I’ve loved you since the beginning, and I will never stop,he thought, repeating the vow he’d given me when we first made love.I’ll never leave you again, little one.
I’ll never let you,I replied.I love you, Rumple.
Then I kissed him back, as the void stretched endlessly over our heads, waiting, and the realm around us glittered with possibility.
Somewhere across the Limen, Precious laughed, and Shadow barked. Farther away, the joyful strains of a single kazoo trickled through the air. And closer, the soft voices of my mates, welcoming their brother into this liminal realm, wrapped around me in a harmony that was the only song I couldn’t live without.
We were no longer forgotten or lost. At last, we were together, and we were whole.
We were home.
Epilogue
FEATHER
Many Years Later
If he doesn’t get in here, the chocolate won’t be warm enough,I grumbled, as Rumple and Righteous set up the chocolate fountain in the corner of our bedroom. This room was so much bigger than the cloud room where we’d first cometogether as a family all those years ago, with a bed big enough to accommodate me and all four of my mates.
Sometimes I missed the old bed, but I never got tired of Seraphiel’s ridiculous power, and his willingness to spend it on me. I leaned over and stroked the two-million-thread count sheets he’d spun for me out of a combination of Abyssal and Celestial energies for our one hundredth mating anniversary.
A gentle vibration from my left breast snagged my attention, and I peered under my arm at Rumple, who stood at the doorway. “You know he’ll never stop composing if you don’t go and get him, little sacrifice. And he may not even stop then, unless you go in there naked,” he teased. He entered the room, already wearing the ridiculous gold lamé toga Mikhail had made for him as a dare. He’d put it on for at least a few hours almost every day, once he figured out just how much I liked it.
I smiled again at the way it clung to his muscular thighs and draped around one of his enormous shoulders, leaving bare a pectoral that swirled with angelic sigils. I swallowed, feeling suddenly thirsty. His tail swished behind him like a pacing beast as he padded toward me, reminding me of nothing so much as a lion on the hunt.
I had been so damned grateful that when Rumple returned, his physical form had been changed back to the one I knew, more or less. When I’d asked him why, he’d said that when he chose to return to me in the Limen, his Mother had given him back the extra appendages as a thank you to me, for sending her Revel’s message all those years before.
As I fell back onto the bed, he pounced, devouring my mouth while his tail took terrible, mini-orgasmic liberties with my lady parts. I grabbed hold of his golden horns as he nibbled at my neck and down to the mating feather he’d placed around my nipple opposite Righteous’s one. Then he began to move farther south, mumbling something about being starved for sweetness.
“Leave Bitsy alone, Rafe,” Mikhail growled from the doorway. His arms were burdened with trays of fruit and extra towels. “You’ll get plenty to eat later.”
“He’s such a grumpy old dad.” Rumple slid back up my body and whispered into my ear, “Let’s get Righteous in here and see if we can’t shock him.”
I blinked, trying to think of what he could possibly mean. “There is literally nothing you and Righteous—heck, any of us—could do that would shock Daddy Bear.” The light of challenge flared in Rumple’s eyes when I said that, and I had a sudden wish that I could take those words back.
My right breast shivered as a warm breeze, heady with the rich perfume of wild roses, rushed over my skin. I sat up, or tried to. “Ry, you brought roses?”
He hummed his assent, already sprinkling pink and coral petals on the sheets around me. “I thought it would be nice.” He winked. “Also, the smell makes Gavriel come faster, so I have more time to— Hey!”
“Get over here and help me set up the food,” Mikhail ordered, hauling Righteous away from the bed, but stopping just long enough to lift one of my feet and nibble on my toes until I giggled. I blew him a kiss and wriggled out from under Rumple, wrapping my short fuchsia robe around my shoulders and going to find Gavriel.
I knew he’d be in his music room. It was the farthest from the rest of the homes in the Limen, practically on the edge of the Abyss, with windows facing out on the void. Gav said it gave him inspiration.
I slipped in the door without a sound, and watched him for a moment. He was wearing a disheveled toga that ended above his knees, and since he was leaning forward to scribble something on the scroll on the wide desk in front of him, the toga rode up to mid-thigh. I stared, wondering how a physical form I’d seendaily for hundreds of years could still excite me. Probably it had to do with what that form could do to me, often when I was tied up.And covered in chocolate.I shook my lustful haze away and approached him, humming slightly. Music was a guaranteed way to grab his attention.
“What is— Feather?” He whirled around. His golden hair was sticking up in front, as if he’d forgotten to brush it that morning, and he had ink blotches on his face. I stepped closer and sighed, rubbing at his cheek with a fingertip. I sang a quick series of notes that I usually used to clean glitter out of awkward places, improvising slightly, and the ink vanished.
“You’re getting good at that,” he complimented. “I should teach you more of those melodies. Do you want to learn some now?”
I put my hands on my hips, only slightly annoyed. “Grumpy, did you forget what day it is? It’s chocolate fondue Friday. We can’t start without you.”
“Already?” His voice was eager enough to soothe my metaphorical ruffled feathers. He threw down his quill and stretched his arms, then extended his light-wings, which was not at all necessary. But he knew it gave me the taco tingles to see him fill a room with light, so he did it often.
“Show-off,” I teased, then ducked under his arm so we were face-to-face. “You look tired, Grumpy.”
He didn’t reply, his expression lascivious as he was distracted by my silky robe slipping off my shoulders. I giggled at the unspoken compliment, then read over the music he’d been writing. For some reason, he’d left out what I would imagine to be the best parts.
I jotted in a few notes, then teased him. “Never forget, my sweet Lightbearer, that harmonies are where the magic happens.” He froze for an instant, and I leaned back. “What’s wrong, Grumpy? Did I mess up your song?”
