The Underworld,

Three months later

"She's had enough," I hiss.

"Emma begs to differ," replies Luci, leaning back in his chair with his fingers laced behind his head, "I tried to go easy on her, but she quickly caught on to that, unfortunately." He straightens a pile of papers on his mahogany desk. "'Lucifer you little pussy, I know this is just a sauna. I've been at the beach when it was hotter than this!'" he mimics her voice with air quotations.

"Then, I cranked the heat up a little and she accused me of being 'too soft' for this job. Me. The Devil."

"So you resorted to a fire-breathing dragon and flamethrower-wielding fallens," I deadpan, looking down at the Ipad on my lap where I can see in great detail Emma being 'killed' over and over again by being burned 'alive'.

My brother modernized Hell over the years.

He snatches the tablet from me and shuts it off. "You need to stop looking at that. You've been here every day for the past three months, what more can you do?"

I clench my fists and heave a long sigh. "How long has it been for her?"

"Down there," he scratches his chin, "I'd say around three years and twenty-one days."

My insides twist. She has being going through that non-stop for over three years. I stand to my feet and start pacing, trying my best not to explode. I feel so god damn powerless.

I side-step a few plants and lean on one of the walls with my arms crossed to keep from fidgeting. "Why are there so many ferns in your office?"

"I should wash your tongue with soap! These aren't ferns, they are August Moon Hostas, you dimwit."

A tiny girl bursts into the room in a long beige linen dress that does nothing for her drab complexion. She keeps her head lowered, showing us the empty patches of hair on her head. She holds a silver tray with two cups laid on it

"I've brought some tea like you asked, master," she squeaks.

Luci scrunches his nose in disgust at her appearance and waves her over. She places the tray on the desk and bows.

"Thank you, Amorphophallus, " he says, "That will be all."

What an unfortunate name.

"Would you like some peppermint tea?" he asks, rummaging through his desk drawer to produce another Ipad.

"Are you asking if I'll enjoy a cup of tea while my mate is being tortured in the pits of Hell?" I growl so loud the plants around us shake.

He slams the drawer shut, "I'm just saying it might help with all this pent-up stress."

I ignore him, raking a hand through my hair as I try to calm down. I have lost control more than once in the past months, but this is not the time or place. I need her back.

To add to my torment, anytime she gets close to the edge, when it becomes too much for her, she screams my name and I feel it vibrating inside of me, squeezing at my heart in a vise-grip. It echoes through my head, driving me crazy because I cannot reach her.

"How long do we have until she loses her mind?" Or until I lose mine.

It is only a matter of time until she becomes crazy and Luci knows that. It is a terrible fate that awaits every single soul sent down here. He has been watching for the signs, ready to stop at any time if it comes to that.

He appears pensive, rolling a pen between his fingers. "She's strong, but we don't have very long," he finally says.

He looks at me with an odd air of seriousness, something that is rare on him. I know what this means.

"Then, it's time you return her to me."

***

When the first breath enters my lungs, I begin to choke uncontrollably. My throat is incredibly dry. My insides feel as though they were crushed by an anvil before being stomped on by a pack of gazelles. Repeatedly. While they were being chased by lions.

I am vaguely aware of arms holding me up in seated position while I will myself to inhale and exhale like a normal person. This is different. I look around me with panic-striken eyes. Where are the dragons? Where is the fire?

The tombstones around me hint at a cemetery. It is dark, so much so that I can barely see anything. What kind of scenario has Lucifer concocted this time?

My body starts shaking, because I need to find refuge. Some thing is about to come at me any minute now.

A warm breath fans my neck, followed by the grazing of lips down to my collarbone. I yelp and jump back, but the arms pull me to a hard chest. So familiar, so warm. My eyes connect with his, pulling me into their darkness. A darkness I have yearned for for what feels like forever. Anytime it got to be too much, I thought of him. His image alone got me through it and now he is here, in front of me. Looking at me like I am the air he breathes, the sunshine he missed.

I know it is just an illusion, but I let myself enjoy it for just a moment there. I bring my hand up to his face, caressing the five o'clock shadow there. He feels so real. The tears begin to pour out of my eyes. This is ridiculous. I know he is not real. He is not really here. Mental and emotional torture is what it is, but I cannot stop myself. I should run away, hide somewhere, but I stay rooted in place, sitting on his lap while he holds me.

The tears fall faster now, soaking my shirt and the stray hair that have fallen from my ponytail. I wipe my cheeks and sniff miserably. I feel so weak. Hell has broken me. Then again, it is what I asked for. What I deserve.

Death runs a thumb across my bottom lip, stopping it from quivering.

"Are you mad?" he asks with forlorn eyes.

Have I gone mad? I must have, because you look so real it feels as though I've come back to life.

"I think so," I weep.

He brushes the hair away from my face, dragging both of his hands along my jaw line.

"I've missed you so fucking much, Emma," he groans, pulling my head to him.

When his lips crash against mine, I suck in a breath. It is such a beautiful thing. I thought I would never get to feel this again. Our lips move against each other in perfect harmony and I feel my sorrow being lifted. Like the desert after the rain, I soak up this moment with my entire being, knowing it will not last. Soon, the unbearable heat and absence of hope is going to come back.

I break the kiss and he looks at me with a stunned expression, lips swollen from our embrace. I jump to my feet and start looking around me in agitation. My legs wobble under me and they feel oddly foreign. I look down at them, noting how skinnier they are.

"Lucifer, what kind of sick joke is this?" I yell at the deserted cemetery.

As soon as I have uttered the words, Death is at my side, pinning against the nearest tree.

"Stop! I'm here, sweetheart. I'm really here," he says, lowering his head until his forehead is pressed against mine.

"Wh-what?" I stutter.

"No more monsters, no more pain. It's over." he caresses my cheek with one hand while the other skims over my stomach.

My eyes travel to the dug-up grave behind him. The cemetery. The moon shining down on us. The snow that has begun falling. The sound of branches rustling in the wind.

My arms are cold, goosebumps I did not notice before dance across my skin.

Can it be true?

"I'm back?" I whisper, "And you're there?" my voice breaks, so much so that I barely recognize it.

I stare at him in disbelief, not trusting my eyes or my ears.

"Yes, sweetheart. And I'm very real," he says in my ear before dropping a soft kiss on my cheek, "And I sure as fuck am not going away now that I know what it feels like to lose you."

He kisses me again and this time, and perhaps for the first time, I hold nothing back. I get lost in his touch, his scent and the power that sizzles around us like the tornado that has been brewing within our souls.

I know I am home.

We have a long way to go, but the path to redemption does not have to be a lonely one. I took the first step on my own and after suffering for what felt like years, I feel as though I can begin to heal from my past.

Death bites the inside of his wrist and presents it to me. "Drink up. Your body's weak and I have plans for it when you've regained your strength," he says with a devious smile.

I look down at the bright red blood seeping from his veins, knowing what this means if I accept.

When it hits my lips, I drink greedily.

And when the urge to hurl on his shoes surfaces, I smile tightly.

Because I know I better get used to this.