He strode to the door. It was locked. Gabe snapped the doorknob with ease. She jumped from her place before the mirror. A towel was wrapped around her and her pink hair clipped on top of her head. Written across the top of her back was his name and the geometric Immortal script marking her as his mate by Immortal law. She faced him, her pink face scrubbed clean.
Immortal Code, Rule 973: An Immortal mate of human origin is marked with its Immortal's name so that other Immortals know to protect and welcome the human into the Immortal society.
"Deidre," he whispered.
She nodded uncertainly.
Deidre. The name past-Death adopted when she took on a human form in her underworld before she quit. Though her hair was pink, there was no mistaking the delicate facial features, porcelain skin and large eyes of the woman who tormented him his entire life then dumped the underworld on him. The eyes that once turned from black to white to every color in between were now blue-green in color, and her face held a human flush enhanced by his lovemaking. Her lips were plump and red from their night.
She was scared, probably because he was a second away from killing her.
Gabe took a step back. His body tensed to the point of snapping. He whirled, called for a portal and left his betrayer, his former lover, the woman who had been his world, until she snatched it from him.
His mate by Immortal law!
She'd tricked, cornered and beaten him one last time.
Thousands of years of repressed fury bubbled within him. He was too angry to see where he went as he crossed through the shadow realm. After awakening feeling at peace, he was close to pulling a Rhyn and decimating the world around him in an explosion of raw fury.
Gabe was halfway across the gym where the Immortal foot soldiers were training before he knew where he was. Sensing the pulse of power, Rhyn whirled from the far side. He issued a quick order Gabe couldn't hear through the blood pounding in his head.
"How fucking long did you know?" he roared.
The Immortals scattered while Rhyn remained.
"I'm not going to-" Rhyn started, hands up.
Gabriel smashed into him, picked him up and threw him. Rhyn slammed into the wall above the doors the Immortals were fleeing through. Gabe saw the half-demon's eyes flare silver and pursued, wanting … needing a fight.
"How long, Rhyn?" he demanded again.
This time, Rhyn didn't back down. Gabe drew sword and dagger and unleashed on the half-demon, whose demon magic and quick reflexes responded with power that'd overwhelm anyone but Death himself. Gabe fought, not caring what happened. They smashed the gym around them, two titans dueling.