I blinked. Mikhail blinked. He opened his mouth to speak, and I laid a smudged finger on his lips. “No take backs. That was the best kiss in the history of lips, and I’m not going to let you ruin it yet.”
A sweet, slow smile blossomed on his scarred face. His arms circled me as he leaned down even farther, his lips meeting my forehead this time. I clasped my arms around his neck—or as close to around as I could get, with his wings there and my arms not quite long enough to reach. I could already tell he wasn’t planning to kiss me again, not properly.
“One for the road?” I lifted my face, pressing our lips together again. Once again, the world burst into flames, melted and was remade, all of it taking place in the infinitely small space where our lips met. I lived a thousand lives in that space; I explored every nuance of pleasure, and more than pleasure. It felt like… love. “What is this, Mikhail?” I murmured into his mouth, breathing in the whiskey and woodsmoke scent of him.
He let out a loud groan and tore himself away. No, wait. That was the door groaning, andGavrieltearing him away.
“Mikhail, what are youdoing?”
“Gavriel!” Mikhail extended his wings and stood in front of me, keeping me from seeing what was on Gavriel’s face. From the weird light that kept flashing around the room, I had the feeling they were having an eyeball-lightsaber fight. After a few seconds, it stopped, and Mikhail lowered his wings.
“You must understand,” Gavriel argued. I wriggled to one side to see around Mikhail’s body. Expressions kept flickering across Gavriel’s aristocratic features—disgust, shock, fear, anger, and regret—maybe a few more.
Then Mikhail slumped, rubbing a hand over his face. “I know. It’s much harder than I anticipated.”
“Wait, you guys have telepathy?” They both winced. I lowered my voice. “When was someone going to tell me we got telepathy?” I gasped. “Has everyone heard all the things I’ve been thinking? That would explain a whole lot—”
“You don’t have telepathy, Feather.” Mikhail’s lovely half-smile was back on his face, only this time it was tinged with sadness. “Only Gavriel and I have that power.”
“High Angeli?” I chewed at my lip. I knew some Protectors could become High Angeli. Maybe you could develop telepathy as well.
“Yes. And you are not one of us,” Gavriel said. Gingerly, I lowered myself down from the tabletop and walked around Mikhail, letting my fingertips trail over the edge of his wing as I did. Gavriel tracked the small movement like an eagle. A look of confusion—or possibly revulsion—flickered in his storm-blue eyes. “I never thought in all my years that I would have to say this aloud. But Feather, you and Mikhail are not allowed to… be together in any way.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You are not compatible.” I winced, and his eyes narrowed. “You already knew this,” he accused.
“Sunny said something about that,” I hedged. “Said we wouldn’t find each other attractive.”
Gavriel went on, each word hammering my heart. “You have, in a very real way, injured him deeply. He has forgotten himself, lost his sense of what is right and good, and what is very wrong. It’s a sign of how dangerous the smut you brought into Sanctuary is—”
“Gavriel, no.” Mikhail ground out the words. “That is not true.”
Gavriel opened his mouth, and one of those angelic-sounding words came out. My eardrums burned slightly, but it didn’t hurt like it had before. The word might have beensilencebecause nothing in the workshop made any sound. Not even Mikhail, who had dropped to his knees and was frantically examining me, his hands on my head as he moved me gently to each side to… check my ears?
Slowly my hearing began to return, and I realized Mikhail was shouting—at Gavriel. “You know better than to speak in that tongue in the presence of someone so much younger than you!”
“I thought you knew better than to try and merge with a Novice, but it seems we’re all making mistakes.” He sounded almost as panicked as Mikhail.
“You may have burst her eardrums. Cauterized them. She may never hear again,” Mikhail muttered. “If I use my blood, drip it inside, it may stop the damage.” To my shock, he picked up the soul knife and aimed it at the side of his arm.
“No!” I shouted. “Don’t hurt yourself for me.”
His eyes met mine. “You can hear?”
“Yes,” I said, my heart pounding and my earlier exhaustion returning in force. “Growly Bear, don’t worry. I know you said we couldn’t kiss again. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of the moment. Sunny explained it was super forbidden.”
Gavriel let out a soft curse. “Youknewit was forbidde—”
“Enough, Gavriel!” Mikhail’s upper lip curled up into a snarl. “There is no law forbidding it, only tradition.”
“To protect us all.” Gavriel’s gaze followed Mikhail’s hands as he gathered me up into his embrace, but the jerk’s expression held more envy than disgust. I had to be imagining that, right? The desperate longing that bled out of Gavriel’s shining eyes, mixed with a strange, puzzled question. “How is this possible? I don’t understand it.”
I wasn’t sure what he was asking. Maybe he was thinking of Arabella.
“I… We shouldn’t have done it,” I admitted. And I even meant it: we should not have kissed without locking the door first.
Mikhail’s voice rumbled by my ear, sending small vibrations throughout my body. “I would kiss you again if it cost me my wings, sweet soul. No take backs, isn’t that what you said?” He lifted my chin in one massive hand, and I smiled up at him, before pulling away from his arms.
I pointed at both of them. “You and Gavriel have a lot to work out. I’ll go back to my room and hang out with Sunny. You two patch things up.” I rolled my eyes when Gavriel ruffled his feathers, protesting at me telling him what to do. “Yeah, yeah. Listen, we don’t get that many true friends, no matter how long our lifetimes. Don’t fight over me. I’m nothing.”
On my last word, somewhere deep in the workshop, the naming chime sounded. I couldn’t help it; I laughed so hard I almost fell over, while both Angeli stared at me in horror. “That’s perfect. See, I told you. I’m Nothing, a Useless Scrap.” Sighing, I left as the naming chime rang out even louder.
