What happened to a person once there was nothing left?
“They become the fire.” Pluto answered my unspoken question.
So the tormented turned into the tormentors.
“And ash,” he continued. “Some become the earth and walls of this place. And some become demons. It all depends.” I sensed a rising giddiness coming off of him. That and a flash of something else, something I didn’t have a name for.
Suddenly, he stopped. “Here we are.”
The devil stepped aside, releasing my hand, and I finally got a good look at what he’d been so eager to show me.
Another screaming soul. But not just any soul.
My knees went weak as I stared at the man who raised me and then saved me the night he lost his life … and his soul.
Santiago Fiori, my father.
“D-dad,” I said, stumbling forward.
He didn’t react. His eyes were wild, moving over me as his body contorted. He screamed and screamed, and the sound sliced through me.
I reached for him. I needed to save him from this; I couldn’t bear to see another second of his pain.
“Ah ah ah,” the devil said, stepping in front of me. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Let him go!” I had to avert my eyes He’d endured this for over ten years. Over ten years. I couldn’t even imagine.
This is what happens to those that try to help me.
“And what do you propose I do with him once that happens?” the devil asked, coming up behind me.
I turned to him and gripped his arms. “Free him,” I begged.
The devil pulled my hands away from him and cupped them in his own. “His soul will either crumble to dust, or if it’s rotted enough and he’s wicked enough, he will become a demon.”
I shook my head vigorously. “I don’t believe you.” I sucked in my lower lip, my eyes watering. My father continued to shriek, the sound unbearable.
“And why would I lie about this?”
“Because you don’t want to help me.”
“You’re right,” he admitted. “I don’t feel very moved to lessen your father’s suffering after you spent the evening with another man. I’m sure even to measly humans that’s a fair enough reaction. And I do lie—when it serves a purpose. This doesn’t.”
“Please,” I begged, my tears dripped down my cheeks only to evaporate in the infernal heat. “You are the devil, you can save him!”
“I’m not the deity that saves things. I’m the one that punishes them.”
“Please,” I repeated, even though I knew it was useless.
“Take a good look at your father, consort. This is what will happen to your beloved Andre when he dies. Should you choose to screw the vampire again, I’ll make sure his death is swift and soon, and I will make him suffer like none of my souls have suffered—and I will make you watch.”
Heaven help me, I believed him.
I stared at my father. His screams blended with those of other damned souls. It would break me, watching Andre burn. Watching this was already breaking me.
Before I was aware of my actions, I reached for my father once more.
Pluto caught my wrist. “What are you doing?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off of Santiago. “Saving him myself.”
“No,” he said.
“I’m not asking your permission,” I snapped, tearing my gaze away.
Our surroundings changed so suddenly I stumbled. A split-second ago I stood amidst flames, and now I was back in the obsidian palace, in our bedroom.
The devil pushed me back. “You dare much, challenging me like that,” he said, his eyes flashing. “I didn’t bring you there to free your father. I brought you there to snuff out whatever foolish ideas you have about the vampire king.”
He stepped in close. “And if you don’t, it would give me great pleasure to prove to you just how ruthless I can be. I promise you, the stories don’t do me justice.
“Are we understood?”
I worked my jaw. After a second, I nodded.
“Good.” Hades lifted a strand of my hair and rubbed it between his fingers. “Now, you will change out of your clothes and dine with me—and you will eat.”
I scowled at him, telling him wordlessly how much I hated him.
He tugged on the lock of hair he held captive. “Little bird, give me your hate. It makes me strong. And once I use it all up, we’ll see what lies buried beneath it in that heart of yours.”
I thought he would leave while I changed out of the clothes Andre had given me.
He didn’t.
Instead, his hands dropped to the buttons of his shirt. He began undoing them one by one.
I cleared my throat, and he raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“You wanted me to change.”
He looked me up and down. “I still do, and you’re not moving fast enough.”
I backed up as those hands of his continued to unbutton his shirt. “Yeah, but I want a little privacy.”
“You are my wife. We will not hide our bodies from each other.” To punctuate the thought, he shrugged his shirt off, and I saw way too much pale, muscled skin. On earth, Hades appeared thin. But here, where he didn’t bother masking his true appearance, he had far more muscle.
I backed up until I’d plastered myself against the far wall.
He sat down on a side chair by the window and sighed as he unlaced his shoes. “You still aren’t changing. I think someone wants me to remove her clothes for her.”
“I’m not going to change when you’re in the room.”
He glanced up at me as he pulled off a shoe. “Little bird, your skittishness is bringing out the predator in me. If I were you, I wouldn’t show any signs of weakness. Then again,” he continued to assess me, “I like hunting tricky souls.”
Hades had given me plenty of warning. I might not like the current situation, but the devil didn’t make idle threats either. I needed to change, or he’d do it for me.
“Where’s the clothing I should change into?” I asked.
He nodded to an armoire. I headed over to it and opened it up.
