It was a tough squeeze, but I got them all in on the hug, mainly because the twins put away their wings so they were small enough to fit. And they were the ones crying the hardest. I'd never seen them so distraught.
“Shh,” I cooed. “It's okay. I'm fine.”
Then Sebastian wailed, “Daddy!”
That's when the somber faces of the adults registered. And the lack of one of them. I looked from the helpless stares of my husbands to the bed beside me, stretching my neck to see around the kids. Someone was lying there.
“Azrael,” I whispered, my chest going tight. My breath lodged in my throat as my instincts to comfort my children fought with my need to get to my husband.
“Come, Lesya,” Kirill said and took her from me.
“Vero,” Trevor did the same with our boy.
But no one was going to be able to take the twins. They clung to me desperately. Their soaked eyes squeezed shut over and over, tears pouring down their red cheeks.
“Shh,” I said to them as I tucked them to one side and crawled over to Az. “I need to see your father.”
That finally got through to them, and they sniffled into little whimpers.
“Mommy,” Dominic said. “Fix Daddy.”
“Daddy is going to be fine, baby. He's strong.” I was trying to convince myself of this too, because Az wasn't looking so good.
It wasn't just the fact that he was passed out cold. It was his form. He was still Death, his bones showing through his skin, so white they were practically glowing. Only the bones showed—as if there was nothing else inside him. Normally, his eyes would be a cluster of blazing stars set in the dark sky of his eye sockets, but with his eyes shut, nothing showed. His lids were still there, just like the rest of his flesh, and they covered the sky inside him. No sparks fell from his eyes to burn whatever they landed upon. Death appeared dead.
Azrael's beautiful midnight wings were folded beneath him but also around him, their joints curved together to form a hood over his head and a robe around his shoulders. His hair was lost in the darkness of that feathered hood, but I felt it beneath my hand when I stroked his head. I didn't know what happened to make him like that, but I was guessing no one else did either. So, I didn't bother to ask the others. I just sent my senses down the line between us and felt for myself.
Az was still there. Not dead or dying. That sent relief shooting through me. But he couldn't wake up either. Couldn't even speak to me through our link. I called out over and over to him with only silence in response. A terrible silence. I shuddered as I pulled back into myself. My boys had started crying again, and I cuddled them.
“Daddy is just fine,” I said. “Shh, now. I checked on him. He's sleeping. He's been through something very strenuous and needs his rest. He's all right.”
My words finally broke through their fear, and the twins sniffled as they focused on my face.
“Daddy is sleeping?” Sebastian asked.
“Yes.” I kissed Sebastian's cheek. “He's sleeping. We shouldn't disturb him. How about you go with your sister and brothers and have some ice cream while I keep Daddy company until he gets up?”
“Ice cream?” Sebastian asked.
Dominic wasn't so easily swayed. He frowned and looked back at his father. “Why does he look like that? Bond Daddy never sleeps.”
“Bone Daddy is the one who got the most tired today, so Bone Daddy has to rest.”
“Oh.”
“Is Uncle Az really okay?” Lesya asked.
“Yes, baby,” I said brightly. “He's just fine.”
The lie gave my stomach an acid burn, but I had to get my kids out of that room before I lost my shit and started screaming. I could feel my eyes twitching and my throat started to burn.
“Mommy knows best,” Trevor said. “She's got a magic link to Azrael and she can see inside him. So, if she says he's okay, he's okay.” He paused to grin at the kids. “Let's go get ice cream!”
Usually, the kids would have cheered, but even they couldn't recover that quickly from being that scared. They looked from me to Az and then, finally, smiled. Black feathered wings burst into being on Sebastian and Dominic, and they crawled to the side of the bed. Kirill put Lesya down to help the twins off the bed, then nudged them toward Trevor. Trevor gave me a heavy look as he led the kids away.
I waited until I heard the elevator moving before I said, “He's not okay.”
“No shit,” Pan drawled. “What the fuck is wrong with him, V?”
