Unlocked (Hell's Throne Book 1)

by M. L. Gabrielle

  I nodded and asked questions as he worked. I want to be sure that I can do it correctly myself. He hooked Eve up to different machines, kissed her cheek and vanished.

  I could feel Abaddon’s eyes on me as he sat on the end of the bed. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I still couldn’t bring myself to look at Abaddon or Lucifer in the eye.

  “What are you sorry for, Locke? For calming Evelyn down during her panic attacks? For protecting her against beings with bad intentions? For loving her beyond measure? For literally being the only reason that she has a chance to pull through?” Abaddon asked.

  I shook my head. He doesn’t get it. “I should have killed Leviathan right away. You and Lucifer trusted me to keep Eve safe. I failed to protect her.” Abaddon squeezed my shoulder.

  “Even a walking god can trip, Locke. You misjudged a devious being, who had absolutely nothing to lose. You can’t blame yourself for that. I certainly don’t.” I rested my chin on top of Eve’s head. I just want her to wake up.

  Suddenly, Cerberus barreled into the room. He kneeled on the bed and threw his arms around Eve and me. “Are you okay, brother? I’m here if you need to talk.”

  I was completely taken off-guard. I opened my mouth and snapped it shut. Abaddon chuckled. “You’re not in this alone, Locke. We’re family. You have all of us to lean on.”

  I swallowed hard and looked at the monitors that Raphael set up. Family. I never thought that I would want a family of my own. That was until I met Eve. I want to tie myself to this girl in every way possible. First, I need her to be okay.

  Cerberus patted my arm. “Evie’s going to make it. She won’t give up. She has too much to live for, Locke. I’ll be back later. Text me if you need anything.” He kissed Eve’s cheek and popped out of the room.

  Abaddon stood up and held off speaking until I made eye contact. “I think you should get some rest. Luc and I will be in and out. We have guards posted outside the room.”

  “I already shielded the room. You guys and our friends are the only beings who can enter.” Abaddon smirked. “Of course you did. And what will happen if someone who isn’t on the list enters?” Now, it was my time to smirk. “Very well. Get some rest,” he chuckled.

  This was the most dangerous time for me when I am left alone with my thoughts. I keep running the past few days over and over in my mind. I should have hit the brakes as soon as we found out that Abaddon wasn’t invited to the party.

  I knew Leviathan was trying to get Eve away from me at the party. I didn’t understand the reason at the time, but his efforts didn’t go unnoticed. That’s why I’m so fucking furious that I let Eve go by herself to clean her dress in the bathroom. Despite her protests, I should have followed and waited for her.

  Instead, I followed the guys into the office for shots. Daniel was probably posing as one of the guys to get us all in there. Fucking, Daniel. His death was too quick. I should have made him suffer more in the end.

  Lucifer appeared at the foot of the bed with a mug in his hand. “I thought you’d still be up. Here, I brought you some of Raphael’s tea. It should help ease your mind so that you can get some rest.”

  I took a sip and rested the cup on Eve’s nightstand. What I’d give to hear her refer to it as “Raph’s pot tea.” Fuck. I miss her so much.

  Lucifer laid down next to me. It should have been weird, but it wasn’t. I probably should ask if he wants to have some time with Eve. Who am I kidding, though? I’m too selfish of a creature to do something like that.

  “She truly does love you, Locke,” he said, breaking the silence. I know that. I could tell him the exact moment she realized it. My chest tightened at the memory.

  He let out a sigh. “I always worried if I made Evelyn miss out on too much because of the prophecy. Was she truly your other half? I’ll be honest. You don’t have a reputation of being a particularly warm or friendly guy.” My lips tipped up.

  “I was nervous that I may have gotten it wrong. Then I saw the way she looked at you. It was always you, Locke.” I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded my head.

  Lucifer squeezed my shoulder. “Evelyn is a resilient girl. It may take some time, but she’ll recover. I need you to stay strong for her, though.” I took another sip of tea as Lucifer continued speaking.

  “You need to eat and sleep. I want you to see your brothers tomorrow. They’re quite worried about you. I know your natural reaction is to focus on Eve, but promise me that you’ll take care of yourself too.”

