Sunny smiled and whispered, “She inherited my musical ability, not Feather’s or Mikhail’s. Did you know they have jobs here? Everyone gets training in all the arts at first, but you specialize as a sculptor, a musician, a painter, an inventor, a gardener…”
Next to me, Mikhail began thrashing on the bed. Haneul was standing next to him, her hands on his temples, murmuring a prayer. She had attached lines of blue fluid and inserted them directly into his veins. The healing liquid was emptying out of the cloud-shaped bags that floated by the wall, faster than it had before.
“What’s wrong?” My head felt like it might explode with the strain of speaking, but I noticed I was feeling better. How? Even though it made my gut churn like I might vomit, I focused my mind on the energy that was moving through me, and tried to picture it with my mind’s eye. This was one of the things High Angeli could do with practice. Gavriel had begun to teach me in Sanctuary to see the balance, but what I saw, when those lines of power rose up into my view now, horrified me.
Mikhail was killing himself to keep me from taking my full share of the pain of being separated from Feather. He was funneling the healing lines of power directly to me. Protecting me, as he had Sanctuary for all those years. Suffering in silence.
“Mik,” I rasped, pushing myself up onto one elbow. “Mik.” His brow furrowed, and he flinched. “I need you to stop, Mikhail. I need you to let me bear more of this burden.” He turned his head an inch to the side, and I knew he was denying me.I groaned. “Not all of it. I’m not that strong; I know that. But please, you’re dying. We’re connected, Mikhail. If you die, Feather and Gavriel and I… we’ll all go, too. It’s hard for you, I know. For so long in Sanctuary, you were the only one keeping the realm going. The only one we could rely on.”
I hesitated, scanning his face. He was listening.Good.“You have to let others help bear the burdens. You’re not meant to do this alone. You’re meant to be a part of us. Our family. Our group.” I reached out and grasped his hand, focusing on the power in my own fingers, and began pushing it out of me and into him. Our mating marks were both in the same place, and so close to each other, they almost seemed to pulse with a blue glow. Mikhail let out a gasp of relief.
A wave of weakness and searing pain flooded my system, but I ignored it and started singing my favorite healing song. Haneul joined in, and Sunny sang an alto line a major third below her. As we sang, I felt stronger. Though I knew I was sending power to Mik, I also could tell he was still taking the lion’s share of the energy drain. But our mating marks began to glow more and more brightly, the longer I held on and put my heart into my voice.
Let my love for Tili, for Feather, my little Scrap, take shape in the notes and become a temporary miracle for Mikhail. Let my love be for him as well.
“You’ve halved his pain,” Haneul said after a moment. “I don’t know if it was holding his hand, or the singing. But he’s not losing strength nearly as fast. This is… There’s hope now.” Her dark eyes caught mine. “Don’t let go, Righteous.”
“I won’t,” I promised. “I won’t let go for anything.”
Chapter 15
Gavriel
“Don’t let go, Rafe,” I called. “Feather is evacuating the realm right now. She just needs a little more time.”
Rafe was on his knees at the end of a hallway, his hands not just pressed to the wall, but embedded in it. The material gave way under his claws as if it were pastry dough he was kneading, and not one of the strongest materials in existence. His head was bowed forward, massive horns almostpoking through the jagged tear he was trying to force closed. The shadows didn’t attack him; I wasn’t certain they realized he was trying to keep them out. I had no idea how intelligent these things were. Centuries ago, they were mindless, ephemeral entities. Now, they had substance.
And claws. I fought back a scream as I felt a serrated edge run straight down my spine, cleaving my flesh.
He didn’t answer, and I drew a breath to sing again. I had no weapons, and the small shadows that managed to get past Rafe tore savagely at my wings and back, even raking lines of fire down my scalp. I ignored them, focusing the full force of my song on a small section of wall, and the far more dangerous beast that had formed a colossal battering ram and was hitting the bottom of Sanctuary almost without stopping.Don’t let go.
Get… out…Rafe whispered in my mind.You… go…
I didn’t break my song, but I answered him.Not happening. I abandoned you once. I broke my promise. And I will not do so again. All she needs is time. We can give her that, and then we’ll follow her.
I knew that it wouldn’t be that easy. The gate had to have a surge of sacrificial power to let even one soul exit. I hated to think what it would take to open wide enough for the entire?—
Suddenly, Rafe’s thoughts speared my mind.She’s not the sacrifice! Be certain. Don’t let her do it.
I wanted to swear, but I knew it would affect my song. I closed my eyes and focused. I had to juggle the music with mental communication—which was difficult to manage, with shadows literally tearing strips of my flesh away—and Feather’s mental state had been so panicky and fragmented, it made me want to race to her side.
Gavriel?The voice that entered my mind wasn’t my small mate’s.
Arabella? What’s wrong? I asked Feather?—
To save the others. I know. She’s convinced that her friend Perception can lead the way to the Limen, outside the Celestial Realm. And that Imriel will welcome them all.
I pondered that for a moment. She had redeemed the entire realm only days ago, so the residual smut on the souls of the refugees would be minimal. They hadn’t ascended yet, so it would be excruciatingly painful to go through the gate, but it wouldn’t necessarily unmake them.
Arabella’s voice interrupted my train of thought.Feather hasn’t considered the cost of such a large evacuation, the power that must be given to open the way for that many.
You cannot let her take it on herself. You know she will try.
Of course she will. But I am Thysia. The Dreamer of All created me from a different substance than all my siblings, and with a unique purpose. I am the Glorious Sacrifice. Even if I’m not as beautiful as my little sister.Her voice was thick with emotion.
Thank you,I managed to say, my song wobbling slightly. Rafe grunted, and I calmed my mind.Thank you for saving her, and the realm.
I’m still not certain this realm was worth the trouble. But her? Yes.A flare of anger filtered through her thoughts.Gavriel, you need to come quickly. The power I hold is consuming me. I won’t last much longer. My vessel is failing. You know it won’t matter if you’re not at the gate as well. She cannot live without you.
