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

the
heaviness of the air around her. Andre didn’t appear to be judging
her.
    “Yes,” she said simply. “I didn’t think I’d
meet her before I left Hell.”
    “She knew at that point.”
    “She did. We made a deal …” Deidre drifted
off. This memory was recent and came easily. “I was angry and
upset. I shouldn’t have agreed. I have to win over Gabriel in a
week. I think she thought that if I failed, she’d get him back. She
doesn’t understand how unlikely that is. Darkyn doesn’t lose deals.
Or battles. He won’t lose his mate, even if he chooses to kill her
rather than give her up. He went after Sasha when Sasha hurt his
daughter and didn’t stop raiding the Immortals until Sasha was
dead. Darkyn doesn’t lose.”
    Andre’s hand was over his mouth. He studied
her.
    “I, um, didn’t realize how intense the human
world is,” she continued, troubled. Her hand went to her neck, and
her thoughts grew disturbed. “I can’t help thinking I hope he
doesn’t hurt her. But I mean, of course he will. It’s what Darkyn
does. It makes me feel…”
    “Remorse?”
    “Yes, I think so.”
    “Zamon manipulated you and Darkyn.”
    “Maybe.” She frowned then nodded. “I got
what I wanted. The only thing I didn’t count on was Darkyn giving
me the choice of my power or Gabriel when I left Hell. I chose
Gabriel.”
    “The world of deities is messy,” Andre said.
“It is a shame to involve the innocent in such dealings.”
    “It is. But sometimes, it’s necessary,” she
replied. “What is one life in exchange for saving the mortal realm?
Zamon phrased it thusly.”
    “On the surface, it’s a fair argument. It
grows harder when you meet that one life, doesn’t it?”
    She nodded, gaze going to her tea. “Gabriel
loved her.”
    “Gabriel has loved you since the beginning,”
Andre said. “She was much like you, though neither of you were able
to gain his trust, for reasons I believe are understandable.”
    She flushed at his gentle chiding.
    “He doesn’t know all this, does he?” Andre
asked.
    “No,” she answered. “Probably won’t help him
trust me if he did.”
    “Trust is earned. It takes more than a
week,” he said with some amusement. “Lying to him about what
happened in Hell is going to break bad for you, Deidre.”
    “I … can’t tell him, Andre,” she said. “He’d
never forgive me.”
    “A secret this size – where the Dark One
takes a mate – is not going to stay secret long.”
    She searched his face. “You won’t tell
him.”
    “I am a man of discretion.”
    “I risked everything to get to this point. I
even gave up my power, my domain, everything. But I won’t risk
losing him,” she said. “Can you not see that?”
    “I can,” he agreed. “But can he?”
    Deidre was silent. She tried to deny it, but
she knew Gabriel too well. He was honorable and good. He wasn’t
going to understand what she’d done. She won a bet but backed
herself into a corner.
    Wynn was right. She’d have to throw herself
at Gabriel’s mercy.
    “No,” she said out loud. “I can make this
work. I’m a former deity. I ruled Death’s domain for countless
millennia. I can make it as a human. I can win him over.”
    “It is your choice, of course. If any part
of you believes he loved the human you created, you will realize
you must tell him what happened to her. If there is any way to save
her, he will find it,” Andre said.
    “There’s not. This is Darkyn. She was damned
the moment she stepped into Hell,” Deidre said firmly. “By now,
he’s found a way to keep her there, even if she wins our deal. Or
he’s killed her. Darkyn does not hesitate.”
    Andre said nothing.
    Deidre avoided his gaze. The oppressiveness
of the air around her faded, leaving her confused as to what they’d
been talking about. Until she remembered his other gift: mind
manipulation. Andre pulled the truth out of her in a way that
reinforced how weak she’d become.
    What did she tell him? Deidre