Embrace The Dark (Her Elemental Dragons Book 5)(35)

“Well, you’re here now.” She gave me an encouraging smile. “And I’m glad to have you as my guest.”

Was I her guest? Or was I a captive again? I moved through the vast living room, taking in all the displays of wealth. Her aesthetic was the exact opposite of Lucifer’s, with white trimmed in gold, and just like his place, it was seriously lacking in plants and flowers. A display case held dozens of tiny little angel figurines, some looking quite old, others made of crystal. I studied them as I asked, “Why did you bring me here?”

Jo clasped her hands in her lap as she looked up at me. “I had to get you away from Lucifer. You’re in danger around him. As long as you stay here, I can keep you safe.”

“Jo, you don’t understand. Lucifer is my mate. I’ve had all these past lives with him. He isn’t a threat to me.” Or was he? After what I’d seen last night, I wasn’t so sure.

“I understand more than you do. I’ve lived an awfully long time, and I’ve seen many of those past lives of yours. What you don’t understand is that Lucifer is the villain. He’s been lying to you this entire time. Manipulating you. Controlling you. As he’s done with all humans for thousands of years.” She tilted her head, her eyes full of pity. “Did he even tell you about Adam and Eve?”

I hated to admit there was something Lucifer hadn’t told me, but I had to know what she was talking about. “No, he didn’t.”

Her mouth took on a sad smile. “I thought not. Why am I not surprised somehow?”

Her superior tone grated at me. This particular tone was so familiar that it must’ve bugged me in one of my lives before, and my subconscious knew it. I tried not to glare at her. “What about Adam and Eve?”

“Your very first life was as Eve.”

My heart skipped a beat, or maybe even stopped for a full minute. “The Eve?”

“Yes, the very one.”

I blinked at her several times as I tried to process this new revelation. “How?”

“You were married to Adam and had three sons with him, but then Lucifer abducted you and claimed you as his mate. Adam wasn’t happy about that, as you can imagine, and he sought revenge. He killed you.”

I blew out a breath as I processed everything she’d said. Hearing about my past lives was always a combination of difficult and intriguing, but this one was especially hard for me to believe, if not for the sense of rightness in my gut when she spoke.

A week ago I’d been book-loving Hannah from the florist shop. Now I was Eve. Persephone. Lenore. All great women from literature and mythology. Talk about a heavy legacy to live up to.

I dropped onto the couch across from Jo. “That is pretty shocking, but I don’t see why that puts me in danger from Lucifer.”

The pitying look in her eyes increased ten-fold. “There’s more. I’m just not sure you’re ready to hear it yet.”

“Just tell me already,” I snapped. Damn, I was so tired of everyone knowing the truth about myself except for me.

“After your death, all three of you were cursed for all eternity. Your fate is to be reborn and die violently, usually in Lucifer’s arms, in an endless cycle of death and agony. Lucifer’s curse is knowing this will happen and being unable to stop it. And Adam’s curse is to be reborn every time you are…and to kill you again and again, before dying at Lucifer’s hand.”

“No, that…that can’t be true.” I recoiled in horror, my pulse spiking through the roof. It was suddenly hard to breathe, but I managed to suck in a ragged breath somehow.

Jo came to sit beside me and rested a warm hand on my back. “I’m so sorry, Hannah. I wish it wasn’t true. But deep down you know it is, don’t you?”

I nodded, but then my head dropped and my vision blurred. I found myself in Jo’s arms, leaning against her as she held me close, like she had in those early days after the car accident. Like she was still my sister.

Why hadn’t Lucifer told me any of this? He’d been slowly doling out information to try to stop me from getting overwhelmed, but this seemed important. Maybe he was right though—this was really fucking overwhelming.

Or maybe he worried I wouldn’t live long enough for it to matter.

Was that what was happening here? Was it time for me to die now that I’d found Lucifer again?

And where was Adam in this life? Were all the attacks his doing?

“Who cursed us?” I asked, gripping Jo’s shirt as I looked up at her with wide, desperate eyes. “Is there a way to end it?”

