The Witnesses departed, the citizens of Toqith filed out of the throne room, chattering about what had gone down and Lilith sat on her throne, stunned that none of it had gone her way. That she’d failed.

  Catching a glimpse of Ashliel filing out of the room I hurried to catch up, grabbing hold of her arm to halt her.

  “Ash.” I didn’t know why I’d stopped her. Didn’t know what I was going to say. I was still unbelievably hurt by her deception, that our friendship had been a lie.

  “You want me to say that I’m sorry Lucy?” She asked with a familiar arch of her brow, “I’m not. I always thought you were too soft to run Hell. Too fair. Too good. You didn’t deserve it.”

  “I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.” I didn’t have a witty comeback, barely had words at all for my former friend.

  A hand came down on my shoulder, and I looked up to find Dacian by my side.

  “Ashliel.” He nodded at Ash. “I liked you better as a redhead.” Then he steered me away.

  “You okay?” He asked.

  “I had no idea, none.” I sighed, blinking back tears, “I thought she was my friend, I trusted her implicitly and all along she was spying on me, all along she was-”

  “Don’t dwell on it. You can’t change it and don’t beat yourself up over it. None of us knew. She had us all fooled.”

  Wiping a tear from my face, I sniffed and then squared my shoulders. It was over. Lilith had lost and was now imprisoned in her own realm, unable to hurt us ever again. It was…surreal. And just when I was settling into my new normal, of being able to breathe and mentally planning the rebuilding of Hell, I felt it. The severing of my connection with Levi.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I gasped, clutching my chest.

  “What is it?” Dacian asked in concern, peering into my face. Panic swept over me, making it hard to breathe, hard to think. I’d lost the connection. He was…gone.

  “My bond with Levi,” I choked, hysteria building, “it’s broken. Gone. I can’t feel him!” I ended on a cry.

  “Okay, okay, calm down,”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down!” I yelled, swinging around in circles, not knowing what I was looking for, not knowing what to do. What do I do?

  “Lucy!” Dacian grabbed my shoulders and halted me. “Breathe. It might not mean what you think it means.”

  “What? That he’s dead? Why else wouldn’t I feel him? Through all of this, despite having my magic locked down, I could feel him. He was alive. And now he’s not.” I crumpled. We’d been so close, so very close and now he was gone.

  “Remember when he got pulled into another dimension by the Zuska and you thought all was lost?” Dacian reminded me. “We got him back. He survived.”

  “I wasn’t bound to him then, I didn’t know. Not for sure.”

  Dacian pulled me against his chest and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “Have faith.”

  “What’s happened?” Dad approached, took in my distraught appearance and addressed Dacian rather than me. Smart man. I was bordering on hysteria; my body was shaking, and I could barely breathe due to the weight on my chest.

  “She can’t feel Levi,” Dacian explained, running a soothing hand up and down my back.

  “Come. We shall find him together.”

  “I can’t leave. She suppressed my magic.” I sniffed into Dacian’s chest, leaning heavily against him. I was tired. Really tired. So tired I could lay down on the floor and die, for, without Levi, I didn’t want to continue. I couldn’t live my life without him.

  “I returned your power, Lucy. You’re okay. You’re whole.” Dad told me.

  “Not without Levi I’m not.” And I began sobbing all over again. I thought I heard Dacian sigh, and I tried to pull myself together but failed miserably.

  “Don’t give up on him Lucy. Just because you can’t feel him doesn’t mean he’s dead. Something else could be interfering with your connection.”

  I lifted my head and peered at my father through bloodshot eyes. “You don’t think this is one last ditch attempt from Lilith to hurt us, do you?”

  He shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past her. Let’s go see hmm?”

  With Dacian holding one hand, and dad the other, we flew out of Toqith and returned to Hell. I felt the tug on my heartstrings that I wouldn’t see my brothers or Ashliel again. They’d chosen their paths; this was their destiny, not mine. Then I was distracted by what lay before me as we flew in past the Gates of Hell. It was just as I’d left it. Not broken or empty. My two remaining dragons flew above the gate, on guard. And Hell, HQ sat upon the cliff like it always had, it hadn’t fallen. And my bond with Levi? It was there, as clear and strong as ever.

