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 was particles, 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.”
If particles could blush, I knew mine were doing that. So, about that… I did have a hall pass for Rumple, right?
“Too late to ask permission now, Scrap.” Ry’s tone was filled with acceptance and humor, and something else. A hint of… I concentrated on what I’d noted. Then narrowed my focus even more.
What the actual forklift? Their energies were woven together in a very recognizable way.
The same exact way that… Holy fudge, you guys hooked up without me there?
You’re merging right now? I sent a wave of mostly pretend disappointment.
I mean, of course you have infinite hall passes for each other, but tell me you’re at least taking some video.
“We didn’t merge, sweet soul,” Mikhail laughed. Well, Mikhail/Righteous laughed. Their voices were still combined, like a perfect harmony. “Righteous saved me with a bond mark, next to your own.”
I didn’t want to know how bad Mikhail had been for Righteous to try something like that.
Well, never mind. Righteous stuck a part of himself into you without my permission, so we’re even. I tried to send an image of me with wide, innocent eyes. Did it hurt when he put it in, Growly?
A low snarl was almost masked by the tenor voice saying, “I didn’t say it—she did! Don’t come after me.” There was a sensation of lightness and excitement, fun and freedom, like two kids running after each other, playing tag.
My heart fluttered. They were both still alive and well enough to joke and run around? From the lethargy and nagging pain I’d been experiencing, I’d assumed they were much worse off than that. I guessed it could be a miracle.
I tried to circle back to how this conversation was possible. You didn’t answer my question. How did you find me here, wherever this is?
“We were resting, and then we saw your light. Scrap, your glow was leaving a trail of fire all across the universe. Or at least, this dream one. We’re so proud of you, Feather. You’re going to save them all. Save us.”
We fell silent, and the space wheeled around us, invisible stars shooting past. I miss you both so much. Promise me you’ll be okay until I get back. I waited, then sent with more force when no one replied, Promise me?
But there was no answer, and I floated for a long while, waiting. Longing.
And wondering if the hint of desperation I’d heard in their assertion that I would save everyone—save them—had been my imagination.
Whispers woke me from a deep sleep. I’d been having my dream about the seven hot yoga instructors who were helping me achieve new levels of flexibility with the proper application of their hands, tongues, and egg custard, only the egg custard kept changing to yogurt, and I was yelling for Gavriel to stop ruining everything, when I realized… I was actually yelling that.
“Oops,” I said, my eyes snapping open.
Rumple and Gav were sitting on a sofa, side by side, smirking. Well, Rumple was. Gavriel was making his grumpy face. “I don’t ruin everything,” he muttered almost too quietly to hear.
For a moment, I just gaped at them. They were a study in contrasts. Where Rumple was deep gray, with textured skin, dark hair, and galaxy eyes, Gavriel had gold hair and skin, golden wings, and blue and gold depths in his gaze. Both of them had honed physiques and long limbs.
They’d pulled sheets around their waists, and I pouted internally. To do a real side-by-side comparison, I’d have to get them naked.
I opened my mouth to inform them what I needed to do—for science!—but Rumple stopped me by tossing a grape in between my lips. “Eat, little imp,” he ordered. “You used a lot of energy converting all that smut into glitter.”
I blinked when he pointed to a large white sack that bulged on all sides.
A white sack made of— “You used one of my sacred sheets to clean up the glitter?” I yelled.
“I needed that sheet! I’m taking those back with us to the Celestial Realm.
Now where are we going to find another top sheet, Rumple, hm?
You planning to make a pit stop at the laundry on our way to the gate?
” They both looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“What? The linens there are unbelievably crappy.”
Gavriel threw a cheese cube at me which bounced off my nose. “We’d better keep feeding her; she’s obviously lost some part of her brain.”
Rumple hissed. “No mentioning lobotomies in front of her,” he whispered. “She has trauma.”
I blew him a kiss, then peered down at my lady parts. “You should have trauma too, Bitsy,” I cooed, gently patting my silver curls. “That was a lot of sausage to handle. I’m so proud of you.”
“What the…” One of Rumple’s eyes was twitching.
“It’s positive self-talk,” I explained. “I had a therapist on Earth who expressed how important it was to tell yourself when you were amazing.” I lifted up one breast, peering at the nipple.
This was the one that had Righteous’s feather draped around it.
“You got a little scraped up, didn’t you, Esther?
Still, you did fudging fabulous, I mean that. ”
“She’s named her nipples?” Gavriel asked quietly.
Rumple sighed deeply. “Doesn’t surprise me. I’m just disappointed at the names.”
I sneered at him. “Everybody tells me how bad my names are. Well, see if I let you suck on Esther again.” I chewed at my lip, thinking. “I should probably check with Ry before I let anybody else touch it, anyway. He might feel everything. It’s his feather and all. And consent is key.”
Now they were both staring at me like I was an alien. Time to change the subject.
“Okay, we’ve had some sexytimes, and Rumple’s naked under that sheet, and you guys swept while I napped, which makes you both very good boys indeed.” I paused, examining their faces. Nope. Neither one reacted. No praise kinks here. “So, what we need to do now is plan our escape from Sanctuary.”
“We’ve been talking about that,” Gavriel said.
His eyes were hot on me, and I realized I was the only one naked.
I pulled a small blanket around my torso, trying not to think about how I’d just had wild merging sex with Rumple while Gav was in the same room.
But once I started thinking about it, my brain sort of skipped.
All I could picture was Gavriel watching us, touching himself, Rumple asking him to hold my hair and fill my mouth while he pounded that thick, ridged cock into—
“Feather!”
I blinked, then did a quick check. Both guys had erected substantial tent poles under their sheets, but neither looked happy about it. “Sorry. I’ll focus.”
Gavriel spoke through clenched teeth. “You need to get back to Mikhail and Righteous as soon as possible. Ideally, we could stay here longer, rest, and restore our powers from the box.”
“But while we would both get stronger,” Rumple said, “you would grow weaker. So we have to act soon.”
“We evacuated Sanctuary, right? There’s no one out there.
So we just need to reach the gate and get through.
” I sucked in a breath, an obvious problem shoving its way to the forefront of my sex-hazed brain.
“But Rumple, your smut…” I considered his physical form.
All the armor was gone, and he was a slightly lighter shade of charcoal, but he still had a whole lot of smut on him.
“Are you going to be able to get through the Great Gate? I know Precious made it out, plus Sunny had a little smut, and she was fine…”
“We’ll worry about that later,” Rumple said, his voice heavy.
I pushed down my anger as his ill-disguised intention to sacrifice himself at the gate resurfaced in his undercurrent of thought.
Like I was going to let that happen. “First, we must go by the Maker Hall. The naming chime is there. And, more importantly, the small portal to Earth that allows beings like Novices to travel to that realm in possession of their powers.” The room was silent, and I realized what he meant.
If the shadows found that little open doorway, they could get to Earth as corporeal beings, not just ephemeral ones. Their power would be as strong as a Protector, but twisting the balance away from good. “They’ll wreak havoc on Earth. Shizz on toast.”
“Indeed,” Gavriel agreed. “The hallways are crawling with shadows. The larger beast, from what Rafe can sense, has broken itself into many smaller entities, and is going through the realm in a rather systematic way. Looking for something, we think.”
“Can it get through the angelic locks?”