Darkyn's Mate

"I guess I wanted to see how you're faring."

Darkyn's lie detector skill gave Deidre a tingling at the base of her skull that she took to be a red flag.

"Weird, but good," she replied. "You?"

"You're doing good." Past-Death's smile was puzzled. "I'm really glad to hear it."

"You mean surprised?" Deidre murmured.

"No. I mean, yes, I am surprised, but I'm also glad," Past-Death said. "I, uh, know now what I did wasn't the best route to take. You must hate me."

"I don't."

An awkward silence fell.

"How can I help you?" Deidre asked. Past-Death's smile faded. Deidre noticed the circles under her eyes, and her air was agitated. She could almost guess what was wrong but remained quiet.

"I'm pretty sure no one can," Past-Death admitted. She cleared her throat. "I'm failing miserably. Darkyn stripped my power when I left Hell. I thought it'd be easy. I mean you humans … I guess you make it look simple. You know I couldn't figure out how to turn on the shower? I won't tell you how fascinating I find kitchen appliances."

Deidre smiled. She'd never paid much attention to appliances but imagined they might be intriguing to someone who had never seen them before.

"I'm just not getting some things," Past-Death said. She paused, sighing. "Like emotions. I never knew there were so many. I don't know how to control them or to make decisions when they're always there just confusing me."

"You're starting from scratch," Deidre observed, pitying the woman. "You have to go easier on yourself. Take time to learn the new things and try not be so frustrated with yourself."

Deidre stared at her. "How can you be so … nice?"

Deidre's face flushed with heat.

"I mean, you're in Hell maybe even being torn to pieces every day and you're being kind to me. I don't understand any of this."

"I guess I pity you."

Gabriel's mate blushed.

"Why did you want to see me now?" Deidre asked, her new instincts warning her of an attempt at deception. "You could've checked up on me at any point."

Past-Death considered.

"I'm not sure," she replied. "I guess I was afraid to see what I'd done. I kept hoping things would just go well. I told Gabe about what I did to you yesterday, and he walked out on me."

"That's rough," Deidre murmured.

"I'm fucking up everything," Past-Death continued. "He came back but he's barely speaking to me. Like he's there but I'm not."

"I remember the cold shoulder. He's good at pushing people away."

"I figured I had nothing to lose now. I might as well see what all I'd fucked up," Past-Death finished. "I wanted to check on you. If you were alive, I wanted to see if you had any … advice about how to deal with Gabriel."