"Darkyn won't stand in my way," past-Death said with confidence. "There are strings attached to anyone raised from the dead-dead, but these are of no concern to a deity like they might be to a little human like you."
Toby was right. This woman was a mega-bitch. Deidre wanted to wring Gabriel's neck for wasting thousands of years with someone like this. Was it true what past-Death said about Gabriel? Did he love Deidre?
She'd never understood his waffling. Whenever she started to think he cared for her, he flipped. Was it to protect her? Or to protect his own heart? Did it matter, if he loved her either way?
Past-Death was going to replace Deidre in Gabriel's life. Deidre rubbed her face, her head still fuzzy from whatever the Dark One did to her. Gabriel would know. There was no way he couldn't. It took him almost two weeks, but he'd figured out that Deidre was nothing like his ex-lover.
She needed to get out of here, to warn him before the deity did something horrible to Gabriel. Deidre paced to the fire. It gave off heat despite the black flames. She thought hard about all she'd learned since arriving to Hell.
"Can I ask you something?" Deidre asked.
"Ask away." The mocking note in past-Death's voice irked Deidre.
"Am I … am I an Immortal now?"
"Darkyn turned you. Like Gabriel, you'll always be of human origin."
"Okay. You probably won't consider taking me with you when you leave here?"
"You are expendable," past-Death replied. "The purposes for which I created you are complete. I do not need you any longer."
Ouch. Past-Death was going to be brutal to deal with, if Deidre ever got out of Hell. The powers of a deity with the sociopathic tendencies of a mass murderer? The jealous bitch wouldn't hesitate to kill off the competition, along with probably everyone else within miles.
What did Gabriel see in her?
"Final question. I thought the Immortals said they only get one mate," Deidre started, puzzled. "How can Gabriel have two?"
"He doesn't. He has one. The deity originally preordained to be his mate."
This response was more guarded, less amused, enough to tip off Deidre that there was more to the story. She had no clue what.
"We both bear his name. I mean, I guess there could be two Gabriels in the Immortal world," she said.
"Only one of us bears his name." Past-Death's smugness was back.
Deidre clenched her jaw in irritation. If Gabriel didn't see the difference between the two women when past-Death showed up on his doorstep, he deserved a lifetime with this arrogant bitch.