Spencer rubbed his hands over his pale, tired face. “There has to be something we can do.”
“I’ve tried to talk to him, to tell him the truth about Azel. He’s struggling to reconcile what I’m telling him with the lies that fucker has force-fed him for most of his life, but I think…I think I might be starting to get through.”
A pulse of energy blasted through her, so strong and dark and cold and ugly, she gripped her stomach and had to bite her lip so she didn’t dry heave.
“What is it?” Spencer asked, jumping to his feet and rushing to her.
Oh god, no. No.
“It’s too late. He’s here. Azel's here.”
Chapter 29
Hell
The key slid into the door, turning easily as if it hadn’t sat unused for fuck knew how long. She pushed the door open and helped him inside before shutting and locking it after them.
“I found out some information about the rooms Lucifer created. The only entrance to it is the door we just came through, and without the key it’s impenetrable.”
Tobias stood and looked around the large space. It was a living room, with a large couch covered in cushions and lots of black and silver accented by touches of crimson. Several doors were leading from it.
Scarlet motioned to the one closest. “An office of sorts.” Then to the one beside it. “A dining room.” Then the last door. “That’s the bedroom.”
Was it just him or had her voice turned husky? “I don’t want to complain, but I think I’m going to fall on my ass if I don’t lie down soon. Do you mind?”
“Oh, of course.” She helped him again, moving to the last door. She turned the handle and pushed it open.
“Jesus,” Tobias muttered.
She giggled, and his stomach gripped tight at the husky, sweet sound.
“Who the fuck needs a bed that big?” Tobias said, eyeing the monstrosity.
“I don’t think he spent much time in it alone.”
No shit.
The room was decorated in more black. Black silk walls. Black velvet bed coverings with silver and gray cushions in velvets and silks. The furniture was deep mahogany, and there were silver candelabras and wall sconces and an open fireplace built into the wall opposite the bed. Between the fireplace and the bed was a large, soft-looking couch flanked by chairs, also in black velvet.
Lucifer liked black.
The room was huge, and he assumed the former king of Hell had spent a lot of time here.
Scarlet pulled back the covers, and Tobias screwed up his face. “Christ, do I want to get in there?”
Scarlet bit her lip, fighting a smile. “It’s fine. It smells fresh and clean. It always does. I guess Lucifer wasn’t a fan of laundry and made it so he didn’t have to do any.”
“Thank fuck for that.”
She laughed, and he paused on his way to the bed as the sound worked its way through him. That laugh, it was the one she’d make when they were fooling around, teasing, play fighting. Throaty and sexy. The one that usually ended with them fucking for hours.
“You’ll be safe here.”
“We,” he said.
“I need to return every day. There’s a female who needs me. Diemos calls for me personally to tend her. If I don’t come when summoned, he’ll know something’s wrong. And I won’t abandon her.”
There was no way she was going anywhere on her own, especially anywhere near fucking Diemos. She was never leaving his side again. “If you’re summoned, I’ll go with you.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“I just need a disguise,” he said, grinning as he removed the cloak she’d draped around his shoulders. He just needed armor, the helmet would hide his face, and he’d pass as a guard. “It’ll be fine.”
Scarlet bit her lip at his nakedness. He glanced down at himself. He was filthy and scarred and covered in dry blood. “Is there a bathroom in here?”
She nodded and motioned to another door off to the side. “Sit there and I’ll get the bath ready.”
Tobias growled. He wanted a bath badly, but he hated that he was still so fucking weak. He needed to rest and eat, regenerate the blood he’d lost.
He needed Scarlet to remember who the fuck she was, who he was.
“Someone’s surly.” She smirked at him.
The way she said it, that smirk, it was so Scarlet. So much so that he lost the power to speak. She walked away before he could think of a reply.
He may be as weak as a wet kitten, but he’d be damned if he would make her carry him to the fucking bathroom. It wasn’t easy, but using the furniture to hold himself upright, be finally made it.
Like the others, this room was massive. The bath big enough to fit more than a dozen people at once. It was already full of steaming water.
Scarlet was moving around the room, collecting what he needed, and glanced up at him, again trying not to look below the waist. She failed, and he had to bite back his grin.
“Are you ready?”
He nodded and moved to the bath. Christ, it was more like a small pool. He was going to fucking drown in there with how weak he was.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you,” Scarlet said as if she could read his thoughts.
She always had known exactly what he was thinking.
He growled again, pissed off that he couldn’t even fucking wash himself. But the growl died an abrupt death when Scarlet reached up, untied her tunic at her shoulder, and let the coarse brown fabric slide to the floor and pool at her feet.
Naked.
She was completely naked.
His cock responded instantly, like all knights…hell, all males, at the sight of their female standing bare in front of them. She was blushing again, but then she shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I’ve seen you naked loads of times. It’s just skin and bone and muscle.”
Tobias grabbed on to the wall as her words hit him, as a memory of the night they first mated rushed him hard and fast.
“I’m in here,” she called from his bedroom.
