“And who are you?”
Gavriel blinked, confusion distorting his expression. “Haneul, you must remember me?—”
She held up one hand, and the heat got even more intense. “I know you, Gavriel. But who are you to care about the Abyss?”
His mouth fell open. “I’m… I’m the leader of Sanctuary.”
Her eyes filled with infinite sadness, and I felt tears on my own face as my heart broke for some unspoken reason. “Are you, though?” She wiped her cheek, and turned back to Feather. Theentire area went silent as a tomb. Gavriel’s eyes darkened, and with a word, he ordered the crowd to disperse.
In less than a minute, only Feather, Righteous, Gavriel, Perception, and I remained. This close to Haneul, it was nearly impossible to hear the thoughts even of those around me. Haneul’s physical form seemed to emit some subliminal Celestial music that never stopped. We all heard it at some level; Righteous was even tapping his foot. Perception hummed a bass line without thinking about it.
Feather grinned. “The gate likes it,” she told Haneul, still gazing at the ancient soul as if she were slightly concussed. Or in love. She pointed one finger and giggled at something happening in the ever-changing surface of the golden fixture. “Know how I can tell?”
Haneul winked at her, her back to the scene. “That gate is a total slut for music. What’s he doing now?”
“All the people in it are naked. And most of them are fudging.”
“Fudging?” Haneul snorted, and looked over her shoulder. “Ah, I see. Making the beast with two backs. Or… yes, that’s actually four backs. Six? You’re right, the gate must really like my tunes.”
“How did you enter Sanctuary?” Gavriel asked abruptly. “Is the gate broken, or is it…”
“Fixed?” she finished for him, the sadness back in her voice. “No. We became aware, in our realm, of… certain events on Earth.”
Righteous muttered, “Demon Baby.”
Haneul lifted an eyebrow. “The gate has been under siege for a very long time, but we were constantly watching for a chance to get someone through. These past few days, the shadows almost completely withdrew from the passage between our realms. So I volunteered to attempt the passage, to come to you. I wason the other side, fighting off the few shadows that remained, and trying to convince Revel it was safe to open up. But then it just swung wide. Two lovely souls reached out and pulled me through.”
Perception cleared his throat. “I think I know what happened. I was singing to the gate while Gavriel was… occupied. Heart of Sacrifice and Glory of Love had both been injured, their soulmate bond torn out. They gave themselves to the gate, and made the way safe.” He squinted at the shining golden fixture. “It’s safe for now, but I am certain not for long.”
Haneul inclined her head. “Just so. The shadows could return at any moment. Still, I saw the chance and took it, though we believed our last Messenger was unsuccessful in her efforts to get through. It was decided that another attempt was necessary.” Haneul bowed her head. “I am the last Celestial Messenger that will come to Sanctuary.” She swung her eyes to me. “I had a task to complete, but now….”
“They sensed the imbalance in Sanctuary, or on Earth, in your realm?” Gavriel asked, when she said nothing else.
She didn’t look at him, but rather, at Feather. In particular, at her horns. “The imbalance on Earth is still significant. And you are right—the Abyss is even stronger. But what finally convinced Mother to let me come down, when the moment arose, was the balance here. It was corrected somehow. We had thought all hope was lost for this place. We mourned you as one would dear children, adrift at sea.”
Gavriel cleared his throat. “Feather did it. By herself. She made a sacrifice. Somehow, she took on all the smut in the realm. All at once.”
Haneul’s face broke into a wide grin. “Yes, that would do it.” Her eyes fell on the drifting piles of glitter all over the floor. “I bet they all love you here.”
Feather raised a brow. “Sure thing. That’s me, Feather the Beloved by Everyone. Not.”
Haneul sucked in a breath, her light dimming. “You have no friends?”
Feather smiled. “No, I have some. Only a few close ones, though. Maybe a hundred others who’d bake me a cake with a file in it. And thousands who would dance around a pyre as I burned.” Her lips twisted. “I know this from recent experience.”
Haneul’s confusion was apparent. “Why wouldn’t everyone be drawn to you, bright one? How can they not see you?”
“Some do,” I said, stepping to Feather’s side and letting my love for her show in my eyes.
Haneul returned the smile, but her eyes slid to Gavriel for a moment. “I would like to meet your close friends. I think they should be here for… for this.”
Feather frowned. “I don’t know. I’ve been sort of busy with smut.” She shook her head and glitter flew out of her ears. “They were imprisoned in the cells downstairs. They’re not still there, are they Percy?” Perception shook his head, but never looked away from Haneul, as if he were seeing something more than the rest of us.
A furrow appeared between Haneul’s delicate brows. “The cells we built for sex?”
“No, the dungeon…” Feather bared her teeth at Righteous. “You told me itwasn’ta sex dungeon!”
He laughed. “I didn’t know. I wonder what else we’ll learn.”
