Nothing would make the pain of his task any easier.
The next eight hours were brutal. Obsidian paced the mansion, checked on Penelope, slipped out again. He couldn’t sit still. Unable to eat, drink, speak. Throughout, he felt the return of his brothers, the presence of thefiestreigh, the Fae. They’d all descended on the mansion in a show of solidarity, though keeping out of sight. At one point, he was even aware of thedhirabeing erected, protecting the mansion with the strength of all his brothers.
Obsidian was in their bedroom when Penelope roused again.
As he expected, the instant her eyes opened, the heat overwhelmed her. The only relief Obsidian found was when he was with her, buried deep inside her, holding her as she loved him like no other ever had, like no other ever would.
He could tell she was keeping her eye on the clock, knew she was counting down the minutes to her impending death. He was doing his best to ignore it, wishing there was another option, fearing he would fail her, because as the moment grew near, he wasn’t sure he could go through with it.
“Shower with me,” Penelope said when they were both sated for the time being.
Lifting her into his arms, Obsidian carried her into the shower, took his time washing her, feeling her warm skin against his palms, her sweet heartbeat thudding in his ears. He couldn’t seem to stop touching her.
She was the one who shut off the water, took his hand, led him out of the shower.
“Penelope…” Cupping her face, he stared into her eyes, searching for the truth.
“I’ve come to terms with this, Obsidian,” she said softly. “I want you to as well.”
There wasn’t a hint of fear in her mind, only acceptance and love. She was the strongest female he’d ever encountered and even now, it was humbling to know she was his.
There was a knock at the door.
“It’s Acadia,” he warned Penelope.
She retrieved two robes, handed one to him while pulling the other on, then leaving him alone while she went to answer it.
When she returned, her eyes were intent. “It’s time, Obsidian.”
He nodded, knowing the others would take over, perform their tasks. Moving of their own volition, his legs carried him into the closet. He dragged on a pair of jeans, didn’t bother with anything else. When he emerged, Taayin was there waiting for him.
Obsidian paused beside Penelope, cupping her face and kissing her softly. “I love you,ayreme.”
“I love you, too.”
Feeling as though he was walking to his own death, Obsidian followed Taayin out of the room, through the mansion, down below. The hard stones beneath his feet a steady reminder he was about to do the unthinkable.
As they descended deeper beneath the mansion, to the lowest level, his heart began to pound harder against his ribs.
It wasn’t until they stepped out of the stairway that Obsidian felt a modicum of relief.
All of his brothers and thefiestreighwere there, standing tall, each dressed head to toe in black, armed to the teeth, prepared to protect him in battle in the event it came to that. Even the Fae had joined in, the females wearing black silk gowns, the color of mourning. More than sixty who vowed their loyalty and protection, standing guard to ensure their safety.
Obsidian swallowed past the lump in his throat as Taayin led the way around to where his brothers stood sentry beside the door.
He paused before each of them, accepting their promises to watch over them both. It was all he could do to nod, their words getting buried beneath the onslaught of emotional pain that consumed him.
Taayin opened the heavy door, allowed Obsidian to make his way inside.
As the door closed behind him, he took a deep breath.
Alone with his thoughts was probably not the best place for him right now.
The flutter of feathers sounded seconds before Michael appeared.
Obsidian didn’t have the strength to offer the archangel the respect he deserved. “Why are you here?”
“To bring this,” Michael replied, holding out his hand.