The entire thing was filled with those same gowns. “I’m beginning to sense a pattern here.”
“Your wardrobe will change when I decide it will.”
Right.
I yanked a random dress from the rack and threw it on the bed. Time to get this over with.
Grabbing the edges of my shirt, I lifted it over my head.
His eyes smoldered, and I swear the flames in them brightened as he watched me. “And the bra,” he said.
“This isn’t a strip tease.”
His lips curved up, but he didn’t argue with me, so I didn’t bother removing the bra. If he really wanted me to remove the garment, then we’d just have to duke it out.
Despite my words, this felt exactly like a strip tease. I could feel the touch of his gaze the entire time I changed. Only once I’d tugged the dress over my head did he resume undressing himself.
He pulled off his socks. “You might as well get comfortable changing in front of me. We’ll be doing a lot more than just that very, very soon.”
I bit back my fear. He hadn’t tried anything yet, but he was the devil, the lord of the Underworld. Give him enough time and he would.
He turned away from me to retrieve a new shirt from a dresser adjacent to my own.
I sucked in a breath.
His back was the only part of him that lacked any sort of perfection. Two painful looking scars sliced down either side of his spine.
Where wings once were. This thing had once been an angel.
The flesh was stained a burgundy color, and it didn’t lay flat. Broken bone and scar tissue rested beneath it.
Without meaning to, I crossed the room and reached out.
“Don’t.”
I ignored him—never a wise move—and ran my fingertips over the lumpy, discolored tissue. He shuddered but didn’t stop me.
Vulnerable. He was defini
tely being vulnerable, and it was doing strange things to our connection, like urging me even closer.
“These look like they still hurt,” I said.
“Sometimes they do.”
I ran my palm over them, and whether unconsciously or not, the devil tilted his head back under my touch, his hair brushing against my face.
He swiveled and caught my hand. Bringing it up to his nose, he breathed in my scent.
“Why are you being nice to me?” I asked, staring at our entwined hands.
“What makes you think I’m being nice?” At his words, the atmosphere in the room changed completely. Now he felt like a threat.
I pulled my hand from his grip and backed away.
Faster than I could react, he grabbed my chin, squeezing it tightly.
He stared at me long enough for me to squirm. Long enough for me to realize that he was the devil, and my soulmate, and I was trapped in a room with him.
Our connection throbbed. I’d felt that familiar pulse before, I knew that what usually followed was something physical. In this, I was more knowledgeable than the devil.
I closed my eyes and swallowed. A moment later, I felt his lips brush mine. I could only barely taste the brimstone on them.
His free hand angled my head towards him.
“Kiss me back, my queen,” he said, his lips moving against mine.
I shook my head.
“You think I won’t punish your vampire for more than just your infidelity? The moment you displease me, I swear to you I will.”
A shudder worked its way through my body.
So that was how it was going to be.
If Andre were here, he would’ve told me to fight the devil, no matter what might happen to him. That was what soulmates did, they protected each other. And I’d always protect him, regardless of the personal cost.
My stomach churned as my lips began to move against the devil’s.
Wrong, wrong, wrong! my mind screamed, but my connection seemed to approve. As did the siren.
Traitorous bitch.
The devil’s hold on my chin softened. The kiss lasted far too long, and I felt dirty from the inside out.
Finally he broke away, and I gasped out a breath as his lips left mine. He looked breathtaking, which only made me feel more conflicted. His face was one you should trust, one that you wanted to forgive of any wrongdoing because he appeared incapable of it. It would be so easy to give in to that pull, and if I lived here long enough, without anyone but the devil and his demons to keep me company, it might happen.
No. Fight for your humanity, Gabrielle. Don’t let him have that last part of you.
“You’ve given me human urges, consort. They’re weaknesses, but I can’t say I regret them.” His thumb skimmed over my lower lip. “Not at all.”
Chapter 11
Gabrielle
Ten minutes later we entered the dining room. Two place settings had been set out at the end of the table, along with trays full of an assortment of breakfast items. It’d been over twenty-four hours since the devil took me. In all that time, I hadn’t slept. The urge to had disappeared along with my mortality.
The urge to eat, however, had not. I hungered more now than I ever had—for food, for blood, for violence, for power. It was just one more twisted aspect of who I now was.
Our chairs had been angled so that we could face each other while we ate. I slid into my chair. A plate of French toast had already been placed in front of my seat. Hades also had a plate of steak and eggs waiting for him.
Not what I was expecting.
“Were you hoping for a rotting corpse?” he asked, clearly listening in to my thoughts. “Sorry to disappoint. I only eat corpses on Wednesdays.”
“Ha-ha.”
“Oh, she laughs!” he said. “You’d almost had me convinced you were incapable of it.”
“Me incapable … ?” I asked incredulously. “You’re the one who doesn’t feel the full spectrum of emotions.”
“Careful,” he warned me, all playfulness gone from his voice.