  “Oh my God!” I clutched my chest, rubbing at the sweetness of the ache in my heart. It had gone from utter sadness to utter joy so fast it hurt.

  “You feel him?” Dacian asked as we materialized in my office.

  “I do!” I smiled, my relief bringing tears to my eyes once more. I’d never cried as much as I had on this day. “Let me go find him,” I rushed to the elevator since he wasn’t in my office. Dacian and dad were at the monitors, surveying earth. From what I glimpsed on the screens, all was well there too. Amazing. I made a mental note to ask dad about it once I’d found Levi.

  Upstairs I ran through the apartment, calling his name. He didn’t reply. He wasn’t there, I knew the minute I stepped inside that the apartment was empty, but still, I searched, going from room to room. No Levi. No Mr. Meow. No Nibbler. Where had they all gone?

  Anxiety was nipping at my heels when I returned to dad and Dacian.

  “No?” Dacian glanced at my face, then back at the monitors.

  “He’s not here!”

  Dad sighed, “damn it.”

  “What?” I seized his arm, forcing him to look at me.

  “I think your mother may have boobytrapped Levi.”

  “Boobytrapped? How?”

  “She went to a lot of trouble to make you think Hell had fallen; my best guess is when you returned to this realm, Levi was transported elsewhere.”

  “To another dimension?” When would this end? The traps and games my mother had planned were mind-boggling.

  “I’d say she sent him back to Earth.” Dacian was still looking at the monitors, “he’s part human. I don’t think she wanted him dead, he was no threat to her, plus if she did, she could have killed him and left him here for you to find.”

  I mulled it over, my eyes flicking over the screens, scanning for signs of Levi.

  “I think you’re right,” I said.

  “Dacian, help Lucy search for him. I must return to Heaven but if you need me, call, I will come.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Dad?” I hugged him, not sure what to say. He’d answered my prayers, had come to Toqith and rescued me. “Do you know where he is? Can you find him?”

  “I wish I could Lucy, I really do. But since he became part fire demon, I cannot get a firm lock on him, other than, he’s alive. And I think Dacian is right; Earth is the first place I’d look.” He hugged me, tight. “I’ve repaired what damage I could from Lilith’s interference. I’ve answered prayers, there are many more to go, I’ve performed the odd miracle or two, and now I need to get back to Heaven and continue my work. You go. Find Levi, I’ll send someone to monitor Hell for you, but this is a temporary arrangement – you need to return and take the helm, understood?”

  “Yes, father. I’ll return.” I knew what he was saying, the hidden words. With or without Levi my place was here. I could see three of the screens monitoring Hell flashing, indicating trouble was brewing. “I’ll sort that out before I go,” I told dad reluctantly.

  “I’ve got it. You go. The quicker you find him, the quicker you will return. I imagine it’s only souls kicking up a fuss about their punishment.”

  “Thank you, dad,” I whispered, fresh tears in my eyes as I hugged him one more time before stepping back and wiping my arm across my eyes.

  “Ready?” Dacian asked.

  “Ready.”

  Together we flew to Earth, intent on finding Levi.

  We couldn’t find him. I was losing hope when Dacian suggested we check in on the key while we were on Earth. Apparently, they had arrived in Heaven safe and sound and dad had returned them to Fury Island.

  “They may know something.” He suggested.

  “Pft, doubtful, but okay. I know I don’t have much time, I’m needed in Hell, but I don’t think I can face returning without Levi.” I admitted, my worry for Levi trumping my concern for my own realm.

  “We’ll find him.” He sounded so confident, so sure. I wished I had half of his conviction. My thoughts turned to my mother. She’d done this. She’d taken Levi from me, if I were her, where would I send him? She didn’t want to hurt him per se, but she wanted him out of my life, that much was clear. She’d spirited me away to her own dimension and had been intent on keeping me there, away from him. What would I do if I were Lilith?

