Gabriel's Hope

But Death on guard was something else entirely, and she wasn't going to be the second woman to revel in the heat of his arms this night.

They were silent so long, she finally risked a look. Rhyn's head was tilted, as if he was listening. She realized they weren't totally in stare down mode; they were talking through their minds.

Could they read minds?

Her eyes went to Wynn. Was that how he always knew what to say when she was upset? How he gained her trust? And Gabriel, who she thought she'd bonded with on the beach their first night? He made her feel like she wasn't alone for the first time in years. Was it all fake?

The more she learned of this place, the angrier she became. Everyone was lying to her or manipulating her. Or out to kill her. What frustrated her most: they were all probably justified in how they treated her, based on what she knew about past-Deidre.

But how did she deserve it? How obligated was she to make amends for something an entirely different person had done? The only thing they had in common was looks!

Furious, confused, she peered into the lake waters. The bottom of the lake was lined with green gems, the source of the strange light. They were beautiful and tiny, some sort of geological anomaly.

Immortals got their wealth from somewhere. That castle cost a fortune to build. If these were emeralds, it made sense that they sold these to build it.

"Wow," she murmured, gazing out over the lake. The entire thing glowed. How many emeralds did it take to fill a lake this size?

She knelt on the beach area consisting of a stretch of pebbles and dirt. Some of the gems had been carried by gentle waves to the edges of the lake and deposited away from the bulk of the jewels. The glimmering lights were nestled among rocks and dirt.

Deidre pulled up her sleeve to reach the closest one. The lake water was freezing. She grimaced and submerged her arm to the elbow to reach the twinkling gem. Cold energy traveled through her as she gripped the emerald. She thought it a result of the water, until she withdrew her hand and held the gem in her palm.

She'd never seen a glowing emerald. Electricity whipped through her. Images flashed in her mind.

A playground near a mall. Shoddy apartments and an image in the mirror of a dirty toddler in a diaper. Shouting as Mother and Father fought. Gunshots. Pain, white light, peace.

She gasped and dropped it.

"Don't disturb the souls," Gabriel ordered. "They're stressed out enough right now."