Gavriel’s voice had me sitting up so suddenly, my vision went dark for a moment. I sucked in a slow breath, then another, and turned back to him, fighting not to let my horror show. “Gavriel. What did you do?”
He sat up slowly, gingerly, with an odd half-smile on his face, though lines of strain remained around his eyes. “I did what I needed to.” My eyes fell to the shoulders that were bare except for white bandages, wrapped around each side. And beyond that, more white, an expanse of sheets. Not the gold that should be there.
I knew why Rumple was crying. And where the swords had come from.
Gavriel’s wings were gone.
“You…” I wanted to saymutilated yourself, but it was too cruel. “Why?” My face was wet, my mind wheeling.
He flexed his hands, making fists, then relaxing. Getting used to the feeling of his arms without the glorious, sweeping golden wings that had balanced him for thousands upon thousands of years. I could tell each movement was painful. “The Singer of Songs spoke to me only once in all my long life. It was when you left. She sent me a vision when I was alone in the nursery. She said I had another chance. ‘Let her teach you how to love.’ And I listened. At last, after centuries of not understanding, not seeing, I opened my eyes and my ears and my heart. I saw all that you had done, and knew that it was now my turn. My chance to show that I’ve learned how to love. From you.”
I dissolved into tears and fell back on the sheets, sick with remorse. Had I had something to do with this? Had Gavriel somehow imagined I needed or wanted this sort of sacrifice to prove himself?
“Shh, love, no. No, never,” he replied to my frantic thoughts. Gathering me in his arms, he set me gently on his lap, like a treasure he was protecting. “I did this for us. And for myself. I always wondered, if the time came, if I had a moment when I had to choose what was right and difficult, over the easier, less painful path, what would I do? Would I rise to the call of sacrifice? I realized for you, and for my heart’s friend, Seraphiel, the answer was clear. I would give my wings and more to see you safe and happy.”
His fingers were feather-soft in my hair, his breath warm on my cheek. “Feather, I love you. I know you can’t love me, not yet. But true love doesn’t require reciprocation. It’s like grace, the sunrise in the morning. It expects nothing in return, only the chance to shine down on a lifted face. It’s like the rain that falls on Earth, my love. It falls on sinner and saint alike.” His hand cupped my cheek.
I sniffled. “I hope you think I’m the sinner in that metaphor, because I’m no saint.” I looked up through tear-swollen eyes, and he tapped my nose.
“Are you sure, little soul? I can only see perfection when I look at you.”
It was ridiculous. I was snotty and tear-stained, covered with smut and glitter, and drained from the stress and anxiety of the past few days. Exhausted from not being near Mikhail and Righteous. And yet, when he declared me perfect, his voice rang so brightly with the truth, that the whole Hall echoed the tone.
“You love me?” I asked, almost afraid to believe it.
“With everything I am.” He pressed a kiss to my knuckles, smiling ruefully. “Though there’s not quite as much of me now.”
My heart finished breaking, and I lunged for his lips, trying to show him how much I loved him. Wanted him. How I had forgiven him.
And how proud I was to be his soulmate.
“No, Feather,” he said, gently pushing me away. “You don’t need to do this.” His breathing was uneven, but I wasn’t sure why. Had I hurt him?
“Are you in pain? I won’t touch you if it damages you.”
His smile returned, wider. “When you touch me, I feel nothing but joy. And pleasure.” That was true as well.
“Oh.” Suddenly, I felt inexplicably shy. He could still reject me; he had done so before with dismissive glances, cold stares, and harsh words. The memory of him calling me trash and wishing me gone was still in my mind. But this Gavriel, the man before me now, seemed as removed from that one as night and day.
“In that case, if it doesn’t hurt, would you mind if we, um…” I took a deep breath, mustering my courage. “I’d like very much to get the mating ceremony I didn’t have four hundred years ago.”
“Now?” His voice cracked slightly, and I nodded. “Are you certain?” His eyes darted to Rumple, who was still hunched over, his head still in his hands, as if he couldn’t look up and see his friend.
I heard a soft plea from him. “Please, little sacrifice. Please hold him.”
Gently this time, I wrapped my arms around Gavriel’s waist and turned my face up to his. “I would love to make love with you, my mate. And to join with your soul.”
He answered, and I knew somehow that his words were formal. A vow. “I take you into my arms, my heart, and my soul, to cherish and protect from this day until the end of eternity. When the stars die, and all the realms become a forgotten song, still my love for you will remain. I will live in your heart, and you in mine, from now on.”
Then his lips were on mine, and his soul was wide open.
There were roses there, yes. But Gavriel’s soul was made of music. It was an ocean of glorious sound, that swept me away and buoyed me up as his hands and mouth learned the curves of my body. My hands moved to his thick golden hair as his skated gently over my face and shoulders, so light it felt like the edge of a feather brushing my skin.
“You’re perfect,” I said, tracing the curve of his ear, then his jawline, running my fingertips down his neck and smiling at the goosebumps that rose on his skin.
“You know better than that,” he replied, leaning over me, pressing my body into the soft sheets as his mouth descended to mine. At some point, he had removed his leather trousers and now there was nothing between us. I felt his hard length press against my thigh and arched up. “Slowly, love,” he admonished, pulling away slightly as he returned to his task of exploring my mouth with his tongue.
I knew I shouldn’t compare my mates, but Gavriel’s leisurely kiss had more raw emotion in it than any I’d ever felt. And when he dropped to my neck, nibbling and licking his way to my breasts, with his clever fingers moving along the edges of my outstretched wings, every sensation felt new. As if it were my first time being touched.
