To Hell and Back by L.B. Gilbert

Chapter Fifty-Two

Valeria’s lashes fluttered open at the unfamiliar voice asking her to wake.

“Hello,” the man said. Focusing on him, she saw smiling eyes, a straight nose, and skin a shade or two darker than hers.

The stranger was checking her pulse, his manner friendly, open. And Rhys wasn’t tearing him apart for touching her so he must be safe.

“Hello,” she croaked. Belatedly, she saw Rhys holding up the wall on her left. Next to him was a beautiful woman with cocoa-colored skin and cheekbones that could cut glass.

The woman was not safe. Not even close. Valeria knew it like she knew the man was a healer. It fell under the same category of knowledge that told her the sky was blue.

The healer turned his head, meeting the woman’s eyes to have some wordless conversation that seemed to say a lot for such a quick glance.

The man turned back to her, and she noticed the fine lines around his mouth. This was someone who laughed a lot.

Putting his hands out, he let them hover over her a few inches, moving them up and down her body like a Reiki master.

“I can feel that,” she said in surprise. This man could manipulate some kind of energy. How wonderfully weird.

“You must be extremely sensitive then. Most people don’t feel anything when I do that.” The smiling man put on a headset with magnifying loop attached. He bent over her hands for a long minute, examining the cracks in her skin with a focus that seemed preternatural.

“It appears there’s a foreign energy in your body,” he said, leaning back with a bemused expression.

“It belonged to an angel,” she said helpfully.

“Ah.” His thick lashes fluttered. But the man must have seen some shit in his time because he shrugged, unfazed.

“I’m better with curses and poisons, but I think we can come up with a treatment.”

“We?”

His grin was sudden and infectious, lighting his entire face up. He looked over his shoulder at the dangerous beauty and back again. “I might need some help from my better half over there. Her name is Gia. Mine is Salvador, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, but then frowned. “Have we met before? You look so familiar.”

The healer cocked his head, the same curiosity in his eyes. “Maybe. You look familiar to me, too, but, for the life of me, I can’t remember from where. I’m sorry, I’m usually incredibly good with faces.”

“Hmm. That’s okay,” she said, slurring slightly. The brief exchange had drained her. Tired, she let her head fall back on the pillow. Rhys stepped forward. He sat on the mattress, taking her hand. It only hurt a little.

The play of energy in the cracks of her skin reminded her of his fire. It may have been her imagination, but she thought they were smaller now. But if this healer could speed up the process, she’d shave her hair off to give to him for use in whatever spell he wanted as payment.

“What I think you need is a good old-fashioned purge,” Salvador said after a while. “And by old, I mean ancient. I’m going to step out for an hour or so while we gather the materials we need. In the meantime, I’m going to have your brownie boil some water. There’s a specific tincture I want you to drink to get ready.”

“Will do,” she promised.

The healer and his mate walked to the door. He paused at the threshold, giving her that puzzled, searching glance as if he were still trying to place her.

His mate touched his shoulder, and he finally exited. The woman did as well, with a last pointed look at Rhys.

She turned her head as little as possible to see her dragon. “What was that for?”

“Gia and I have come to an understanding.”

“About her partner helping me?”

Rhys gazed down at her, his eyes possessive but guarded. “Among other things.”

“Who is she?”

“The Earth Elemental.”

“What?” she screeched. Or, at least, she tried to screech. It came out as a strangled cough.

“She’s here to help,” Rhys assured her. “They both are.”

Crap on a cracker. “I thought Elementals were a myth.”

His mouth curled up sardonically. “I’m afraid not.”

“Wow,” she said, sinking more deeply into the pillow. “What did you have to promise her to get her mate’s help?”

“To get Salvador here? Nothing. It was her idea. She…well, she was…”

He raised his head as if listening to something, then opened his arms. “Can I show you something or will it hurt too much to be moved?”

It had to be important, or he wouldn’t ask. Rhys had been treating her as if she were made of spun glass ever since he’d gotten her out of Sheol.

Valeria pushed the sheet off. Ever so gently, Rhys picked her up and carried her to the window.

Salvador and Gia the Elemental were having a discussion in front of the house. It looked heated.

The healer threw his hands in the air, then started pacing back and forth. His mate said something, but Salvador just waved her away, not wanting to be comforted.

“Salvador just received some unexpected news,” Rhys said in a low voice.

“He looks so upset.” Valeria felt bad for him. He seemed so kind.

She narrowed her eyes at Rhys. “You know what she told him, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he confirmed, his voice grave. “Salvador Delavordo just found out the sister he thought was dead is still alive.”

She froze in his arms, going hot and cold. “Delavordo?”

“Yes. Salvador is the eldest child of Fulgencio and Lucia Delavordo. And you are their daughter.”

Valeria blinked at him, expecting him to break into grin and tell her he was joking. But he didn’t do that. Her lip trembled. “That can’t be right.”

Except it made so much sense. Michael had told her himself. Fortunately for me, your clan has many enemies.

Mierda. He’d known who she was the entire time. It was why he’d targeted her. The Delavordos were notorious for spawning powerful witches, many of whom had gone black.

