Darkyn's Mate (#3, Rhyn Eternal) (12 page)

“The funny thing about traitors,” Darkyn
replied. “You can’t ever really trust them. Harmony was granted
access to use Hell to go to your underworld. I can assure you if
she’s found going through my portals again, she’ll be sent straight
to me.”

Deidre’s eyes drifted to Darkyn in a sense
of longing. As much as she hated herself for feeling it, she needed
his touch to calm her.

“How many were here?” Gabriel asked her.

“Two,” she replied. “And Harmony.”

“They hurt you,” he said, lifting her chin
to see the blood.

“Yes,” she said. “Darkyn rescued me from
them. He has the two I think.”

Gabriel faced the demon lord. Darkyn stepped
out of the corner where he stood and Deidre grew edgy, fear
fluttering through her. The two were tense enough to worry her that
they meant to fight.

“There were two who attacked my mate,” the
demon lord said. “I’m taking the dealer who hurt her.” He paused.
“My … spies report that you can’t keep dealers and have no idea
what’s going on in the underworld. The other dealer you can
have.”

“This sounds like a favor,” Gabriel said,
frowning.

“It is.”

“What do you want in return?”

“Harmony. When you find her.”

Deidre glanced at Darkyn in puzzlement. Why
would he want the dealer behind those who hurt her? A strange sense
went through her, one she might think was jealousy. How insane was
she to be worried about Darkyn drinking the blood of another
woman?

“By letting them attack you, Harmony made a
personal affront to the Dark One,” Gabriel explained. “I can’t
imagine that will go well for her.”

“What does that mean?” Deidre asked
uncertainly.

“I imagine an eternity of punishment as only
the Dark One can devise. Same for the dealer who hurt you
today.”

“But I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me,” she said,
looking at Darkyn with renewed fear. “An eternity? For one
mistake?” She couldn’t fathom the idea. The reminder of what her
mate was left her trembling harder.

“Even I won’t go to bat for him,” Gabriel
said. “Either of them. Mates are sacred.”

“But it’s my fault,” she said. “Darkyn, I
never should’ve come here. I don’t want him paying for something I
did.”

“He will pay for drawing your blood,” the
demon lord growled in a tone that made her jump. “Anyone who raises
a hand to my mate also raises a hand to me and will be dealt with
accordingly.”

“For once, I agree with Darkyn,” Gabriel
said.

Deidre was quiet, troubled. The two deities
were bristling. She sensed it was because of her. Were they talking
in their heads to one another? She couldn’t tell, except that the
tension in the room was increasing.

“Has he hurt you?” Gabriel asked, looking at
her once more.

“No,” she replied. Her distress was rising
with their tension. Darkyn motioned to her.

Deidre crossed to him quickly, almost
relieved. She leaned into his body. Sensing her anxiety, Darkyn
rested a hand on her hip. His cool energy worked through her,
calming her. She sighed and breathed in the scent of his warm skin
and the lingering, faint smell of blood.

“Agreed,” Gabriel said. “Harmony for the
dealer you have.”

“I’ll have him brought to the shadow world
and summon you,” Darkyn said. His low growl vibrated against
her.

Deidre twisted her head to see Gabriel.
Tense and rigid, he was watching her with no small amount of
emotion in his features.

“You don’t deserve to
spend your life in Hell,” he said, pacing. “Gods, if I could
send
her
home
with that demon in your place, I -”

“Gabriel!” she exclaimed, startled by his
bitter emotion.

“Would you consider a trade, Darkyn?”
Gabriel asked.

“She did what she did because she loves you,
Gabriel,” Deidre said. She moved away from Darkyn to stand in front
of Gabriel, searching his gaze. She wasn’t certain how he could say
such a thing about the woman who gave up everything for him. Deidre
had a reason to despise Past-Death but Gabriel … he was too good
for such an emotion.

“After all she did to you, how can you say
this?” he demanded, glaring down at her. “She’ll be lucky if I let
her survive the day.”

“I was angry at her,” Deidre admitted.
“Maybe I still am. But you can’t kill her! She deserves a
chance.”

