Lyra
My mind nearly went blank under the weight of his confession. What messed-up deal had he gotten himself into?
I raised my head to him once again, my eyes restless in their pool. I couldn't shake off the cold feeling biting deep into my bones that he'd made a dangerous deal just to save me. "What do you mean by 'it's your life on the line now?" I asked, my voice trembling with disbelief. "You're an immortal. You can't die."
My eyes, wide and pleading, searched his. He turned away, his gaze darting across the hall, avoiding mine. He was probably afraid I might find out more from his eyes than he was willing to share.
We hadn't kept secrets from each other in lifetimes—not since the early days when we barely understood the curse that bound us. If he was hiding something now, it had to be dire.
The mere thought sent heat coursing through my veins even as the room's chill bit into me.
"You're immortal, Draziel," I asked again, my voice firmer this time. "You can't die. Tell me I'm wrong."
But he didn't. "There's no time for this, Lyra. We need to leave. Now."
Before I could protest, he was behind me, draping his robe over my shoulders. The warmth of the fabric and the earthy scent of him enveloping me. Once again, I am reminded of the commanding and ruthless demon king I had fallen in love with, the boss of the underworld.
In one swift motion, he scooped me into his arms, pressing me against his broad chest.
A part of me longed to sink into the warmth of his arms. But I couldn't. Not now. I couldn't let the comfort of his arms distract me from the questions that burned inside me.
"Let me go," I protested, thrashing weakly against his hold. Whatever strength I could squeeze out of my small arms was nothing compared to his.
During the course of my 176 lifetimes, I had been a healer, a lawyer, a warrior… I had been everything I could possibly be. But I'd never hated one more than how I hated what I was now—a powerless bar girl who couldn't stop him. The warrior version of me would have gotten her answers even before he got to lift me into his arms and carry me out into the sprawling cold and rain.
The rain pelted down on us in icy pinpricks, soaking us as it soaked the streets, pooling in glistening puddles on the sidewalks.
Draziel covered me with his big body as much as was possible as he strode forward. And I was forced to abandon my struggle and relax into the warmth of his body against the cold. His stride was powerful as he kept on under the rain, his eyes trained forward, completely ignoring the stares of passersby bundled in coats and clutching umbrellas. Their curious glances flitted to us.
He'd abandoned his breastplate in the bar, but with his medieval-styled silk undergarments and sword at his hip, he looked like he'd just stepped out of a medieval-themed movie set. So was I with the flowing robe he wrapped me in.
The robe kept out most of the chilly wind whistling through the rain and cushioned the sting of the continuous pelting of the raindrops that managed to evade his body and fall on me.
My thoughts swirled with fragments of the past, and suddenly, this moment too felt like déjà vu, a memory from another lifetime. I could almost see it—my 170th lifetime. I was in his arms, walking down the pavement just like we are right now. The rain had poured down on us then, too, cold and relentless. The sky was just as dark and empty as it was right now.
That lifetime, he had found me after twenty-six long years of searching the universe for me. Twenty-six years I'd spent waiting for him, leaving us with just four years, since only he and Zarek could access the portal to the underworld.
I never got past thirty in any lifetime. Death seems to always find me before thirty-one, no matter how carefully I try to hide.
The rain pelted harder, and then the world around us seemed to blur as he carried us through the unseen portal to the underworld. His home. His empire.
The moment he stepped onto the castle's field, I thrashed against his arms, twisting and shoving desperately.
"Calm down, Lyra. You'll hurt yourself," he said softly, his voice calm as he let me go.
My bare feet pressed into the cool, soft grass of the field. I spun to face him, my chest still heaving with the effort of my escape.
The scent of wet grass rose around us, raindrops hovering over his arched brows. I stared up at him, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. I tipped my chin up, defiant.
"Tell me, Draziel," I demanded, my voice trembling but firm. "What deal did you make with Zarek?"
He made a hard, obvious swallow while I traced the smooth column of his throat with my eager eyes, hoping whatever would come from his lips after would be an answer.
"Lyra," he said finally, his tone soft, almost pleading. "At least let's go inside before—"
"No." I cut him off, "We do this here. Now."
I couldn't stay still knowing he was risking his immortal life to save my mere mortal one. I had the option of rebirth and reincarnation, and he doesn't. If he died, that was the end. No second chances. No coming back.
He looked away, his crimson eyes shifting. When he finally met my gaze again, his expression was taut, his brows furrowed as though the weight of his secret was crushing him.
"Zarek," he muttered, his voice almost too quiet to catch. "Zarek wants my powers and life in exchange for yours."
Air left my lungs in a sharp, painful rush, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe. "You can't," I whispered, my voice cracking. Tears welled in my eyes, slipping down my cheeks before I could stop them. "You can't accept this deal, Draziel. I can't lose you. I won't."
He stepped closer, his fingers brushing the tears from my face with a tenderness that only made the pain sharper.
"I'm sorry, Lyra," he said softly, his voice tinged with sorrow. "I know I'm being selfish, but this is the only way to end the cycle. I've already signed the blood oath. It can't be undone, even if I changed my mind now. Now, you get to live. You'll finally have the life you want."
But the life I wanted was with him. Even though death kept taking me, finding him again in another lifetime had always replaced that sorrow and longing with joy. Now I can never have that. He's conspired with the universe to take that from me.