  Lucifer took the mug from my hand after I downed the rest of the tea. “I promise.” It was the last thing I remembered saying before sleep took over.

  48

  Locke

  “Is he ever going to wake up? I feel like a creeper watching them sleep. Can’t we just throw some water on him or something?” Emmett grumbled.

  I pried my eyes open and yawned. “Why the hellfire are you guys here so early?” I sat up and kissed Eve on her head.

  “Early? It’s almost six at night. Cerberus said that you’ve been asleep for over a day,” Cade snapped. I ran my hand through my hair. That explains why my bladder is about to explode. I started to get up but hesitated. I don’t want to leave her.

  Emmett let out a frustrated sigh. “Go, Locke. We’ll keep an eye on her for the solid minute you’ll be gone. Although, I think the fucking tiger has it under control.”

  I patted Ash’s head and headed to the bathroom. My reflection in the mirror made me cringe. I splashed water on my face, brushed my teeth and hopped back in bed with Eve.

  Miles gave me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry about Eve. Are you okay?” I’m far from okay, but I don’t want them to worry. I shrugged my shoulder. “I’m scared of losing her,” I admitted.

  He looked at Eve and back to me, “What’s wrong with her? Can’t you send her happy thoughts and wake her up like last time?” Miles asked.

  I wish. What can I say? Leviathan literally ripped her heart out, but luckily the gods gave her a piece of my heart before she was born.

  By the way, your brother is an actual walking god. Yeah, that will go over really well. I was about to reply when I saw an open-mouthed Miles staring at me with wide eyes.

  Fuck, did he just read my mind? He cleared his throat. “I developed a new gift recently. I’m still wrapping my head around it, so I didn’t say anything. I can’t read minds, but I can hear thoughts that are directed toward me.”

  I knew it. I rubbed my hand over my face. “I guess it’s time for me to fill you guys in.”

  Cade started pacing back and forth. “So, let me see if I got this straight. You’re basically a god, who can wield thunderbolts and control the weather. You can obliterate all realms with a single thought, but that would only happen if your girlfriend was kept away from you. Your girlfriend, who just happens to be a complete trouble magnet.”

  I may obliterate the world if he doesn’t stop pacing. “Cade, sit down,” Miles barked. I rolled my eyes.

  Emmett shot out of his seat. “We’re fucked! Do you know how many people are going to want you dead, Locke? Do you realize that your sex vibe throwing girlfriend is going to have a huge target on her back?”

  I sat up straight. “We’re not posting it on social media, asshole. No one knows except you guys and Eve’s family. It needs to stay that way for her protection.”

  They nodded in agreement. “We’ll help you keep Eve safe, Locke. She’s our family too,” Miles said. Eve would have loved to hear that. She would have thrown her arms around him. Fuck. I miss her.

  Cade looked up from his phone. “Jacob and Penny have been blowing up my cell. I just told them that Eve had another panic attack, and Lucifer wanted to keep her home,” he said.

  I need to get the focus off of Eve and me. I turned to Emmett. “So, how does it feel to be king?” He narrowed his eyes and gave me the finger.

  “Screw you, man. You know I’m not ready for that shit. Lucifer and Abaddon are going to fill in until I graduate. They want to give us
extra training.”

  Good, maybe this will give Emmett something to focus on other than fucking his way through school to punish his ex. Miles sighed and looked up to the ceiling.

  “No,” I spat. Miles nodded, and I fixed my glare on Emmett. “Tell me you haven’t been fucking Talia, Emmett.” He bowed his head and ran his hands through his hair.

  Cade tossed his phone on Eve’s desk. “You’re actually sleeping with your social-climbing ex? The one who cheated on you multiple times? The same girl who broke your heart? Did you fuck too many girls and catch stupid, Emmett? End it,” Cade barked.

  Emmett groaned. “Chill. It was one time.” Miles gave Emmett a pointed look. “Fine. It happened twice. I was completely shitfaced both times if that makes you feel better. Don’t worry. I’m not going to do something stupid like fall in love with her. That would imply that I still had a heart.”

