Mikhail buried his shaggy head in his hands as comprehension dawned. “You didn’t.”
Feather smiled weakly. “Didn’t what, exactly?”
He ground his teeth together before saying, “You held her ball of soul light up and called it your precious, while thinking of the One Ring? Good gracious, it’s no wonder she’s so powerful and small, and deeply, deeply ev?—”
“And perfect,” I said firmly, over Feather’s protests that she’d only held the speck of glitter up. The damage was done, and it was time for me to fulfill my vow. “And she’s getting tired. I need to find her some food, and somewhere to sleep.” Mikhail looked like he might interrupt, but I waved him off. “You three need to go to the baths and get as clean as you can. Then go to the Maker Hall and sleep.”
“Us three?” Feather repeated.
Behind her, Righteous cleared his throat. “I believe Mikhail needs to hear an explanation for more than just Precious.” The feather on his forearm glinted.
Feather swallowed audibly. “Yeah, that’s the truth.”
“Talk it out, then sleep,” I said, nudging her and thinking at her,It won’t be so bad. Just tell them both how you feel about them. They know your name, right? You had to share it to merge deeply enough for… however you got that second feather.She gave a tiny nod.So my guess is they already have a pretty good idea. You literally added those feelings into your name.
Feather mimed zipping her lips shut, and I rolled my eyes. As I walked out of the Assembly Hall, I reminded myself to ask how she’d mated Righteous without intending to, withoutcutting a part of herself out. Just in case Hope asked me to be her soulmate again. Though with the smut on my hands, I wasn’t sure…
I fought the wave of guilt and fear that threatened, and flew the rest of the way to my room, then to a place I was sure Gavriel would never send Guides or Protectors to look for me, or the baby.
It was close to sacrilege to use the room I had in mind, but I had a sacred vow to fulfill, and once he figured out I’d tricked him, hiding would be my very best option.
I grabbed what I needed from my room, then slipped as quickly as possible through some of the less-traveled back tunnels I’d discovered when I was rounding up the resistance, to the room I had in mind.
Precious woke up when we entered. “Mama?” she mumbled sleepily, as I carried her across the room. She perked up, pointing to something. “Mama?”
“No honey,” I said gently. “That’s Arabella. She’s sleeping, so we need to be very quiet. Can you do that?”
She never looked away from Arabella’s lightly glowing form, laid out in the clear, crystal casket. And she never tried to touch her, while I found a way to make a small tent out of some of the long, gauzy curtains that hung from the ceiling to the floor. In minutes, Precious was chewing on some grapes in a tiny nest of pillows and blankets, and I was relaxing… until I noticed she had something stuck in her hair.
Something silver and glittering, but not small enough to be glitter.
“Come here, sweetness,” I coaxed, scooting over to her. “Let me get this out of your hair.” I plucked at it, but she let out a screech and grabbed it herself.
It was a feather, bright silver and small. The size of the ones Novices molted immediately after gaining their wings. Theyalways disintegrated when they made contact with the floor, though. Otherwise, Sanctuary would look like the inside of a down pillow.
Wait. Was it the same feather Righteous had dropped weeks ago?
“Mama!” Precious said clearly and flung it up into the air, where an odd, burst of warm air caught it and sent it spinning across the room. It landed on top of Arabella. I held my breath, but nothing happened. I wasn’t sure why I’d expected something. Maybe it had just been that sort of day.
I wanted to examine it more closely, and I knew I needed to pick it off her. Gavriel would definitely notice it the next time he came into the room, which I hoped was a week from now. I was tired enough to sleep that long.
I started to stand to get it, but Precious began fussing, and when I rocked her, she blinked up at me and said, “Tata?” A tiny wave of love pulsed from her to me, and I felt her meaning. Auntie. Aunt. She was… adopting me?
I felt tears burn the backs of my eyes. “Yes, Precious. I’ll be your Tata Sunny. And I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
“Tata,” she whispered, and I knew she’d understood me. I held her, my heart expanding again the way it had when I’d ascended, but this time, with joy.
I sang a lullaby I’d learned from my own Tante Marguerite in one of my earthly lives, as the baby nestled in my arms, a warm, soft bundle of shimmering starlight. I sniffed at her head, avoiding the tiny horns that jutted up. She smelled like a campfire and marshmallows and… dandelions? Something green and fresh and new. Whatever it was, it made me feel hopeful.How unexpected.
In less than a minute, we were both asleep.
Chapter 33
Feather
Iknew the conversation between me and Mik and Ry would be awkward. But that word didn’t begin to describe the atmosphere inside the High Angeli’s private bathing chambers. Tense, for sure. Turbulent. Potentially disastrous? I’d felt less nervous the time I had a toothache, and the boys who lived two cottages over decided to pull the molar with their dad’sblacksmithing tools, then held me down and chatted about how much money the local apothecary paid per tooth while I yelled.
The room was reserved for Mikhail and Gavriel, and was a fair distance from the Maker Hall. I’d never been inside, since there was a small purifying room right next door to Mikhail’s room. So I spent the first few minutes avoiding the impending conversation, while taking in the amazingness of it all. They had giant pump bottles full of cleansing gel, special salt scrubs that smelled like cedar and rosemary, marble benches along the walls with plush cushions, and hand-held, detachable shower fixtures.
