sounds came from the living area. He had almost been kind, or at least, as kind as he was capable of being. She waited, wishing she’d never come. Wishing she’d gone somewhere other than here.
She waited for Darkyn to return but was too scared of what he was capable of doing to open the door and see the damage.