“To
what?
Turn on me again? To make my
life hell?” Gabriel shook his head.

“To have a second chance with you,” Deidre
answered softly.

“I knew something was wrong. Her story just
didn’t make sense.” He looked away, towards the window, hands on
his hips.

“When you thought I was dying, you weren’t
willing to take a chance,” Deidre added sadly.

“Deidre, I –“

“No, wait. You weren’t, Gabriel. You did
exactly what she did. You hurt me to protect yourself,” Deidre
pushed forward with what she needed to say. “I had to make a choice
without knowing what would happen or even if you would be there for
me in the morning.”

He was quiet.

“I don’t want you to apologize, Gabriel,”
she said with a sigh. “I want you to see what I do. You both made
selfish choices. You both have a chance to make it right.”

“And leave you in Hell
with
him?
”

“I made a choice, too. I chose to live, no
matter what the consequences. That path lies in a direction I never
would’ve expected. But I accept that, Gabriel. There’s a greater
purpose than myself. You and she never understood that, when it
came to caring for someone else. You have that chance now.”

He studied her.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is…” she
drifted off.

“You’re breaking up with me,” he said,
smiling faintly.

“Oh, god,” she mumbled with a look at
Darkyn. She sensed he demon’s imperceptible tension rise. “Deidre
gave up everything to be with you. You weren’t willing to do that
for me. Maybe you can set aside your pride for her.”

“You’re too nice to be involved with any of
us.”

“The only innocent soul in Hell, I’ve
heard,” she said and rolled her eyes.

“If Darkyn ever,
ever
hurts you, you have
a place to go.”

“Thank you, Gabriel.” She wasn’t entirely
convinced yet she wouldn’t need the open invitation. Gabriel was
disturbed. She wanted to cry again. Gabriel made her heart flutter;
Darkyn made it fly.

The demon lord was gazing at her intently.
Deidre held his gaze, wishing she knew the right answer to
anything. A double-bond couldn’t be broken, but did she want it to
be? Yesterday, she saw the power she could have to help people from
Hell.

Today, she had left, because the idea of
eternity in the red desert with a creature incapable of caring for
her was too much for her to bear. Standing between the men who
could claim her as a mate at some point in the past week, she was
caught in the need to taste Darkyn and the desire to have the love
of an Immortal whose heart was never hers to start out with.

“We’re done here,” the Dark One said to
Gabriel. “Send my regards to your mate.”

Gabriel was still for a moment. A portal
appeared behind him, and he left without another word.

Deidre watched the portal close.

“Come,” Darkyn said.

He scared her. He probably always would, but
she went to him. Deidre stopped only when they were toe-to-toe and
leaned into him, needing the heat and solidness of his body to
quiet her distress. She was ten seconds from fleeing. She nuzzled
his neck, the scent of his blood intoxicating enough that her body
relaxed in response. Darkyn nudged her in return, assuring her he
wasn’t angry. She was shaking from the experiences in her
apartment.

“Why did you choose to come here?” he asked
in a measured tone.

Deidre moved away from him. “I don’t
know.”

“You do.”

“I … I guess I keep hoping when I walk out
of my apartment next time, things will be normal.”

Darkyn trailed her. She leaned back against
a counter. He planted a hand on either side of her, dark eyes
piercing. She swallowed hard. His rugged features were
unreadable.

“You know that’s not the case.” His tone was
neither harsh nor teasing. Factual. The same way he wore down her
resistance before.

“I know,” she whispered. “Are you
angry?”

“What reason do you think I have to be
angry?” He tilted his head in a sign of genuine curiosity.

“That I left. That I came here. That I want
to … to reset things. That I still have …” she stopped.

“…
feelings for
Gabriel.”

She nodded.

“You want him. You
need
me. It’s not a
competition,” he said simply. “As for the rest, you are working
through the human stages of grief. But you’ve started to accept
your fate.” Darkyn nudged her head aside. “I’m hungry, not
angry.”

