"If you're interested," he added at her silence. "It'll take us some time, but we've got eternity."
She managed a smile despite the tears she tried not to shed. Deidre nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
"We'll start slow. You want to have dinner?" he asked.
"Funnel cakes," she whispered.
"Okay," he said.
Gabriel hesitated. Deidre didn't know what to say, overwhelmed by him and her emotions.
"I'm headed to a meeting with Rhyn," he said. "I'll see you at dinner."
She nodded, looking up only when he crossed to the door and left. Deidre gazed after him, fear and hope colliding within her. For the first time this week, she didn't feel entirely doomed.
Deidre. The soft summons made her pause. Accompanying it was a vision of the shadow world. She hesitated then opened a portal.
As she stepped through, so did Darkyn's mate, from a black portal to her left. Deidre glanced at her with apprehensive curiosity, wondering what the former human wanted. Darkyn's mate wasn't alone. A teenage girl with a scarred face framed by short dark hair and tiny fangs marking her as a demoness trailed her. The girl wore the garb of Hell but appeared uncertain, mirroring Deidre's emotion. She crowded Darkyn's mate.
"Hi, Deidre," Darkyn's mate was the first to speak. "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."
"Um, I thought you summoned me," Deidre said.
Darkyn's mate shook her head.
Dread crept into Deidre.
"Deidre, I think we need to -" she started, backing towards her portal. It had started to close.
Sensing her alarm, Darkyn's mate turned and took the arm of the girl behind her, pushing her towards the black door to Hell.
Two forms stepped between them and the portal, blocking it.
Deidre whirled and saw two people between her and the yellow portal. Heart pounding, she stared at the woman and man before her.
"Harmony," Darkyn's mate said in a hushed tone.
Deidre knew the death dealer; she'd recruited all of them. Harmony was tall and willowy with red hair and green eyes. The man beside her was Vory.
"What do you want?" Deidre demanded in a cool tone.
"You aren't Death anymore." Harmony stepped forward.
Deidre didn't see the blow coming. The punch flattened her and made her ears buzz. She shook her head, once again amazed at how awful pain was. She didn't know how humans bore through it.
"That's for recruiting me without telling me it'd cost my soul," Harmony said, crouching beside her.
"Deidre, are you okay?" Darkyn's mate called anxiously.
"Yes," Deidre replied and rose. "What's going on?"
"Simple. Because of Darkyn's bitch, I've got a price on my head from the Dark One. I didn't betray Gabriel to be stuck in the human world," Harmony said. She grabbed Deidre's arm and hauled her to the other two women. "Who is this?"