The Darkest Secret (Lords of the Underworld #7)(42)
Author: Gena Showalter

Amun’s teeth gnashed together—he was doing that a lot lately—grating the top layer into a fine powder, but he nodded. Very wel . There wil be no talk of our friends.

“I just, I don’t want us to fight,” she said. “And just so you know, Galen isn’t a personal friend.”

“Time is up,” Zacharel’s hard voice proclaimed before Amun could reply.

At the vocal intrusion, he whipped around, at the same time moving in front of Haidee to act as her shield. The door was stil closed. He frowned—until the angel simply stepped through the wood, a backpack dangling from his hand.

He’d possessed the ability al along, yet had only now opted to reveal it. Why?

“I wil take you to the place your journey must begin,”

Zacharel said. As with al angels, there was an undeniable layer of truth in his tone, and Amun couldn’t doubt a single thing he uttered. “But know that Lucifer is angry that he was thwarted in his quest to destroy you and yours through Legion, and wil be out for eternal blood. Be wary, trust nothing and no one.”

I never do.

“Except, perhaps, each other,” the angel added.

Amun glanced over his shoulder, and he and Haidee shared a look.

Zacharel nodded in approval. “I can promise you that your last journey through the underworld was nothing compared to what you wil soon face. In reparation for his role in Legion’s freedom, Cronus has returned it to its former glory.”

Why would he—?

The angel held up his hand, halting Amun’s tirade. “It was either that, or return Legion.”

He made the right choice, then.

“Let’s see if you stil agree when you get there. Monsters you’ve only heard whispered about, you wil soon encounter.”

Haidee stood, her cool hands flattening on Amun’s lower back. He had to bite his tongue to stop his moan of pleasure. Final y, contact. He felt as if he’d been waiting forever to feel her, any part of her, again. That she now offered comfort…comforted him.

Gods, he real y was pathetic.

You won’t al ow any of my friends to fol ow us? he signed.

“Correct. I wil ensure you and the girl remain undisturbed by them.”

Amun took no offense. If anyone could keep the brutes here from getting their way, it was this hard-as-steel creature.

Thank you.

“Now. Something else you should know.” A breeze ruffled the golden down streaked through the angel’s wings like a flowing, molten river. “With the changes, there are now six realms you must pass through before you even reach the gate—and the gate is another obstacle altogether.”

Haidee stepped to Amun’s side, but didn’t break contact.

“How wil we return here when we’re done?”

Zacharel’s green gaze briefly shifted to her. “Should you save Amun, you wil have nothing to worry about. Should you not, you wil never leave.”

The ominous warning rang through his mind. Then Amun shrugged. They would save him; it was that simple. We’l find a way, he told Haidee.

Her hands trembled against him, but she said no more.

What about weapons? he signed. Food?

“Everything you need is in here.” The angel tossed the pack, and Amun caught the too-thin, too-light duffel with ease. “Good luck to you, warrior.”

The moment his fingers wrapped around the straps, his surroundings completely fel away. From light to murky dark, the smooth white wal s were replaced by jagged stone stained with crimson splatter. Bones littered the equal y rocky ground, and the temperature instantly flared hundreds of degrees—or so it seemed.

A cavern, he realized, deep in the earth. And there was no sign of Zacharel—no dainty hands on his back. Fighting a rush of panic, Amun swung around. He relaxed, but only for a second. Haidee was a few feet away, hunched over and vomiting. Beside her rested a toothbrush, toothpaste and bottle of mouthwash.

Amun closed the distance between them before he realized what he was doing. With one hand, he smoothed her hair out of the way. With the other, he stroked her back, trying to comfort her as she’d comforted him. Flashing from one location to another in a mere blink of time affected some but not others. She, apparently, fel into the “some”

category. The angel must have known she would.

As strong as she usual y was, the weakness probably appal ed her.

The sickness wil soon pass, he told her. Even as he soothed her, he thought perhaps she had infected him with a toxic mix of hunger, stupidity and unwanted tenderness—and he would never find a cure.

She spit, wiped her mouth with the back of her trembling hand. “Thank you. For not kicking me while I’m down.”

I’m not a monster, Haidee. Yet.

“I know,” she said weakly. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

She, apparently, suffered from the same toxic mix.

That did not bode wel for their mission.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“BEFORE WE GET STARTED, let’s see what we’ve got to work with,” Haidee told Amun after she disinfected her mouth. Twice. She ducked her head as she walked away from him so that she wouldn’t have to see his expression.

He’d had his hands on her the entire time. Did he regret it?

She’d vomited in front of him. Did he find that amusing?

She had responded to him, goose bumps breaking out over her skin. Did he feel smug?

He offered no reply, and she experienced a wave of hurt. A wave she ignored because it was stupid. He wasn’t her boyfriend, wasn’t a tame pet dog, and was merely using her, the enemy, to stay calm.

Stil . Would a “that’s smart” or “are you okay?” have been amiss? After al , she had agreed to venture into hel with him. Was actively trying to reach the fiery pit for him.

And because of that, she was alone with him, she thought, suddenly dazed by the way things had worked out. She was completely, utterly alone with the demon-possessed immortal who set her body on fire. The demon-possessed immortal who would probably try to kil her after they found a way to free him from the evil that plagued him. The demon-possessed immortal she should despise, did despise, but couldn’t convince herself to hurt, even in the smal est way.

The demon-possessed immortal she stil craved.

Frowning, she crouched in front of the backpack the angel had given them. Her hand shook with the force of her nervousness as she unzipped and parted the folds. What she saw, or rather, what she didn’t see, had her sputtering.

“It’s empty!”

Pounding footsteps resounded, then Amun was crouched beside her, grabbing the pack and searching inside. She heard his growl whisper through her mind, low and rumbling.