With fear prickling in her heart, she kicked with all her might to swim after him. Using the undertow to her advantage, Diana grabbed a hold of his ankle and held on, praying to whatever god would listen. Her need for air threatened that this was the end.
A shimmer of light cut through the dark abyss, so sudden that Diana suspected it to be an illusion. Despite her lightheadedness and weary limbs, she exerted one last burst of strength to catch it. Perhaps it was the water’s surface, although she couldn’t imagine they’d be close after being pulled so far under. Her muscles burned. Her legs and arms moved slowly, as if caught in a tar pit, the added weight of dragging the oversized angel not helping matters.
The urge to open her mouth to breathe was uncontrollable at this point. Yet the light grew brighter, wider.
This must be the end and the gods are sending me into a realm of pure divine light, just as an oracle predicted centuries earlier.
One final kick. That was all that she had left within her. Just one more...
THE EXACT MOMENT DIANA opened her lips for what she’d assumed was her final breath, her head popped out of the water. Instead of a mouthful of dark water, crisp, freezing air sailed through her mouth and nose, down her throat, and hit her lungs with a burning sensation.
There was scant light here. Clearly, they were not at the surface of the lake, but instead had been sucked into an underground cavern. The walls were pristine white, close to being incandescent. The ceiling was too high for her to make out anything other than pitch blackness. Still, the lapping water cast happy tendrils of light around so she wasn’t left in complete darkness.
Struggling to her knees first, then her feet, she wasted no time dragging Lucifer by his foot up a slight incline, until his face was out of the water. She fell by his side. Her knees sank into the wet sand. Her arms cradled his head.
He was motionless. Was he breathing? Had he survived the ravages of space only to be killed here? It didn’t seem fair.
Blood ran down his face from a large gash along his temple. While he’d kept her safe inside the protection of his wings, he’d dealt with all the raging elements himself. His face was colorless. The feathers of his wings were torn in ragged patches. His chest did not rise and fall.
“No!” Diana wailed. “Please, wake up! Lucifer, wake up, damn you!” Tears raced down her cheeks to mingle with the water still dripping from her wet hair. “Please, don’t leave me!”
She used the hem of what was left of her garment to stanch the bleeding from the gash along his temple, stroking his cheek. “Please.” Her words echoed throughout the cavern, eerily repeating back to her in ever-softening tones.
He didn’t move. Only her cries, intermixed with the water lapping at the solid rock shore and water dripping from stalactites so high above they were invisible, could be heard.
“You can’t leave me. Not like this. Not when...” The rest of the words failed her. All the might have beens best kept silent. She pushed up on her knees to behold his angelic countenance. There was no grimace or tension in the muscles of his face, just smooth skin. His prone body gave him the illusion of being at peace.
“Damn you!” Diana’s fists beat against his chest until she could no longer hold herself upright. Collapsing over his body, one arm snaked around his neck while the other caressed his face, no longer attempting to stop the crimson blood leaking down to mat his once beautiful auburn hair—a halo without need of divine light.
One last kiss. It wasn’t so much to ask for, was it? Considering he never would’ve kissed her again—and not the way he had when they’d thought they would be lost forever in the black hole—would it be too sacrilegious? Did she even care anymore?
Her lips grazed his. Still so soft and warm. The knowledge that they’d never return her touch sliced through her heart. She’d die here, too. Alone. A virgin. Mourning the loss of what could’ve been. If only...
A low moan.
Diana’s head snapped up. Where did that come from?
Another longer one.
She jumped up, then looked down. Did that sound come from him? She kneeled over him again, lowering her head until her ear was right above his mouth.
A gentle whiff of air stirred from between his pale lips, tickling a tendril of her hair.
Great gods of the Underworld! How can it be?
“Lucifer? Come on! Come back to me!” She pleaded, tears blurring her vision.
Another faint groan had her leaning closer until a strong hand reached up, grabbed the back of her head, and pulled her on top of him. His other hand captured her face. “Whoever could voluntarily leave you would be the greatest of fools.”
She didn’t know whether to kiss him or beat him up for making her feel like her world had been severed in two.
The corners of his lips tilted up.
Arrogant bastard!
“Damn you!” Diana rasped before allowing him to pull her head down until their lips touched. Solid. Warm. Supple. A ripple of heat zinged down her body to ignite in her core. How she came alive at the slightest touch from him should’ve alarmed her. But she was too grateful to have the living, breathing archangel back and in her arms, and the warning bells rang as joyous peals of celebration.
Both her hands gripped the sides of his face. He attempted to pull away. She wouldn’t let him. They’d been denied before—the lake on Olympus, the black hole, and he’d been essentially dead. No way she’d allow him to stand in the way of the energy coursing through them, between them. Who knew if they’d get another chance?