He swallowed, and followed that beautiful voice across the room, into his bedroom. The bathroom door was open.
He paused at the threshold and was forced to grip the frame.
She stood by the tub, in only a damp towel. “Laz let you live, then?”
He nodded. It was all he was capable of doing.
Without another word, she let the towel fall at her feet. Tobias stood there, rooted to the spot.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He shook his head. He was so not okay.
She chuckled. “What’s the big deal? I’ve seen you naked a thousand times. You guys are always shifting in front of me and flashing your junk. It’s just skin and bone and muscle. Get over it.”
He looked up at her, swallowing repeatedly when he saw she was flushed pink. It was the first time he’d ever seen his warrior female blush.
She was nervous.
“You’re so much more than that,” he rasped. “Christ, Scarlet, you’re so fucking beautiful.”
A small splash pulled him from the memory in time to see her take the first two steps into the pool.
“Are you coming?”
He released the wall and reached for her. “Yeah.” He’d follow her fucking anywhere.
And thanks to Lucifer, Hell included.
Her smaller fingers curled around his, leading him down the steps and into the steaming water. “Sit there on the step, so you don’t drown.”
He ate up the sight of her, knowing every freckle, every scar on her body—every one of those lush curves. When she turned to reach for the shampoo and a water jug, he had to bite back his growl at the sight of the tattoo high between her shoulder blades. Did she know it was there? Probably not. She’d gotten the stylized T not long after they’d mated as a surprise for him.
A small, gentle smile curved her lips as she came back to him, almost shy. “Tilt your head back.”
His cock reacted the way it always had to that lit
tle rasp in her voice. He did his best to ignore it and did what she asked, letting her pour water over his grimy hair, getting it nice and wet before lathering it up with sweet-smelling shampoo.
He had to bite back a groan as she massaged his scalp.
She made a little hmming sound as she finally began rinsing it.
“Your hair is so pale. Under the dirt, it’s so blond…” Her hand stilled.
He turned to her, taking in her small frown. “Scarlet?”
She shook her head. “Sorry…I’m not sure where my mind just went. Have you always worn it long?”
“Yeah.” The feeling of her fingers running through his hair made him want to moan with pleasure. How often had she done this for him? When he’d come home from fighting, bloody and dirty, sometimes wounded, she’d climbed into the bath or shower and washed his hair, his body. She’d always loved his hair.
“I like it.”
He made a rough sound, so desperate for her, for her to remember him, them, he wanted to fucking cry.
She grabbed a washcloth and soap, and he had to close his eyes when she dragged the soapy cloth over his shoulders, across his chest, and down his arm. She paused when she reached the gruesome scar in his forearm. He’d done it to himself, slicing the angel brand he’d been given out of his skin. Lost in his darkness, he’d done it so his demon could take them to Hell, to serve Diemos.
His stomach rebelled.
He hadn’t gotten here on his own, thank fuck.
Not until Lucifer had helped.
Things could have turned out very different if that had happened. He might never have found Scarlet down here. He might still be the cruel monster he’d become, killing indiscriminately, fueled by revenge.
Just the thought of the things he’d done made it hard to breathe, made it hard to live with himself. Without Scarlet, there would be no reason to even try.
“How did you get this?” she whispered.
He swallowed thickly. “I did it to myself.”
Her fingers curled around the scar, and she looked deep into his eyes. “Why? Why would you do that?”
“Because I lost the most important person in my world, my reason to live, and I didn’t care what happened to me anymore.”
Her lashes fluttered, and she bit her lip. “A female?”
He nodded.
“Do you…do you still love her?”
“Yes,” he said. “With everything in me.”
She blinked at him several times. “Oh.”
Christ, she was jealous…of herself. He couldn’t take it anymore. This was killing him. Tearing him apart. He cupped her chin and forced her to keep looking at him. He wasn’t able to tell her the truth. He wouldn’t risk losing her all over again, but he couldn’t stop himself from pushing.
“She was the most beautiful female I’d ever seen.”
She tried to pull back. He didn’t let her.
“So strong and brave and mine. I miss her so much I can’t fucking handle it most days. I want her back, Scarlet. I fucking want her back.”
Her eyes were wide and glistening. His words were hurting her. He wanted to fucking roar his frustration. “Who were you before you came here?” he growled.
Confusion flashed through her eyes.
“Where did you come from?”
“I don’t know—”
“Who were you, Scarlet?”
“I don’t—”
“Think,” he yelled. “Fucking think.”
“I can’t. I’ve tried,” she yelled back, trying to move away again.
No fucking way. “You haven’t tried hard enough.”
“I have…I have tried—”
“Are you a quitter?” he barked, the same words he used to use when they trained. The same words that would make her furious and fight harder, push harder.
And it worked now as well. Anger fired in her eyes, so familiar he struggled to draw breath. “No.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Nothing,” she said with more strength behind it.
“You are, you’re afraid of what you’ll remember.”
“No!”
She struggled, trying to pull away, and with every moment that passed, there were subtle changes in her expression, in the way she moved her body.