  Flying in low over Fury Island we came in to land in front of the vet clinic.

  “Can you feel them?” Dacian smiled at me, and I beamed in response. Yes! I could feel my bond with the key, and they felt me for the door flew open, and Del was running toward me, arms outstretched, Duke bounding by her side, barking, and Jase at a more leisurely pace, bringing up the rear.

  “You’re back!” Del wrapped her arms around me and squeezed, and I laughed, hugging her back.

  “I am. Are you okay?”

  “We’re all good.” Releasing me, Del stepped back and eyed me up and down, “and you? What did she do?” Her last words ended on a scowl and I decided I wouldn’t tell them what I’d suffered while imprisoned on Toqith, it would only distress them more.

  “I’m good. Everything is sorted. Lilith has been locked in her own dimension; no-one can enter or leave.”

  “I see some amazing things have been happening on Planet Earth. All of our people are back.” Jase drawled, sliding an arm around Del and tucking her into his side. I remembered then that the entire population of Fury Island had mysteriously disappeared around the same time the Valkyrie had shown up. I made a mental note to thank dad.

  “Yeah, dad’s been busy.”

  “We met him. Seems a nice bloke.”

  I barked out a laugh. Typical Jase, laidback as usual.

  “I’m looking for Levi. Have you seen him? Heard anything?” I asked. It was a longshot, but I was desperate.

  “Oh. You don’t know?” Del chewed on her lip.

  “Know what? Is he here?” I couldn’t begin to hope, but when she nodded, I could have kissed her. Her next words stopped me in my tracks, “there’s something you should know, Lucy.”

  “What?”

  “It’s Levi.”

  “What about him?”

  “He’s…”

  “Oh my god! What? Just spit it out Del, I can’t take any more suspense or drama.”

  “He’s lost his memory. He turned up here, well not here, not at the clinic. On the dock. We found him on the dock, wandering dazed and confused. He was carrying Nibbler under one arm and another cat under the other, and he was lost.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Nothing. That’s just it; he didn’t know what he was doing here. He knows his name but nothing else. He doesn’t know how he got here. He didn’t recognize us.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Flinging open the door to Del’s old cottage I sucked in a breath at the sight of Levi standing at the kitchen sink. He turned and stared at me then shook his head.

  “Look, I know I’m new to Fury Island, but honestly, you people need to learn some manners. Knock first and then wait. Don’t just barge in.”

  Nibbler and Mr. Meow wound around my legs, meowing, and I bent to pat them. I’d missed my furry felines.

  “They like you.” He noted, standing with his arms folded across his chest.

  “You don’t know me?” I asked, my eyes drinking in the sight of him, wanting to rush into his arms and hold him close.

  “Should I?” There was that brow arch that I loved.

  “Yeah, you should. We’re mates.”

  “Mates? As in…friends?” He cocked his head, and I bit back a groan. I’d never expected him not to know me, not to remember. Damn you Lilith and your stupid tricks.

  “No. Mates as in fated mates. Lovers.”

  “Oh.” His eyes roamed over me and a bloom of red spread across his cheeks. “Look, I’m really sorry, you’re really…pretty…to look at but…I don’t know you. You’re a stranger to me, and you’re telling me we’re…what? Married?”

  “In a sense.”

  “Look, lady, we’re either married, or we’re not.” He waved his ring finger at me, “and I’m not wearing a ring, so I’d say not.”

  “My name is Lucy, and we’re bound. There’s a tattoo on the back of your shoulder. That’s my mark. I bound you to me.”

  He looked at me with wide eyes then turned his back, busying himself at the sink. I heard him mutter “psycho” under his breath and sighed. This wasn’t going well. I’d barged in and had naively expected that as soon as he laid eyes on me, he’d remember, he’d know who I was. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. I needed another approach, fast.

  “Levi Forrester. I met you in your tarot reading shop, The Black Hat in Shadow Falls. You helped me return a soul stealer to his own dimension.” I paused, wondering how much I should tell him, that he had, in fact, been dragged into the Soul Stealers dimension and it had taken me more time than I’d have liked to rescue him. I decided to leave that bit out.

