Gabriel listened to her tell him what she did, the mind check and traitor forgotten. He suspected there was much more to past-Death's story but never expected to discover the human was alive and well in Hell. If he hadn't seen her, he wouldn't believe it possible.
Hearing the lengths his mate went through to condemn the human rendered him speechless. He gazed at Deidre as she admitted to abandoning human-Deidre in Hell. She was crying. He wanted to hold her. The buzzing in his ears was too loud. Had he ever been this angry?
Just when he thought things were going well and they spent the night making love and talking, he woke up in a new nightmare.
It took him a long moment to realize that she was finished talking. She gazed at him fearfully, terrified he was leaving her.
He couldn't. But he couldn't stay right now either. Gabriel reached out to her, wiping away the tears on one cheek with his thumb.
"I'll be back," he promised.
"Where are you going?"
"I need a minute to cool down."
She looked away.
Gabriel left the forest. Dusk had caused shadows to darken the forest. He went to the lake and the souls, the only place that seemed to calm him. Landon was waiting with the dealers for their mind checks. He barely registered they were there. Landon approached then paused.
Gabriel stood for a long moment, numb, and then flung a knife into the forest with a roar.
What the fuck did he do now? His mate admitted to basically killing the woman he'd fallen for last week. But what did that mean? He loved them both? Did it matter, since Darkyn had double-bound the human?
Gabriel wiped his mouth.
"Boss?" Landon called.
"Reassemble them later," Gabriel barked.
Even the lake wasn't calming him. He flung his head back, trying to remember the last time he'd felt some semblance of peace. It was the night he sat with human-Deidre on the beach. The night he slept with her and condemned her to walk the path that led her to Hell.
Grief made him angrier. He'd played a hand in sentencing the sweet human to Hell.
He opened a portal and returned to the beach where they met. The soothing sounds of the ocean greeted him. It was nighttime on this side of the world, and the sky was clear. The moon was non-existent, and the waves sparkled in starlight.
Being here was probably a mistake. He shook out his tension but felt an even heavier sense of guilt.
Gabriel sat on the beach. He'd seen Darkyn's mate yesterday and knew she was at least alive. She'd seemed uncertain and scared, though. He didn't know if it was because of Darkyn or because of being attacked by death dealers that defected.