27. Cat
Chapter twenty-seven
Cat
“ Z ariel, I’m fine,” I said, resisting the urge to flick water at him. “You don’t have to bathe me.”
“Who said anything about having to?” The angel was crouched next to the tub in his winter-like rooms, his wings closed behind him. He was rubbing my hand, working the soap into a lather and caressing every inch while I soaked, relishing how the hot water soothed all my aches. The bandage was already off his hand—angels apparently stopped bleeding faster than humans. It didn’t take much imagination to picture the angel who had just an hour before had worked his cock into me, his wings splayed open as he took me on the altar, his corded arms holding himself up as he exerted himself, focused on pleasuring me. Tasting me.
And the magic. I could still taste his blood in my mouth, shockingly sweet and warm. Did his blood taste so good because he was an angel? Or was it because he was my mate? The runes on my stomach glowed beneath the water and soapy bubbles, a sign that what we had attempted worked.
“I want you to join me,” I said coyly, patting the silver bath. “This tub is big enough for two—it was made for someone your size.”
“And I want to take care of you.” He grinned. “It seems we’re at an impasse.”
“You’re injured. It’s me who should be taking care of you.”
“You just received your first magic. It can be … a lot.” I moved to sit upright and he slapped a little water onto my chest before he kissed me on the head, gently nudging me back against the metal sides. “Nope. None of that. Your only task tonight is to be worshipped, bathed, and then tucked into bed and forced to sleep.”
“I’m not sick.”
“I never said you were.”
“So join me.”
“No.” He smirked. “If you truly, truly insist, you can repay me tomorrow. There’s a certain something that you did with your tongue that I’m curious about.”
I leaned my head back and admired the white ice-crusted ceiling. “Deal.” I looked forward to it, having that powerful angel completely under my control, while at the same time knowing that I was the one making him feel that way. My core burned already, still sore from taking him tonight. Did we really have to wait ?
A few moments passed before he asked, “Do you feel any different? It will take some time before you learn how to master the illusion ruin, but you should be able to sense … me. And her.”
That’s right. I should’ve been able to sense where he or any of his blood relations were. Unfortunately, since this came from angels and I was sort of grandfathered in, he told me this rune couldn’t detect any of my family. Probably for the best. I had a half-brother who was obsessed with taxidermy and a plethora of social-media-obsessed cousins. The last thing I needed was their locations popping into my head.
Though … what could I do? I closed my eyes. Zariel was next to me, as bright in my mind’s eye as a shining beacon. Whether it was the rune detecting his presence, or the fact that he was massaging my forearm and making me wish he was massaging other things, I couldn’t say.
I took a deep breath and tried to block out everything, and sense if there was something else .
At first, there was nothing but the warm water lapping against my skin, Zariel’s gentle grip, and the rustling of his wings against the floor. And then I felt it. It was a tug against my senses, dragging my attention downward, far beneath us. A sensation like someone was watching me, only it pulled .
“Do you feel something?” he asked.
“I think so? It almost feels like someone is calling my name, though there’s no sound. Underneath us. ”
“Yes,” he said, somehow both grim and proud. “It worked.”
I opened one eye. “You sound relieved.”
“I am. I’d never have put you in danger, but I had no way of knowing if the magic would actually transfer. The good thing about magic is that most of the time, there’s no result instead of a bad one. Thus, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.” With his wings suddenly peppier than they were a few minutes ago, he lathered up his hands and proceeded to massage my shoulders, and I grinned at how he was subtly moving his hands lower, towards my breasts. I relaxed, admiring once again the way that the ash made even this bathroom seem like a winter wonderland. With the “snow” gathered on the walls, even the tub—etched with pine boughs and holly—embraced the idea that this place embodied the beauty of winter, without the cold.
“What’s next?” I asked. “I have your magic, and we sent word to the elves, but now what?”
“We wait. And you can focus on your studies once more.” He kissed the top of my wet head. “There’s no point in starting a conflict with the High Artist, not without support, and we may get lucky—other angels may not agree with his plan and stop him themselves.”
I flicked at a bubble. “Something tells me he isn’t dumb enough to try something like this unless he was sure that he’d have the support. ”
“He isn’t.” Zariel sighed, his movements slowing. “The fact that he obtained this position at all, when his father was not the last High Artist, is nothing short of astounding.”
“Wait”?the water in the tub sloshed as I stirred?“there’s a disgruntled High Artist-in-waiting somewhere?”
“No. She’s dead.” A suspiciously long pause. “As are her two brothers.”
“Lovely. And convenient.” If I wasn’t already thinking that there was something to the High Artist that gave Aniela a good reason for trying to kill him, that definitely sealed it.
Zariel ignored me and continued, but not before giving me a look that said you have no idea . “There is no point in worrying or trying to make further plans. We cannot act until we have more information, and until the time is right. In fact, planning anything now only risks discovery.” He ran his knuckles down the side of my face, the water drops moving over my skin. “Don’t worry, my heart, we will be together.” His voice soothed me, lulling me into forgetting everything. “Even if I have to leave the mountain to do so.”
“You’d give up everything?”
“In an instant. There’s nothing without you.” A soft hum of pleasure went through me. Contentment.
“And if the Artists won’t let you?” I asked.
He paused for a moment. “Nothing will be able to stop me.”
I turned to him, welcoming the press of his lips against mine. He was right—without him, there was nothing. Bond or not, I cared about him. More than that, I couldn’t bear the thought of waking without him near me, of going through my life without him in it. He was the light I didn’t know I was missing, rendering my world brilliant and complete.
My chest hurt at the thought, and then I shuddered. Imagine having Dimmy instead in his place …
“It will be alright,” Zariel said, his wings fluttering. “Banish whatever thoughts are clouding your mind and relax. Whatever fears you have, they will never come true.”