Deidre’s body grew warm from the inside out
as he nuzzled her neck, preparing to bite her. This time, she felt
his fangs pierce her neck and jerked. He wasn’t trying to numb the
pain. The brief pain turned quickly into pleasure intense enough
that she began panting, her hands roaming his body. He caught her
wrists and pinned them behind her, more interested in feeding. When
he lifted his head, her body was roaring with need. She strained
against him.

“You see why demons love pain?” he
whispered. Chuckling, he pushed her head away as she tried to reach
his neck. “Now, show me you need me.”

Darkyn kissed her, hot, hard and demanding.
She struggled to reach him, even if only to touch his skin or for
her little fangs to graze his neck. He overpowered her easily and
maneuvered her down the hallway to her bedroom, stripping her and
tossing her onto the bed in one move. He followed, and Deidre
reached for him. The feel of the hot skin of his chest against hers
made her groan.

“Play, love,” Darkyn growled, nipping her
hard.

Uncertain what possessed her – beyond pure
emotion – she complied. Deidre fought him for a taste, a kiss, soon
breathing hard from effort as he grappled with her, teased her with
nips and kisses, and dribbled single drops of blood over her lips.
He didn’t numb the pain this time, and it drove her mad with
need.

A short time later, when she was too
exhausted to move, she lay still and silent on her side. Darkyn
drank more from her than before, leaving her lightheaded. With her
belly full of his blood and her body worn out by the rough sex, she
couldn’t remember being more content.

He leaned away from her neck but nipped her
collarbone down to her shoulder. She shivered.

“There is nothing I will do to you that you
cannot handle now that you’re a demon.” He wrapped an arm around
her, securing her body against his. “You will not come back here,
Deidre.”

Deidre opened her eyes and shifted her head
back to see his face.

“What do you mean?” she whispered. “To the
apartment or my world?”

“Apartment.”

“I understand,” she murmured. It wasn’t her
home anymore. Still, she felt a sense of loss. The man in whose
arms she lay was not only her husband by Immortal and demon laws
but the Dark One who turned her into a demon.

“You’re still fighting it.” This time, he
was amused. She knew why; it was a futile fight.

“You terrify me,” she replied. “I didn’t ask
for any of this. What should I feel?” Her eyes brimmed with tears,
and she ducked her head to hide them from Darkyn. “Why did you make
me face Gabriel today?”

“Curiosity.”

“You were tormenting me.”

“Your fate lies with me. I wanted to see
what you would do when confronted with the man you thought you were
going to return to,” he replied.

“Cruel.”

“Closure.”

“Closure,” she repeated. “Another door
closed.” Deidre pushed herself up to see his face.

“A battle is only truly won when the
opponent believes he’s been beaten,” he said. “You were forced to
admit it. You were forced to let go.”

Deidre sat up and wrapped her arms around
her knees, pink hair falling down around her. She didn’t move from
Darkyn’s body.

“There are so many moments where I don’t
think I can do this,” she said. “You can’t understand that or how I
feel. You never will.”

“I am a survivor,” he corrected her in a
growl. “I do not feel like a human, but I know what it is to
survive.”

“How do you survive a life and a world
that’s so … foreign?” she rested her temple against her knee.

“Simple,” he said. He sat, his warmth
surrounding her once more. With his hair mussed and his youthful
features, he didn’t look like the devil she knew him to be. “It’s
the same key that got you into Hell.”

“My tumor?”

“To bring people to Hell, I uncover their
weakness and I exploit it. What did I exploit to get you to
Hell?”

She was quiet for a moment.

“Hope,” she murmured.

“Hope,” he agreed. “I gave you what you were
looking for. A silver lining.”

Her eyes flew up to him at the words Fate
had spoken to her.

“You read my mind a lot,” she said.

“I rarely stop.”

“That’s really not …” she sighed, sensing
he’d provoke her, if she let him. “Did you have a silver lining to
survive?”

“My ambition is far different than
yours.”

“You wanted to rule Hell.”

“And the mortal world.”

She shivered again. Fate’s words returned to
her. With their faces inches a part, they assessed each other.

“I won’t let you hurt my world,” she
said.

“You can’t stop me.”

“But I’m the only one who has a chance to
try.”

A slow smile spread across Darkyn’s face. It
scared her, and she saw his fangs grow.