Free Darkyn's Mate (#3, Rhyn Eternal) by Lizzy Ford Page B

innocent children?
    Claustrophobic, she started to panic.
    “I, uh, I need to go,” she said.
    “Alright. If you need anything … I have no
fucking clue if I can help, but ask.” There was concern on Rhyn’s
face.
    Deidre nodded, focused on calling a portal.
It yawned open for her. She left, stopping in the shadow world to
try to calm herself. She wasn’t able to make an official deal with
Darkyn to save the kids, and she had nothing to offer him. What the
fuck did she do?
    The portal to Hell glowed darkly. Deidre
moved towards it, recalling the last time she’d crossed through it.
Her eyes filled with tears, but she forced herself to do it.
    It left her on the covered landing where
Darkyn first brought her. It was where he told her she’d never
leave Hell, where he’d first drawn her blood. The landing
overlooked the parched desert surrounding the black fortress. The
dual sub orbs were dim, casting a sickly light over Hell. She
leaned against the waist-high wall.
    This was her eternity. The only innocent
soul in Hell. There had to be a greater purpose to all of this, a
reason why she was trapped. A reason why she was the only light in
a very dark place. Was it to help the innocent? To blunt the
bloodlust of the Dark One? Was this her silver lining? If she
didn’t find one, she’d spend eternity weeping.
    Her heart slammed into her chest at the
thought of confronting the devil. With a deep breath, Deidre
summoned him.
    “Darkyn.”
    As before, he appeared instantly. She turned
away from the desert and crossed her arms. He stood a few meters
away, hands clasped behind his back. His black eyes scoured her
features and lingered on her lips.
    “Rhyn … showed me what the demons are doing
to human kids,” she started uncertainly.
    “And?”
    “They’re just children!”
    “The Dark One is not known for mercy or
kindness,” he said, amused. “The source of my magic is from the
forbidden, the depraved. The death of innocents, the weakness of a
man’s honor, heart or soul.”
    “ You’ve shown me mercy,”
she said, approaching him until they stood toe-to-toe. “What will
it take to stop this now?”
    “How strongly do you feel?”
    “I’ll play your game,” she said firmly.
    “The first lesson in making deals: make the
terms yourself. Don’t let anyone else determine them,” he said.
“For example. I’ll do as you ask, if you can make it to our
bedchamber by the count of five.”
    “I don’t even know where it is from here!”
she exclaimed.
    “Then you lose before you begin.”
    Deidre stared at him. He stepped aside, out
of the way to the corridor leading into the fortress.
    “This is it? This is all you’ll give me?”
she asked, torn between fury and sorrow at the impossible
challenge.
    “Second lesson: you will do whatever it
takes to win the deal.”
    “Like blood binding yourself for insurance,”
she said in frustration. “Or stripping Past-Death’s power.”
    “Exactly.”
    She had to focus. There had to be a way.
He’d told her she wasn’t able to travel via portal when she was
human. Yet she drew off his magic now. She was able to kill and
call a portal from the human world.
    “One.”
    Her gaze flew to him.
    “Two.”
    Deidre bolted, silently willing a portal to
appear as she sprinted into the fortress.
    “Three.”
    A black cave yawned open before her. It was
different than the other portals; there were no doors visible
through this one, just a hole in the world. She flung herself
through it, not caring what waited for her on the other side.
    Deidre emerged in her room, a full second
before Darkyn did. It took a moment for her to register the
truth.
    “Omigod! I did it!” she breathed. She
hurried to him. “You lose. You have to stop hurting them.” Praying
she hadn’t missed some term of the deal, she waited for his
reaction. For a long moment, Darkyn was quiet. Deidre’s despair
began to form anew, along with tears. She started to shake, unable
to bear the idea of