My eyebrows came together as I tilted my head. “What debt?”
“This one.”
He moved so quickly, I couldn’t track him. Reappearing next to Gabe, he pressed his large hand against his chest.
“I am collecting on your debt owed to me, Gabe Cael.” He spoke the words through gritted teeth. “You promised me your soul. I claim it for Hell.”
Gabe’s eyes grew wide. Fear made his lips part. “You promised to save Lizzy. That was the agreement. That she wouldn’t die.”
“I promised I’d do everything within my power to help her overcome her demon.” He glanced at me over his shoulder, menace flashing in his eyes. “She is free from its influence and safe from my hand. I have delivered. Now, it is your turn.”
I screamed, but it was too late. A blinding light shone through Seth’s palm. The blood drained from Gabe’s face and he crumbled to the floor. Seth stood over him, admiring the little white globe that appeared in his palm, no bigger than a quarter. It threw a pale light on his face and made him appear as white as a vampire. Then, with a victorious smile, he closed his hand and snuffed out the light.
“Nooooo!” I scrambled to the floor beside Gabe and reached for his hand. Glaring up at Seth, I wished my eyes were daggers and that I could erase him from this planet. “What have you done?”
“Harvested his soul, of course.” He shrugged. “I’ll admit, it was earlier than planned. But I sometimes lose my patience. Especially when I don’t get my way.”
Tears clouded my eyes. I clutched at Gabe’s chest, but he didn’t stir. His face was slack and motionless, like death.
Seth kneeled beside me, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body through the sleeve of my shirt. Funny. I’d have expected him to be ice cold. Just like his heart.
“Remember this, my little key.” He ran a single finger down my arm, causing me to shiver violently. “This is what happens when you refuse my generous offer. I will call on you soon and I expect you to answer. Don’t make the mistake of making me come after all the people you care about. I won’t hesitate to destroy them one by one.”
I blinked away the tears and he was gone.
Chapter Twenty
Luke was the first person to find us. I still sat on the floor of Gabe’s bedroom, rocking and clinging to his lifeless body, all the while humming a wordless melody that I’d never heard before today. The door flew open and he rushed into the room, a sword in hand. I heard the buzz of his many questions, but they didn’t compute in my mind. Everything had become a fuzzy blur of what my life used to be. It was like walking through life wearing the wrong contact prescription.
Gabe wasn’t gone. He couldn’t be. It had been less than two years since we’d crossed paths in the forest. Two years since I’d rescued him, despite the fact that my head had been screaming at me to leave him be—to walk away. But I hadn’t. I’d followed my heart and found a man worth more than the lies and
brutality of my old life. A man who’d loved me enough to give up his own soul. And for that, I’d never be worthy.
If only I could turn back time. Go back to before he’d made the deal. Forbid him from taking such a drastic step to save me.
I forgave him everything. For betraying the Nephilim and for not telling me the truth. I didn’t care if he’d gone about it the wrong way. I needed him here, with me. He didn’t deserve to die. And I didn’t deserve to be left alone.
Before I realized it, Luke had gently pried me away from Gabe’s body and was leading me to the medical hall. He draped his arm around my shoulder, his presence my only comfort.
We met many people along the way. All of them appeared like ghosts in a mist to me. Shapeless people with soundless voices. By the time the doctor tucked me into one of the patient beds, my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton.
“The demons...” I managed to whisper to Luke. “...the attack.”
“All under control.” He tucked my hair behind my ear and stroked the top of my head. “They didn’t have the element of surprise, so we pushed them back. Seth has retreated. For now.”
I nodded, glad that at least one thing good had come out of last night.
Seth had failed.
It didn’t take long for sleep to overtake me, plunging me into dark dreams and bottomless pits. Gabe’s face appeared over and over. His lips curled into that smile he had only for me. His eyes burned with desire and love. I reached out to him, but he disappeared every time, leaving me to cry out his name.
“Where is he? Where is my son?” Georgia’s voice tore me from my restless sleep. “You will tell me where he is!”
“Georgia, please.” Luke’s low, calming voice answered back. “Lizzy isn’t up for questions right now. She’s in shock.”
“I don’t care if she’s on her death bed,” she replied in a trembling voice. “I want answers.”
My eyelids felt heavy, but I managed to peer through my lashes at Gabe’s parents. Georgia and Ben stood together near the entrance. Ben had thrown on a wrinkled buttoned shirt and was sporting a day’s worth of stubble on his defined jawline. Georgia was as unkempt as I’d ever seen her. Her white blouse had a stain on the front and she’d skipped a few buttons in her haste to get it on. Both of them wore worry on their faces so deep it made me want to cry.