Not a little. Not a crack in the door that I could slip through. She tore down an entire wall of her mental shielding—no,allthe walls—and stood before me, rainbows of light cascading from her spiritual core in a never-ending waterfall of glory.
Once, I had thought my own soul was beautiful. I’d had to shield my light in Sanctuary so that the others weren’t blinded. Had to shutter my presence around the younger ones, and mute the music that my inner self sang out at all times. Sanctuary’s denizens needed to sleep. The Protectors and Guides were, after all, not yet High Angeli. Easily breakable.
But my beloved, though she was small, was spiritually my equal. As if she truly had been made for me.
Light flooded the room, pouring out of her. Music as well, and I realized Gavriel had shot to his feet, staring, stunned at us both. Feather’s wings were outstretched on the bed, the feathers glowing so brightly I had to narrow my gaze. “Love me,” she begged.
“You never have to ask,” I replied. “I’ve loved you since the beginning. And I will never stop.” Then I closed my eyes as she had, and opened my own soul to her while I began to move.
The golden thread she’d placed inside me played again and again, and smut fell away from me in great bursts. I could hear the rejoicing of the fragmented souls that I’d tried to save, as the music surrounded them.
Was she… Could we possibly be….
Watch them,Gavriel whispered in my mind. My eyes flew open, and I realized that some of the souls I’d gathered to me, the ones I’d brought into my being, trying to save them… the ones I’d promised to send home, who’dwantedto go. The ones I’d failed.
They were leaving me.
Like fireflies, sparks of pure spirit, they floated up and away from the bed and then vanished into the ceiling. On their way to the fields of the Celestial Realm, and beyond.
Her soul was so bright—filled with sacrifice and perfect joy—that just being this close to her had been enough to show them the way to grace.
She’s a miracle,Gavriel thought, before I shut him out with a growled, “My miracle right now.” Then I began thrusting harder, wringing sweet cries and breathless pants from Feather’s lips as I drove into her. I sent spirals of power to circle her nipples, and threads that trailed down the edges of her wings, lifting her to new levels of pleasure. I tied tiny knots in intricate designs with those filaments of energy along each feather on her wings, creating a pattern of stored soulfire that would unravel when I tugged, and draw her into an increasingly powerful vortex of release. “I’m going to make my sweet miracle come a dozen times before I come once.”
She writhed beneath me, laughter in her sparkling green eyes as they fluttered open. Her love for me shone out from her gaze. Love, and more. Admiration, trust, joy, mischief. “Record… is… seventeen,” she teased breathlessly.
“It’s good to have goals.” I grabbed the end of the thread of power that ran the length of her wings, ending at her clit and nipples. I tugged at it, laughing as her eyes flew wide.
“Uh-oh…” she groaned, with an impish smile. I pulled hard, throwing my body and soul into the task of taking my sweet sacrifice apart with pleasure. And rebuilding her.
Again and again and again.
Chapter 24
Feather
Iwasn’t sure if Rumple had accidentally unmade me while we were making love. It reminded me of that sensation, wherever I was now. Floating, my soul amorphous and humming. Stretched out. And not just in the lady parts, though that was definitely there as well.
Where am I?I wondered, pushing the thought out and away from… well, I wasn’t sure if I was “me.” I wasparticles, it felt like.
Was this the void?
Had Rumple fucked me into another dimension?
A strange, echoed voice—like two speaking at once—came back quietly, as if from a great distance. “Feather?” The voice was filled with shock, elation, curiosity and… pain?
Yes. A deep, debilitating pain.
“Feather?” The call was louder, as if the speaker was moving toward me. Then, the voice didn’t call. It sang, and the song was one I knew very well.
My name. “Feather, the Beautiful Sacrifice, beloved of Mikhail, the Great-Souled…” This time, I could make out the lighter, pure tenor of one, and the deep bass of the other, and before they finished the words, “Leader of Sanctuary,” I knew exactly who was speaking.
I sent out a burst of love, and felt a response.How?I asked.
“We’re dreaming,” Righteous replied, sounding uncertain. “At least we are… You’re asleep?”
I didn’t feel asleep. I felt numb, in parts of me. That could have just been from the repeated pounding of ridged monster cock, though. Honestly, Rumple should come with an ice pack for aftercare.
Deep laughter filled the void around me. “I think she found Seraphiel, Righteous.”
