Percy’s voice was choked as he watched. “Are you… You don’t think you can save him, do you? I can only perceive the thinnest threads of his soul energy now. He’s almost gone.”
I glared at him. “I don’t care if he’s dead, unmade, and swimming around in the Abyss. I would put him back together again.” Percy scrambled away on his knees, scuttling backward like a crab.
“Your eyes,” he whispered. “Why do they look like that?”
I didn’t know what he meant, so I ignored him and kept feeding liquid into Righteous’s mouth. “Go guard the door,” I said after Ry seemed to fall asleep again. “I’ll come out when he’s healed.” There was no other way that I would leave this room.
Percy stood and walked to the door, speaking softly. “I had heard that Righteous was unkind to you.”
“He was my friend on Earth centuries ago, and he earned my forgiveness back then, though he didn’t know who I was at first when we met again.” I pushed Ry’s hair back on his face, worried at his shallow breathing and the pallor of his skin. “Guard the door? This may take a while.”
I didn’t think Percy could stand one more shock today. And seeing, or hearing, what I was about to do to save Righteous might be the last straw.
Finally, he left, leaving the door open the smallest crack. I took a deep breath and held my hands on Righteous’s cheeks. “Hey, Ry. I don’t know if you can hear me. I know you’re hurting. Percy says you’re close to dying. I have news for you—you’re not allowed to die. I have plans for you that include a lot more back rubs and chocolates. You haven’t groveled nearly enough to get to hear about the other plans.”
His eyes seemed to sink in on themselves, and I scanned his body in the dim light. Had he stopped breathing? Had he given up?
“Ry, wake up! Ry!” No response. I ducked my head down, and breathed into his ear, ignoring the dried trickle of blood by my lips. “If you die on me, you’ll never get to hear what I want to do with you, a gallon of warm maple syrup, a pair of padded handcuffs, and a baby pool filled with whipped cream. Please, Ry. Ashtad. I’m begging here. I need you to wake up and let me heal you, so we can figure out how to tell Mikhail you’re going to be my side piece.”
A tiny furrow appeared between his brows for a moment, and he sucked in a slight, shuddering breath. I pressed my lips to his forehead in relief, sent up a prayer, and began to sing.
I sang the song of healing I’d sung to Glory and Heart, but this time I did so while I visualized the flow of the energy in Sanctuary. When I concentrated, I could see it in my mind’seye: a gentle, pulsing current of glowing power that ran through every surface, and even the air.
Eyes closed, I turned my head to the ground, and saw a small ribbon of brilliance being drawn from me, wherever my body touched the floor.Not that way,I mentally corrected, and noted a curious thrum in the air. It almost felt as if Sanctuary were asking a question. I brought the lesson Rumple had taught me in the dream to the forefront of my mind, and then, as if I had given a clear instruction, I felt small particles, like burning flecks of glitter, press against my skin and move into me.
In seconds, I felt refreshed. In less than a minute, I felt full to bursting, like I’d overeaten and drunk gallons of water. If I wasn’t careful, I would pop.
I settled my hands on Righteous’s face again and sang, picturing the energy moving out of me and into him, letting the words of the song instruct the energy as to its purpose. As long as I kept my eyes shut, I could see the brilliance moving through him, into his bloodstream, and deeper. He’d sustained serious injuries to his vital organs and his wings, and the energy seemed to pool in those places. I began to empty out, and I reached back to Sanctuary again, and asked for more.
Sanctuary acquiesced, and the room became warmer, the lights brighter. I pulled on the ribbons of soulfire, for that was what it had to be. It felt just like the energy Mikhail had shared with me, but richer, more complex. As if it were made of pieces of the souls of every High Angelus who’d ever flown the hallways here.
Where did that thought come from?I sang, and let the memories of thousands of long-departed Angeli pass through my mind like a movie.
“Feather.” Righteous’s voice brought me back to the present, and I blinked, my eyes crusty with…
“Glitter?” I mused, rubbing at them. The sand in my eyes was tiny flecks of energy that shone and sparkled. I wiped it away, and let my hands move over Righteous’s wings, ignoring the wonder and fear in his eyes as he watched me.
“Are we in Heaven, Feather?”
“Does it look like I have a rechargeable vibrator here?” I snapped, trying not to cry. “Do you see any puppies? Is there a shirtless rowing team carrying me on a palanquin and feeding me frozen raspberries dipped in dark chocolate? No, Righteous. This isnotHeaven.”
“Has to be,” he mumbled, his eyes falling shut. “You’re here.”
He was still broken, but asleep. And now I only needed to heal bones. Even though I felt like a rubber band that had been stretched too far, I made myself a conduit again, sending a burst of power into his wings, then his legs.
And then the room went dark.
Rumple’s words—try not to drain all the power from Sanctuary—echoed in my mind, and I bit my lip, wondering if he hadn’t been joking after all.
Too late.
Chapter 25
Righteous
I’d closed my eyes to die, and my final thought had been of Feather. Not Tili, the young girl I had failed. But the woman who had forgiven me as easily as blinking. Who had given me the chance to earn her friendship again. Her trust.
My Feather, my dream lover. I’d hoped to spend the centuries regaining her affections, becoming a man she might consider loving. I’d dreamed of how I’d cherish her, protect herfrom the idiots like me who couldn’t see what a miracle she was, beneath the smut she wore for others.