  Emmett looked over at me. “Sorry, too soon?” I narrowed my eyes at him. He’s such an asshole.

  Miles squeezed Emmett’s shoulder. “We just don’t want you to get hurt again, Emmett. Talia will be looking to stake her claim once she finds out that you’re a king. You can’t fall for her shit again.” Emmett nodded.

  Everything that we said is likely going in one ear and out the other. Maybe I should just kill Talia. Problem solved. “Stop plotting her death, Locke.” Emmett groaned. On second thought, I could just...

  Miles started laughing. “Locke is thinking of doing something far worse than killing Talia. He’s going to tell Eve.” Emmett buried his head in his hands as Cade let out a booming laugh.

  “That is a brilliant plan. You’re so fucked, Emmett.” I couldn’t hold back my smile. Lucifer was right. I needed my brothers. Now, I just need my girl to wake up.

  A week and a half passed, and I fell into a bit of a routine. It’s more like I was forced into a routine by Lucifer and Abaddon. I make fun, but I’m grateful for them.

  I would be perfectly content staying at Eve’s side, but Lucifer and Abaddon make me interact with other beings and train every day. I guess they’re worried that I’ll start destroying realms if I don’t work off some of my frustration. I supposed that would be one way to pass the time, but leaving Eve’s side isn’t an option.

  Today, just like every morning, I had breakfast with Lucifer and Abaddon in Eve’s room while Raphael ran some tests. Eve’s condition hasn’t changed, but it’s better than the alternative.

  After breakfast, Lucifer and I bathed Eve and hooked her back up to the monitors. Just like clockwork, I got the boot once she was tucked back into bed.

  I spar with a different being every day and pray that it isn’t Gabriel. That dude fights dirty and doesn’t shut up. He leaves me mentally and physically drained after our matches, and I’m a fucking god.

  Today, I sparred with Uriel. It was pretty awesome. He anticipated every one of my moves, so I constantly had to change my strategy. I still kicked his ass, but at least it was a challenge.

  After sparring, I met Abaddon in the dining hall for lunch. I’m not a big talker, so I usually eat and listen to Abaddon talk about past battles. The dude tells the best stories.

  I can see why beings are scared shitless of him. Abaddon has done some crazy shit. My brothers typically show up during lunch since they love his stories and have more time on their hands.

  School is closed for two weeks in observance of Leviathan’s death. Total bullshit if you ask me. The one plus is that Eve and I don’t have to withdraw from classes for having too many absences. School is the very least of my concerns, though.

  Unfortunately, Lucifer couldn’t cover up what happened to Leviathan. He wanted to take the blame for killing him, but too many people saw Lucifer on Terra. So, everyone knows that I killed Leviathan to protect Eve. The good thing is that the kings had no choice but to accept our side of the story.

  All of the heirs were held captive and witnessed the events at the gate. There were also demons from the party, who reported seeing an unconscious Eve being carried upstairs by Leviathan and Daniel. Why they didn’t intervene that night is beyond me.

  A ton of evidence was found in Leviathan’s palace, and his own staff confirmed his plans. Lucifer and the Archangels aren’t concerned about the other kings retaliating, but I’m not letting my guard down for a second.

  After lunch, I went upstairs for a quick shower and to spend some time with Eve. I found her e-reader in her nightstand, so I’ve been reading to her every afternoon. We’re definitely going to have a conversation about her reading habits when she wakes up.

  Over ninety percent of her books have a half-naked guy on the cover. The only man she needs to be looking at is me. I found a few murder mysteries in her library, so I’ve been reading them to her.

  Lucifer appeared at the foot of Eve’s bed. “Locke, you’ve been up here for hours. Come downstairs for dinner.” He’s well aware that this is my least favorite time of day. I hate when no one is in the room with Eve. “I’m skipping dinner tonight. I don’t want to leave her alone.”

  He let out a frustrated breath. “Must we have the same argument every night, Locke? If you don’t go downstairs right now, I’m going to make Gabriel your permanent sparring partner.”

