To Hell and Back by L.B. Gilbert

Chapter Fifty-Three

In the end, Valeria’s treatment was simple. Salvador used a curse.

“Taking power is their intended use,” he pointed out. “We have to make a few adjustments, but it’s the easiest way to do this.”

The biggest tweak he deemed necessary was to make sure that the angel light didn’t end up bouncing around the atmosphere. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “We organized an appropriate receptacle for the power. Well, Gia did.”

The Earth Elemental put a hand on Valeria’s cheek. Unlike the touch of the others, this skin-to-skin contact soothed.

“Either my sister Diana or Logan would work as a vessel,” she told her and Rhys. “Both can absorb the kind of energy that we’re seeing here, can even tweak it if needed so that it’s at home in their body.”

Valeria was skeptical but after Logan, the Air Elemental, showed up, she understood the genius of the plan.

Michael’s lightning liked the Air Elemental. With her brother’s help and a very special circle she helped him draw, the lighting left Valeria’s body, sluggishly at first, and then eagerly.

Instead of keeping it, the Air Elemental decided to put on a light show for the clan.

Afterward, Valeria’s skin was almost completely normal. Residual cracks remained, leaving her skin a little raw, but that problem was solved by soaking in an herbal concoction Salvador had mixed to speed the healing.

The two Elementals left soon after. Salvador stayed a few weeks more—to monitor her progress and to get to know her better. But after a long visit, he left, too. He traveled with Gia, maintaining a mobile healing practice he needed to get back to. Also, he had to go because he missed his mate.

“Before I leave, I wanted to ask something,” he said on his last day. “I need to know if you’re ready for me to tell our parents about you.”

Valeria had been expecting the question, but she hesitated. “I…I think so.”

His brows rose. “Are you sure? I admit I don’t like keeping this from them, but once they know where you are, they will descend like Valkyries. Nothing short of Mother being in active labor will stop them.”

Valeria hugged him, the gesture thankfully pain-free. “I dealt with an evil archangel for months, and I’m shacking up with a dragon. I think I can handle our parents.”

His head tilted. “You say that now, but wait until you meet them,” he said, making her laugh.

Salvador squeezed her once more before shaking hands with Rhys and leaving with Naveen, who was going to drive him off the mountain.

Rhys hovered over her as she walked to the couch.

“I’m okay to walk on my own,” she chided as she sat in front of the fireplace.

“I know. But I may have a hard time letting you for the next few months.”

Leaning over, he breathed on the logs, lighting them with his fire.

I’m never going to get tired of that. “Can you come sit with me?”

He was on the couch like a shot. Stretching his long legs out, he dropped an arm around her, tugging her into his side with palpable contentment.

Too bad she had to ruin his good mood.

Valeria leaned against his chest, afraid to look him in the face. “Rhys?”

“Yes, little love?”

“I have to tell you something bad.”

His chest and arms turned to corded steel against her. “Is it about Michael?”

I wish. “No…it’s about Gabrielle.”

Rhys pulled away slightly, staring down at her in confusion. “What about her?”

You can do this.

Valeria took a deep breath reached up to stroke his face. “Remember when I touched her necklace? My experiment with the circle to protect me from the backlash failed, but the actual ability I was trying to recall worked. The psychometry showed me what happened to her.”

“Her or you?”

She closed her eyes before opening them to look into his beloved face. He would not face this alone. “I honestly don’t know. But I didn’t want to tell you because she…she suffered.”

He pulled away to stand in front of her. “Tell me.”

Valeria stared down at her hands. “You were wrong about her not being a witch. Gabrielle had magic. And I think Michael was watching her, too. But he’s not the one who harmed her. It was one of his agents, or a rival. An incubus who had possessed someone on this side.”

Rhys started violently.

“An incubus feeds—” she began.

“I know what they do.” His neck was corded so tightly that she was worried he couldn’t breathe.

“I think the incubus betrayed Michael,” she told him gently. “He was supposed to mark Gabrielle for Sheol, but the demon chose to feed on her instead, to get enough strength to stay on this side.”

Valeria put a hand on his arm, willing the stone-hard muscles to soften. “She was hanging on by a thread before you met her. The incubus was in her sphere long before you arrived in Vienna, disguised as one of her many suitors. I don’t think he planned on going through with the sham marriage until you appeared on the scene.”

Rhys’ voice was hoarse. “Did my proposal hasten things along?”

“No, I don’t think so. What happened was inevitable.”

Rhys closed his eyes, taking a moment to compose himself. “Did she know what was happening to her?”

“Yes,” Valeria whispered. “That was why she suffered.”

His face crumpled. “Why didn’t she tell me? I could have helped her.”

She grabbed his arm. “Rhys, she wanted to be with you, but she couldn’t break free of him. Not enough to ask for help aloud. The incubus’ claws were in too deep, controlling her every move. But Gabrielle still had the wherewithal to thwart the demon.”

He closed his eyes, filling in the blanks. “She wasn’t ill, was she? She took her own life.”

Blinking back tears, Valeria nodded. “Laudanum—an opium overdose. It wasn’t painful.”

Not compared to the life she’d been living.

Heavily, Rhys sat in front of her. Even sitting cross-legged, he was so tall that they were almost at the same head height.

“You keep saying her…” he began.

“I know she was me,” Valeria admitted in a whisper. “But I’ve been trying not to connect with her. I didn’t want to identify with her any more than I had to. Seeing through her eyes when I held the necklace was bad enough.”

He grimaced. “Because you’ve had enough bad things in your life.”

“Hey.” Valeria leaned forward to put her hands on either side of his face. “That would never include you. Never.”

His beautiful onyx eyes swam with tears. “I should have saved you back then.”

“It was already too late,” she whispered.

It had been from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. There hadn’t been enough of Gabrielle left. And even if he’d succeeded in marrying her—eloping or something—she would have always been a beautiful shell, but little more.

“And you saved me this time,” she reminded him with a squeeze of her hands. “You went to hell to get me.”

Rhys tsked, wiping his eyes. “I seem to recall some mutual rescuing—taking the angel’s telekinesis to save my men is enough for Veda to write your name amongst our greatest warriors.”

She leaned back, pulling him on the couch. “Brilliant. I love that.”

Beckoning him closer, Valeria plastered herself against him. He did the same, bending his head until their foreheads were touching. “I was always meant to love you,” he said. “You’ve been mine for centuries, and you’ll continue to be mine for eternity. And Valeria—it won’t be nearly long enough.”

She burrowed into his chest, so full of love she could barely see straight. “Then let’s just make the most of today, every day.”

“I can do that, my love.” Rhys released a shaky breath. “I can do that.”