  “This,” I kneeled, and Mr. Meow head butted my hand, “is your cat, Mr. Meow. Initially, he had no fur because you were allergic. But I healed you and fixed him.” I picked up Nibbler and buried my face in her fur, “And this is my kitten, Nibbler. I rescued her here on Fury Island and brought her home with me.”

  “You healed me? Are you a doctor?”

  “Nope.” My breath puffed out in frustration. This reminded me of the time in the cemetery in Shadow Falls when Dacian, and I had fought. My brothers had wiped his memory; he had no recollection of me at all other than to think I was an evil monster who had to be stopped. I then had a proverbial light bulb moment. I’d kissed Dacian to push my memories into him. I’d do the same with Levi and hope to god it worked.

  “You said home…” Levi watched as I rose and slowly walked toward him. “We live together?”

  I nodded. “We do.” I stopped inches from him and ran my palm across his chest. So hot. My lips curled into a smile when he didn’t stop me, didn’t move away.

  “Do you feel that?” I whispered, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt and sliding my hand in to rest against his flesh. The skin upon skin contact sparked a fire in my veins.

  “I feel…” His voice was hoarse. Confused. I saw it in his eyes, the desire burning there, along with the chaos of his current situation.

  “It feels good, doesn’t it?” I breathed, removing my hand and tugging my shirt over my head, tossing it on the floor behind. My bra followed.

  “Er, Lucy, I don’t think-”

  I cut him off. “Don’t think! Just feel. Feel our connection. The chemistry between us. Just feel.” I jerked his shirt open the rest of the way, the remaining buttons flinging off and scattering across the floor, fodder for Nibbler and Mr. Meow who pounced upon them with glee.

  Sliding both palms up his chest, over his shoulders, and around his neck, I pressed myself against him, bit back my groan as my blood thundered through my veins, and my skin tingled where we touched. It felt so, so good. His hands moved up of their own volition and wrapped around me, exploring my back as he adjusted to the feel of our bodies pressed together so intimately.

  Then I tugged his head down, smiling when he let me, knew he was as helpless as I to resist. My want for him burned, soon I knew the fire would be all-consuming, that I’d have no control – I never did it when it came to him – but for now, I had to take it slow. Don’t spook him.

  His mouth hovered over mine, his eyes blazed with want and need, yet I didn’t kiss him, I let our breaths mingle in that space until I couldn’t stand it and I breached the gap, standing on tiptoe I pressed my lips against his, and he groaned, the sound vibrating through me from head to toe. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as his tongue swept into my mouth, dueling with mine. I felt his erection pressing insistently against me, and I rubbed against it, wanting him inside me so badly I could have cried, but my brain was screaming slowly! Take it slowly!

  His hands got busy then, cupping my head, tilting me to just the right angle to plunder my mouth, tangling in my hair and tugging before sliding through the strands to wrap around my neck, his thumbs meeting beneath my chin. I was vulnerable but knew this man, whether he remembered me or not, would not harm me, I had nothing to fear. His fingers lingered on my throat for a second, stroking the skin there before sliding down to cup my shoulders, then lower, to my breasts. I couldn’t contain the shiver as he cupped and squeezed, familiarizing himself.

  “You know me.” I groaned, pulling my mouth away, sucking in a breath.

  “It seems I do.” He ground out, his mouth replacing his hands at my neck, licking, sucking, biting until I was a trembling mess in his arms. It was torturous, going slow, but it was divine torture, everything around us faded, all that existed was him and me.

  “Let me love you,” I whispered, wriggling back. His hands dropped, and he stood before me, compliant, his face dark with desire. I explored his chest with my hands and mouth, every inch of him was adored before moving lower, across his abs that clenched beneath my touch, until I reached the waistband of his pants. Dropping to my knees, I undid the button and slowly lowered the zipper, glancing up at him as I did so. He looked down at me, his eyes so dark I couldn’t tell the pupil from the iris, but I saw the want, saw the desire, and soon I knew I’d see the love. He would remember, I was sure of it.

 

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