His Scarlet.
She was right there. Right fucking there.
“Quitter,” he yelled.
She growled.
He’d come this far, he had to keep pushing. “Stop being a fucking coward, Scarlet—”
“Fuck you, T, you egotistical dickhead. I don’t know why I mated you!” she yelled.
Words he’d heard many times in the training room, usually right before she’d work even harder to kick his ass, followed by her kissing the hell out of him.
He grinned at her and replied the way he always had. “Because you love me, you fiery wench.”
Her fury was still front and center and her hands shot outward, dislodging his hold on her, easy as that. Exactly how his Scarlet would have done it.
And as soon as he lost his grip, he went under, his spaghetti limbs unable to stop him. He went down with a huge-assed grin on his face. He didn’t float, he sunk like a lead weight. He never was a good swimmer.
Hands hooked under his armpits and he was hauled back up.
Before he could blink the water from his eyes, Scarlet was there, peppering kisses all over his face. His chin, his cheeks, his eyelids, his mouth, tears already running down her precious face.
“I remember. I remember everything,” she said, sobbing and trembling. “Oh god, you found me. You found me.”
Tobias forced his arms to cooperate and pulled her in against his body and held her, shaking and, fuck, crying with her.
When she lifted her head, she looked deep into his eyes, searching, seeing all of him. “Where did you go?” she whispered.
She didn’t mean physically, no, looking into his eyes she could see the scars on his soul. His female saw him, always.
Tobias clung to her tighter. “I’ve done such terrible things, Scar,” he said brokenly.
She cupped his face and shook her head. “Whatever you did, that wasn’t you. I know you, my love, I know you. I’ve seen right to the heart of you.” She pressed her forehead to his. “That wasn’t you, Tobias,” she said more fiercely, then she pressed her lips to his.
He kissed her back and hoped like fuck she was right.
Because whatever it took, whatever he had to do, he would never lose her again.
Chapter 30
The door to her room opened and Luna stumbled back, throwing up her hands, trying to lift her block. But Ronan’s power was too strong, the heavy weight of it clung to her, hindering her own.
Spencer ran to her, putting himself between her and her brother as he walked through the door.
Expression blank, Ronan’s gaze moved over her as Azel strode in behind him.
Luna recoiled, tugging Spencer back. If he got in between Azel and what he wanted, the fallen angel would kill her friend.
“I’ll die before I go anywhere with you,” she said, locking eyes with the male who had used her, manipulated and tortured her for most of her life.
The evil bastard moved up beside Ronan, his hand lifting to the back of her brother’s neck, fingers curling around it in a possessive way. Her brother’s reaction was small, but she didn’t miss the way he stiffened, the slight flinch at Azel’s touch. It made her stomach rebel even harder.
“Now, don’t be like that, Luna. I’ve missed you.”
“You’ve missed my power. You missed the power I gave you, Azel,” she fired at him.
He huffed a low laugh even as his eyes narrowed. “You call me Sir, and I don’t need you, little girl. You are lucky I showed an interest in you and your brother at all.”
Luna laughed as well, humorless and loaded with hatred. “You’re delusional.”
He went still, his gaze moving over her in a way that made her skin crawl. �
��You’ve changed.”
“You have no idea, asshole.” He’d suspected she was starting to feel something while she was locked in the basement, he’d made that obvious when he’d tried to break her by telling her Ronan had died. Now he would have no doubt.
He hissed. “You dare speak to me like that?”
“I’m sure you’re more powerful than me, a lot more, but not as powerful as you pretend to be. How much did the angels take from you when they threw you from Heaven?”
Azel's eyes flared.
Ronan frowned, looking between Luna and Azel. “Is it true? Are you an angel?”
“No,” Azel said through gritted teeth. “The knights have done something to her mind. She’s confused.”
“You’ve seen the scars, Ronan, just like I have. He had wings once, but they tore them from his back.”
Azel turned red, his face a mask of fury.
There was no escaping what was about to happen, not with her powers hobbled, but she would not cower to this twisted male ever again.
With rage lining his face, Azel threw up a hand, firing his power at her.
Luna braced for the hit—
Nothing happened.
His power didn’t reach her. Didn’t even brush past her.
Azel spun to her brother. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Ronan stepped away from him. “You’re an angel.”
Azel said nothing, rage rolling off him.
“You lied,” Ronan said, his expression flat but his eyes darkened. “Our mother,” he said. “You killed her.”
Azel's jaw worked. “It was necessary.”
Ronan’s tall, muscled frame vibrated with power, his block thickening and growing until it was so dense it was almost suffocating.
He was protecting her, and he confirmed it when his violet gaze slid to her. “Go. Take Spencer and the other demi with you.”
“No,” Azel roared, trying to use his powers again, but still, nothing happened.
Ronan began to sweat and shake, the veins and tendons on his neck bulging. Azel was strong, even after having most of his powers stripped, and her brother couldn’t hold him off forever.
“Go,” her brother barked again.
Knight's Absolution (Knights of Hell Book 5) Page 24