It’s why I can do what I can. Why I’ve had to fight so hard to stay in the light. She had too much power for one witch. So had many of the Delavordos.

Rhys held up a hand. “I know what you’re thinking, my love‚ but everything about you is good. And the Delavordos aren’t all bad. If one has won an Elemental for a mate, they can’t be. Although, as Gia keeps reminding me, her mate is not part of that family anymore. He was disinherited.”

Valeria didn’t find that convincing, but she had done all her soul searching in Sheol. This wouldn’t change the fact she was going to fight to survive this so she could be with Rhys.

Except it cast Ravenna’s act in a new light.

“Have you ever met my real parents?”

Rhys shook his head. “No. I only know them by reputation. They are…formidable. And you should know that according to Gia and Naveen, they never wrote you off. They’ve been searching for you for your entire life.”

There was a sizzling sound. Rhys wiped her cheek with the lightest of touches, stopping the tear before it could reach another crack of energy and evaporate like a drop of water on a skillet.

“That’s unsettling.” Her mutter was watery.

Rhys opened his mouth, but a knock interrupted whatever he was going to say.

The door opened, and Salvador poked his head in. His eyes were red.

“Hey.”

She stared at him, studying him in a new light. Yeah, the resemblance was there. His eyes were a different color, but not by much, and they had the same shape. Also, his nose and mouth were the masculine versions of hers. And he was pretty close in skin tone, the darker cast it had coming from spending more time in the sun, according to the tan line on his shoulder.

“Hi,” she said. The new knowledge she had must have been written on her face because he sighed, almost relieved.

He had been prepared to tell her, but he hadn’t known how.

“Is it okay if we talk?” he asked. Salvador looked up at Rhys. “Gia is taking charge of gathering the supplies. This won’t delay the treatment.”

She could feel Rhys’ reluctance. He didn’t want to leave her alone with anyone…but this was her brother. Damn. I have a brother.

With the same care he’d taken in picking her up, Rhys set her on the mattress. “I will send Aggie up with the tea.”

Salvador nodded and sat on the bed. He blinked rapidly a few times.

“Are you older or younger than me?” she asked.

His smile through his tears was genuine. “I’m older. You—well, I’m not sure what age you are.”

“Because your parents used a surrogate. Was it a secret?”

Salvador’s cheek twitched. “It was, even from me. I don’t know the whole story, but Gia just filled in some blanks.” His handsome face hardened. “I know this Ravenna woman sacrificed herself to save you, but I’m never going to forgive her for taking you. Neither will our parents.”

He broke off, wiping his cheeks. “I’m sorry for what’s happened to you.”

Her grin was painful but worth it. “I was going to say the same thing to you—being excommunicated can’t have been fun.”

His lip twitched. “We’re not a religion. Just a messed-up family. But even disinherited, Mother and Father poke their noses in my business. And even though they continue to be arrogant and argue like it’s an Olympic sport, I do think they’ve mellowed a little in their old age. They continue to love me, despite our numerous differences and disagreements.”

“That’s good,” she whispered, wondering what they would think of her.

Salvador leaned forward. “To be honest, I think your kidnapping explains a lot about why they are the way they are. Not completely, of course, but some.”

Kidnapping. The word reverberated in her mind, her body reacting by losing cohesion. She sank into the bed, darkness rolling over her.

Salvador tapped her on the nose. “Don’t think about it. We can talk about it—about her—once you’re better. For now, you need to marshal every bit of your resources. The purge is going to take a lot out of you.”

She held up her cracked hands. “Damn, I hope so.” She tried to smile. “I want to hear more about our parents,” she said. “And about you.”

So he started to tell her about his life and their parents, including the fact they were about to have a baby sister—without a surrogate this time.

Just how old was her birth mother? “Is that what they call a change-of-life baby?”

“Maybe,” he said, laughing. “I honestly didn’t want to hear all the details. But a new life is always a good thing. I call her the miracle baby.”

His eyes grew dark as he watched her process that. “I think I would have been a pretty good big brother to you.”

She laughed, her eyes stinging. “I believe you.”

He was a man who had that perfect big-brother air. The tears sizzled on her cheeks.

“That would have been nice,” she added hoarsely. He had no idea how much. “But you get another chance with the new baby.”

“And I’ll do her proud,” he said, his voice equally rough. “God knows she’s going to need me to run interference with our mom and dad. But I’d like to think it’s not too late for me to be a real brother to you.”

She held up her hands. The angel light in her veins was beautiful in its strange, damaging way. “Well, not going to lie. I could use a little help.”

“We will get rid of it, I promise,” Salvador assured her. “In the meantime, can you tell me how you ended up with a dragon for a boyfriend?”

“Sure, if you tell me how you ended up with an Elemental for a mate.”

“Deal,” he said. “Who goes first?”

She wagged her finger. “Age before beauty.”

Salvador burst out laughing. “I know you’ve never been a younger sister before, but it must be a natural talent. You sound exactly like one already.”

He rounded the bed, kicking off his shoes and leaning against the headboard, settling in for a long story.

“Well, it started when Gia was poisoned…”