  I let out a frustrated breath. I never should have opened my mouth about how awful it was to spar with that angel. Lucifer couldn’t hold back his smirk as I got up from Eve’s bed.

  Lucifer and I popped into the dining hall and sat down at the table. Abaddon started chuckling. “Nice of you to finally join us, Locke.” I grunted in reply and poured myself a glass of wine.

  You’d think they were feeding an army with the amount of food that was spread out on the table. Abaddon and Lucifer exchanged an odd look before focusing on me. I already knew I wasn’t going to like whatever they were about to say.

  Lucifer filled his plate and sat back in his chair. “Locke, we need to discuss college. School will be back in session in a few days, and we don’t want you to fall behind in your schoolwork.”

  I held my hand up. “Let me stop you right there. I don’t give a fuck about school. I’m not leaving. It’s not an option.” I know they’re coming from a good place, but they might as well be asking for the moon.

  Abaddon let out a frustrated breath. “Locke, we don’t know how long it will take Evelyn to recover. We know you love her. We understand your need to watch over her, but you can’t put your entire life on hold.”

  My jaw ticked as I tried to rein in my anger. “I’ll wait for an eternity if that’s how long it takes for her to recover. Eve is my world, and I’m not leaving her side,” I bit out.

  Lucifer ran his hand through his hair. “We’re not kicking you out, Locke. You can stay here every night if you’d like, but we can’t allow you to drop out of school,” Lucifer sighed.

  Do these two ever give up? How does Eve put up with their constant tag teaming? I was about to respond to Lucifer when Ash’s roar echoed through the palace.

  I instantly popped into Eve’s room. I took one look at the bed and dropped to my knees. There was my beautiful girl staring back at me with her bright green eyes.

  49

  Eve

  “Locke?” I could barely whisper. Why does he look so sad? I was about to ask him when my dad and Abaddon popped into my room. So many different emotions flickered across their faces as they stared at me.

  My dad squeezed Ab’s arm and walked over to my bed. He took my face in his hands and looked at me through water-filled eyes. “Evelyn, you’re finally awake. I missed you so much.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I love you,” he whispered.

  “I love you too, Dad.” I looked over at Abaddon, who had his hands on Locke’s shoulders. He was speaking softly, but I couldn’t hear what was being said.

  “Why are all of you so sad?” My dad gave me a weak smile as Abaddon approached. “I’ll explain in a minute, my love.” I watched curiously as my dad walked over to Locke and crouched down in front of him.

 
; My view was obstructed when Ab sat on my bed. He pulled me into a hug. “I missed you so much, my brave girl.” He could barely get the words out, which was breaking my heart.

  I leaned back to wipe away a stray tear from his face when I felt a pinch. Ab gently stilled my arm. “Be careful of the wires, Evelyn.”

  I looked at the wires and then to Ab with confusion. How did I not notice all of these monitors? “What happened?” Then, as if a switch was flipped, everything came flooding back.

  Oh my hellfire. I should be dead. I gasped as my hand flew to my heart. I could feel a bump, which was probably from a bandage. How am I alive?

  I looked over at Locke, who still hasn’t moved. Holding back a cry, I ripped all of the wires off of me. I tried to get out of bed, but my body felt so weak. Understanding my intentions, Dad picked me up and helped me kneel in front of Locke.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck, breathing in his citrusy scent. The dam broke. I couldn’t hold back my tears. I didn’t have to ask. I knew Locke was the only reason that I’m alive right now.

  I pressed my lips against his neck. “You always bring me back,” I whispered. Locke’s arms flew to my waist, holding me tight against him. “Always.”

  Locke carefully carried me over to my bed. My dad gave me a soft smile. “I’m so relieved that you’re awake, my love. Abaddon and I will be back in a few minutes. We just have to call the others. Locke, get us if anything changes.”

  Locke attempted to lay me down, but I tightened my grip. “Don’t leave.” His eyes softened. He kicked off his shoes and slid us into bed. “That’s never going to happen, little hellion.”

  Locke moved me so that I was sitting sideways on his lap. I smiled through my tears as he explained that I truly have a piece of his heart. I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around it, but I’m eternally grateful for this second chance.