Haneul’s eyes roamed Righteous’s form appreciatively. “You are a pretty one. But I’m confused.” Her eyes flew from Feather to Righteous to me. “I sense your connection to Mikhail, and I see the feather mark. I have to say that was an excellent choice on your part, bright one. But who is this one to you?”
Righteous stepped forward and gave a sweeping bow, one hand on his chest. “I am Righteous Arm of Justice, my lady.And you are the first Celestial soul we’ve seen in so long. So beautiful.” Feather growled under her breath, and Righteous smirked. “And I’m also soulmated to Feather.” He turned his arm so his mate mark showed.
Haneul’s mouth formed a surprised circle. “So progressive! Oh, when we get home, we’ll need to have drinks and discuss this development.”
“Get home?” Feather shook her head. “You’re going to the Celestial Realm?” She stepped back. “I can’t leave Sanctuary.”
“You must, Great Soul,” Haneul said gently, pointing at Feather’s arm. “If you please?” Feather lifted her arm, and Haneul inspected it. Then she stared into Feather’s face and asked, “May I see how this came about?” Feather bit her lip, but nodded. After a moment, Haneul shook herself and winked. “Oh my. What an adventure! No wonder.” She straightened. “You traveled to the Abyss. When Seraphiel remade you, he made… errors. In judgment perhaps, or… it’s impossible to know, with this much external matter still on your form.” She picked a hunk of smut away, and it fell to the floor, dissolving into glitter. “The Choir Leader is going to have a fit,” she muttered. “Glitter in the Celestial Realm? But it must be done. You must be protected.”
My heart had begun to race. “Why does she need to leave?” I asked, but I had a feeling I knew. “The discoloration under her skin… It’s eating away at her, isn’t it?”
“Yes, she’s growing weaker. It will kill her sooner rather than later, I would think. It’s not in her nature to harm others, but it may become so. And that would break the hearts of everyone in our realm.”
“Why would they care?” Feather choked out, but there was no answer.
There was a lot more to that story than Haneul was admitting right now, but it didn’t matter. If Feather needed to leave to heal, she would leave.
I turned to her, and lifted her chin with one finger. “You have to go.”
“Not without you,” she declared. “And not without Righteous.”
“Damn straight,” he muttered, wrapping an arm around her. She was shivering, though it wasn’t cold, and I realized this was part of what Haneul had sensed. Feather was growing weaker.
Shit.I had thought she was just tired.
She slumped against my arm. “What about Sunny?”
“Sunny?” Haneul began to shake her head, but Feather frowned.
“She’s my best birch. She’s part of my name. And she’s taking care of my baby right now. We can’t leave them behind.” Her hands squeezed mine.
The light in the whole area flickered. For a second, I was afraid Haneul might faint from shock. “I’m sorry, I must have misheard you.Baby?”
Feather smiled up at me, and my heart melted as she said softly, “Mikhail and I have a child.”
At that, Haneul completely lost control of her light. It flared out like a sunspot, the heat sizzling my skin. As fast as I could move, I had Feather wrapped in my wings.
“Careful!” I shouted.
Haneul’s eyes were huge. “Are you…” I felt her mind, like an enormous hand, riffling the pages of my memories. It was unbearably intimate, and I forcibly ejected her. “I apologize. That was wrong of me, but I can see you’re telling the truth. By the Mother of All, this is… unexpected.” She blinked at Feather, who opened her mind; I could feel it. Haneul’s face grew paler as she read her memories. “Oh, the pain you’ve endured. These Protectors, the Guides. Do they have any idea what they’ve done to you, what they put you through? What you gave up for them?What you risked to save them all?” Her words were soft, but the walls nearest us began to shake, and she glowed brighter.
Feather merely shrugged. “I chose it. Every time, I chose to protect, so it’s on me. Don’t get your panties in a twist. I didn’t do it for a cookie bouquet. Although I would really, really like one someday. All chocolate chips. Delivered by operatic tenors wearing g-strings and glow-in-the-dark paint.”
“That’s oddly specific,” Haneul murmured.
Feather winked. “There’s more where that came from.”
Haneul’s wings went wide as she dissolved into musical laughter. The gate pulsed with an answering light. “Cookies. Panties. Has it changed so much here, then? You wear human undergarments?”
Feather grinned impishly. “Nah, they’re still all a bunch of perverts. No knickers in the entire realm. Please tell me there are no bras where you come from.”
“Bras in Heaven? You must be joking.” Haneul laughed at Feather’s exaggerated relief, and asked, “Where is this baby? And your birch person?”
“I don’t know,” Feather admitted, carefully not looking at Gavriel.
Gavriel sighed. “She’s in Arabella’s room. Both of them are.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