The devil picked up a gold chalice, twirling it while he watched me. “Eat,” he commanded.
I lifted the fork and knife and stared at the French toast. Did I dare?
“Eat.”
Again, I found myself out of options. I cut into the toast, dipped it into the cup of syrup left next to it, and brought it to my mouth.
This better not screw me over.
I ate it, surprised to find it tasted just as good as the French toast I’d had on earth.
“Well?” he said, lifting an eyebrow.
“Well what?” I asked, my voice snarkier than it should be when talking to the king of the damned.
“You can be so tedious,” he muttered. “How is it?”
I took another bite by way of answer. After I swallowed, I added, “It’s good.”
The devil leaned back in his seat and sipped his drink, smiling over the rim of it. “This pleases me.”
I’ll bet it did.
Thinking about my own damnation made me think about my father’s agony. Poking at my food, I couldn’t dispel a thought that’d taken hold ever since I’d seen him.
“What is it?”
I glanced up at him sharply.
He studied me. “Go ahead, get whatever it is off your chest.”
I took a deep breath. He was just going to lie to me.
He covered the hand that held my fork. Let us set aside deception for the moment, wife.
My throat worked. I set down my utensils. “Is my biological mother—Celeste—down here?”
The devil held my gaze. His hand tightened over mine. “No, she isn’t.”
“You swear?” I whispered, blinking back moisture from my eyes.
“I swear on my immortal life, she is not.”
My breath left me in a shudder. I gave him a tight smile and nodded. It was as good an answer as I was going to get from him, and oddly, I believed him. Something in me loosened at the realization that Celeste’s soul was free of hell’s torment.
We ate in silence. Every so often Pluto’s leg would brush against mine, and I’d tense as our bond flared up. Pretty soon those touches and the tug of our bond were all I could concentrate on, and they were driving me insane.
I needed to distract myself.
I forked another bite of French toast, studying it as I spoke. “When were you first aware of my existence?” I asked.
He put down his knife and fork. “You wish to know more about me? About us?”
I nodded. The truth was, at the moment, I could hardly think of anything outside the two of us.
He leaned back in his chair, scrutinizing me. “I first learned of your existence thousands upon thousands of years ago.”
When he saw my shocked expression, his lips turned up.
“You thought that because you weren’t born, you hadn’t existed?” He touched my nose endearingly. “You still have a thing or two to learn about gods.”
“And the first time you saw me?”
“Before or after you were born?”
“‘Before’?” I asked. “Before what?”
He opened his mouth to reply, some strange mixture of emotions dancing in his eyes.
I shook my head. “After. Tell me about after.”
He kicked his heels up on the table, crossing them at the ankle. “I was there the moment you were born.”
“You were?” What was that odd emotion I felt? Unease? Disbelief? Something far kinder?
“I have never left your side. Not really.”
There was something oddly touching and vastly disturbing about that.
“Out of all the things I have done, that disturbs you?” he said. He swung his legs off the table and leaned forward. “You were my fated mate; do you really think I wouldn’t keep an eye on you? I am not where I am today by luck alone. There’s a reason only one fallen angel rules hell when many reside here.”
I discreetly swallowed. “Are you an
angel?”
“You’ve seen my scars. What do you think?”
“The fates refer to you as Pluto.”
“They do,” he agreed.
“So, which is it?”
His pinched his lower lip, scrutinizing me. “Are you familiar with ancient Egyptian mythology?”
“Not really,” I said. And by not really, I meant not at all.
“The ancient Egyptians knew something that your modern culture doesn’t.”
“And what’s that?” I hated to admit that I was actually intrigued.
“Contradictory myths can coexist. The Egyptians had multiple beings and multiple myths for the same deity, and they had many neighbors who believed in still more deities with more myths to accompany them. They believed these were all aspects of the same gods. I am Pluto, and Hades, and the devil, and Osiris, and many, many other gods.
“I am whatever people believe me to be, and my image adjusts as such. That’s why Morta told you to think of me as Pluto.”
When he saw my face, he smirked. “What? You didn’t think I knew about that? Or that you’ve been chanting it to yourself almost constantly since I took you?”
It didn’t escape my notice that the devil openly admitted to taking me, and he didn’t show an ounce of regret over the matter.
The devil leaned back in his seat once more, his face smug. “So you wanted to know all about my fascination with you.”
“That’s not what—”
“Ask away.”
I huffed. My mind was still reeling from all that he’d just admitted. I breathed in deeply, pulling myself together. I did want to know more about the devil. If I was going to be stuck down here, I needed to know the enemy.
“I’m not the enemy.”
“Stop that!”
“Reading your mind? Then stop throwing objectionable thoughts out there.”
Oh my Go—
The devil hissed his displeasure.
—odness. Oh my goodness.
“Have you ever cared about me?” I asked.
“What an absurd question, little bird. Of course I cared for you, and I continue to. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be sitting across from me, asking your inane questions.”
The Damned (The Unearthly Book 5) Page 9
