Free Deidre's Death (#2, Rhyn Eternal) by Lizzy Ford

supposed to find us sooner. I made him a private deal.
I made Zamon, his predecessor, a private deal first … I …” Her head
hurt from struggling.
    “Relax. Have more tea,” Andre said and
poured her more.
    She took it, grateful for the warmth and
sweetness.
    “You made a deal with the past-Dark One,”
Andre prompted after a moment. “I need you to concentrate hard. I
can see your memories are there, and I can see that they have been
bound beyond your normal reach. I’ll help you access them, but we
must both focus.”
    Deidre nodded. She drew a deep breath and
thought hard. It was strange to struggle against her own mind. She
felt Andre in her head with her, and together, they pushed away the
dark wall that stood between her and her memories.
    “A private deal,” she said. “Everyone knew
Darkyn was beyond a threat. His predecessor, Zamon, knew he was
about to be defeated. With the power of Hell behind him, Darkyn
could raise an Army of Souls to wipe out the mortal realm. Zamon
and a few others sought me out, offered me a private deal, one that
would give me what I wanted and possibly stymie Darkyn.”
    “What was it you wanted?”
    “Gabriel. I, uh, couldn’t have him when I
was Death,” she murmured. “I waited tens of thousands of years for
one of us to have the mating tattoo appear. It never did. Fucking
Fate told me it was because I was destined for someone else. When
Zamon came to me, I jumped at the opportunity.”
    Andre was quiet. Deidre sipped her tea, her
head aching. She pushed at the black wall again, wanting to
remember.
    “Private deals are dangerous,” she added.
“I’m lucky Zamon and Darkyn both followed through.”
    “What did Zamon offer you?”
    “A way to make Gabriel my mate and a way to
prevent Darkyn from destroying everything. At least, that’s what we
hoped happened. I’m still not certain it’ll work, but that chain of
events is in motion.”
    “How?” Andre asked, gaze sharpening.
    “I made a human into a deity’s mate,” she
paused, thinking hard. “I created one by implanting part of my soul
into hers. She was supposed to attract Gabriel, until I was brought
back, and then she was to be turned over to Darkyn as his mate.
This was Zamon’s plan, to offer Darkyn something capable of
distracting him, of shifting his focus. He’s unstoppable
otherwise,” she explained. “We had to get Darkyn to take the bait.
The deal couldn’t come from Zamon. I made the agreement with Zamon
and then dangled the carrot in front of Darkyn.”
    “The carrot being the human you created,”
Andre murmured. “Why would something as cruel as Darkyn want a
mate?”
    “Because it’s the one
thing he couldn’t ever have,” she said. “The Dark One is the only
deity without a predestined mate. Darkyn is ambitious. He wanted to
be a deity, and he wanted what he couldn’t have. When I was
reincarnated, the human I created became the only deity’s mate
without a deity.” She shrugged. “Zamon didn’t say why he thought
this would work, and I didn’t ask. When the Dark One seeks you out for a deal,
you’d be a fool to say no. He knew what I wanted. I understood why
he needed to defang Darkyn. It was a simple deal.”
    “The other Deidre is Darkyn’s mate.”
    “Yes. She went to him for him to save her
life. He removed me, raised me, and accepted his mate as payment,”
she replied. “My deal with Zamon is complete. My deal with Darkyn
is complete, and I get Gabriel.”
    “Darkyn isn’t just going to kill her?”
    “It was a risk.” She struggled to remember.
“If he doesn’t kill her, she might be what prevents him from
building his Army of Souls. The deities plotting against him – and
me, the sons of bitches – will salvage the mortal realm. If he
does, I guess they’ve got to create a new plan.”
    “So you left Deidre in Hell at the mercy of
the Dark One.”
    She looked up from her tea at the note in
his voice. She wasn’t able to muster any concern, not with