“I don’t know,” Jo said, as she drew me into a hug again. “I wish I did.”

An endless cycle of death and agony. That was my fate. And there was no way to escape it.





26





Hannah





Once again, I found myself in a vast library, although this one wasn’t as impressive as Lucifer’s. Jo had a large collection of books, but she lacked the ancient vases and dark artwork that made Lucifer’s library so remarkable.

I’d retreated here after speaking with Jo, when everything she’d told me had just seemed too big and impossible. When life became too much, the best solution was to retreat into a good book, or turn to them in the hopes of finding answers.

With a book on demonology in my lap, I sat in a white suede chair near windows overlooking the bay. The sun had turned the sky the entire range of reds, golds, and yellows as it sank down to the horizon. Sunset on Halloween, and not at all where I’d expected to be.

I’d spent the last few hours reading up on angels, demons, and the devil. I’d perused everything from Dante’s Inferno to some ancient scrolls Jo had that required me to use gloves. Every single thing I read depicted the devil as evil incarnate. A beast. A monster. In every story of good and evil throughout all time he was the villain.

How could I have been so wrong about Lucifer? Had he been deceiving me, tricking me into caring for him? How could I reconcile the man I knew in private with the one I’d read about in these books, or the dark king I’d seen at the Devil’s Night ball?

Was Lucifer the root of all evil, or the thoughtful, protective man who’d do anything for me? Was he the villain in this story, or the one keeping the demons in line and the humans safe from them?

Unfortunately, coming to the library had only saddled me with more questions this time.

The doorbell rang, and I decided that was a sign I should take a break anyway. I headed for the front door, just as Jo ran in with a sword in her hand and a fierce look in her eye.

“Don’t open that!” she yelled. “It might be someone after you.”

“I doubt they’d ring the doorbell if they were trying to kill me,” I muttered.

Jo checked the security camera and lowered her sword, then grabbed a bowl shaped like a pumpkin sitting by the door. “Just some kids. I forgot it was Halloween.”

With a chuckle, I opened the door to a trio of trick-or-treaters. One of them was dressed as a little red devil, to my great amusement, though Jo’s tight smile told me she didn’t feel the same. We dropped some candy in their bags and then they scampered off to the next house. I smiled after them, enjoying the brief moment of normalcy.

As I turned away and began to close the door, it suddenly slammed open, crashing against the wall. Something cold and dark passed through me, and when Jo and I whirled around, Lucifer stood behind us. His black wings were spread wide as darkness swirled around him and his eyes blazed red. Shadows played across his face and his hands were clenched in fists at his side. He looked pissed as hell, and my traitorous heart beat faster and filled me with longing.

His gaze raked over me, like he was checking I was unharmed, before they landed on Jo. The entire room got darker and colder, like his anger was sucking all light and warmth from the surroundings. Jo raised her sword, which now glowed white, while Lucifer conjured a shadowy blade of his own made of pure darkness. Then he surged forward toward her.

With my heart in my throat I dodged in front of him, blocking Jo with my body, certain that neither of them would hurt me. “Stop!” I yelled. “That’s my sister!”

Lucifer drew back, his inky dark sword held high as he looked from me to Jo. “How is that possible?”

“It was in one of my past lives,” I explained, though it hit me then that Lucifer should probably know that… Shouldn’t he?

They stared at each other with hard expressions, until some sort of understanding passed between them, but that only made him angrier. His voice grew so loud it shook the walls. “Did you do what I think you did?”

“I had to,” Jo said. “All I want is to protect her. From Adam. From you.” She pointed her glowing sword at him. “It’s always you!”

“I’m her mate!” he roared.

I watched them like I was a spectator at a tennis match, back and forth as they yelled and exchanged meaningful looks. There was clearly a lot more to this story than either of them had told me. I wanted to snatch away both their swords and give them each a time-out.

I held up my hands between them. “I wish someone would let me in on what the fuck you’re both talking about! I’m sick of everyone hiding things from me. Can I have the whole truth, please? And put your damn weapons away already!”