Then Mikhail stepped forward, with a tentative, “Gav?”
Gavriel clasped his best friend’s forearms, one hand landing right across the feather I had put there. I felt it for a moment, Mikhail’s deep grief and Gavriel’s even deeper shame. And their love for each other, as wide as an ocean and every bit as deep.
“Come to us when your work here is done,” Mikhail said, a tear tracking silently down his cheek.
“I will try,” Gavriel answered quietly, his eyes moving to the gate, and to Haneul, and even to Precious. But not me.
Never me.
My heart felt like it would tear into pieces, and I cried out as Gavriel stepped back, never once meeting my eyes. I would stay if he needed me to. If he asked me to. If he even looked at me.
I wouldn’t leave.
But he never did. Perception wept on my shoulder, and I handed Precious off to Sunny while I hugged him, crying just as hard. “Don’t forget us, Feather,” Percy begged.
“You want to come, too?” I asked. “You’ve ascended. You’d make it.” But his eyes snagged on Gavriel’s rigid shoulders.
“No, I have a job to do here. And Gavriel… He shouldn’t be alone.” I hugged him even tighter, and he whispered, “Don’t worry about us. You just focus on healing.”
“Tell Truth goodbye, and the naked octet. Tell Gav to open the supply closet, so they can get instruments and play to the gate. They’re really good, and the gate will get off on the naked aspect of their performance.” I stared directly at the gate and raised my voice. “Pretty sure the gate’s a degenerate. Wouldn’t surprise me if it actually ran on porn, and not music.”
Haneul muttered something that sounded like, “She’s not wrong,” and motioned for us to follow her. And then there were no more words to say.
Haneul led the way, Sunny right behind, with Precious up on her shoulder now, babbling and looking around, like we were going on a family vacation. Righteous and Mikhail, murmuring gentle words of comfort, walked by my side. The feather in my chest burned like acid with every step I took. Only the knowledge that if I did look back, Gavriel wouldn’t care, kept me from turning. He wasn’t waiting for me, and he wouldn’t miss me.
I had to go, and get Precious away from Sanctuary, for everyone’s sakes. I should have been happy, even excited. This was what all the angels wanted, right? To go to the Celestial Realm.
If only it didn’t feel like I was cutting out part of my heart and leaving it here.
“Are there puppies?” I choked out at the very edge of the gate. The energy from it was drawing me in, bit by bit.
“So many puppies,” Haneul said soothingly, taking my hand and motioning for Sunny to hold Precious closer. A thought flickered in my mind, a fluttering of hope. Maybe I would see Rumple when I stepped through. I could grab his hand and haul him into the Celestial Realm with me. Or at least tell the angels up there about him, and get him help. And if they wouldn’t launch a rescue attempt? I’d do it my dang self.
Haneul’s voice was gentle as she addressed our small group. “Now, everyone, I believe the sacrifice from Glory and Heart will be enough to get us all through and home safely. There will be a path, like a thin blue ribbon of light—celestial energy. Stay on it. Keep your eyes fixed on it, and don’t look around. Don’t talk to anyone, or anything. No matter what you might hear. Follow the light, and my song, to the Celestial realm.” We all nodded.
“The gate will open and close once. I’ll hold it for you. I’m not sure how long I can hold it, so please hurry. Sunny, you first. Sing your name; the tune doesn’t matter, only that you sing the entire thing as well as you can. Your hands are going to feel like they’re burning. You have to give it up—the guilt, and the pain of your choice. Know this, and hear the truth in my words: The Mother of All believes you did nothing wrong. And Valor’s soul is not destroyed. He will be remade.” Her dark eyes burned with holy fire. “There are no limits to Her grace, Sunny. None at all.”
Sunny nodded grimly, moving into the gate. She started singing, “Sunny, Light of Truth, Ride or Die Birch of Feather, the Beautiful Sacrifice, Beloved of Hope, and Protector of Precious.” Then she stepped inside, vanishing instantly.
Haneul’s face showed strain as she motioned us forward. “Mikhail and Righteous, it will be agony for a moment, when you leave your soulmate on this side. Move quickly so she doesn’t suffer for long.”
Mikhail nodded, and sang out in his deep bass, “I am Mikhail the Great-Souled, Maker of Sanctuary, Heart Friend of Gavriel Lightbearer, Soulmate of Feather, the Beautiful Sacrifice.”
Then Righteous followed close behind, giving me a look that promised retribution. “I am Righteous, Arm of Justice, Soulmate of Feather, the Beautiful Sacrifice”—he hesitated, and Haneul’s face went pale with whatever force she was managing—“known as Anaconda Pants.”
Percy guffawed behind me, while Gavriel muttered, “What did he just say?”
And then it was my turn. I sang out, as clearly as I could with a stubborn tone. I knew I was part Maker. I knew precisely how important the name I was about to announce was. I had the power of a Maker inside me, and I had learned from Rumple how to weave the unexpected into a name.
I would protect my daughter with my life, and my song.
“This is my Precious, Perfect Devil, Little Glitter, shiny, and lovely, and stubborn. First and Only of her Kind; Beloved by All Realms; Guarded by the Great Gate; Protected by Sunny, the Light of Truth; my daughter, and that of Mikhail the Great-Souled, Maker of Sanctuary.” I put her down close to the gate. If it hurt her, I would yank her back out. But instead, it seemed to suck her away from me. Panic flared for a moment, and I was alone on this side of the gate, with only Haneul’s foot holding it open. There was just enough space for me to slip through.
It felt like I’d undergone a vivisection, with some of the most vital parts of my soul a great distance from the rest. I wasn’t strong enough to hesitate. I needed to join my mates, but could also feel Sanctuary’s pull, like a child tugging at a mother’s skirts.
Sanctuary didn’t want me to leave.I’ll come back,I promised silently, pulling a few threads of the realm’s energy to my lipsand pressing a kiss onto them before I released them.I’ll come back to you when I can. If I can.
Ignoring the gasp I heard from Gavriel, I took a deep breath and sang out the name I’d come up with while my brain was still wobbly in the Abyss. “And I am Feather, the Beautiful Sacrifice, Beloved of Mikhail the Great-Souled, Maker of Sanctuary; best friend to Sunny, The Light of Truth, Ride or Die Birch; Treasured Little One of Seraphiel, known as Rumple, my Teacher and First Love; Secret Crush of Righteous Arm of Justice, Head Protector of Sanctuary who shall henceforth be known as Anaconda Pants; and Chief Antagonist and Adored Nemesis of Gavriel the Grumpy Lightbearer”—I had to stop and take another breath before I could finish, and wait for Haneul to stop laughing—“Leader of Sanctuary.”
