by Raine Thomas
She could see Gabriel considering his response to the question. Then he turned and caught her gaze.
She nodded at him.
He smiled and turned back around. “I am.”
Noise swelled at his response.
“And this obviously occurred on the human plane,” Jabari said when the crowd again quieted.
“It did.”
Jabari’s gaze moved from Gabriel to Amber and back again. “I am assuming because your Estilorian self was suppressed at the time that the exchange of vows occurred before you understood their significance?”
“That’s true,” Gabriel responded matter-of-factly. “But even now that I have again assumed my Estilorian form, my vows remain true.”
There was more buzzing from the crowd. Amber’s gaze shifted around the coliseum’s seats. It may have been her imagination, but it sure felt like everyone was looking at her. The sensation was highly disconcerting.
Jabari turned briefly to consult with the group of Elphresti behind him. Then he turned back around and looked at Amber. “And do you, Ambryl, understand what it means to be avowed to Gabriel?”
Pushing aside her hatred of being the focus of attention, she forced herself to think about what needed to be done if she was to remain with Gabriel. She stepped to the edge of her circle. “May I move forward to address you?” she asked.
“Of course.”
Deeply relieved, she left the circle and walked to Gabriel’s side. She noted that he had gained a couple more inches on her and she had to look farther up to catch his gaze. Although they couldn’t read each other’s thoughts, the love in his eyes was clear. Because she knew she wouldn’t want to stop touching him once she started, she refrained from reaching out to grab his hand as she so wanted to. Instead, she stood inches from him and faced the Elphresti.
“First, while I have your attention, I would like it known to everyone here that I prefer to be addressed as Amber, out of respect to my mother and the life I left behind to come here.”
Without so much as a blink, Jabari said, “That is no problem, Amber. Henceforth, you shall be addressed as such. And now, in answer to my question?”
She turned to face Gabriel, but spoke loud enough for her voice to carry. “I can only assume by everyone’s reaction to the term ‘avowed’ that it bears great weight among Estilorians. The vows Gabriel and I exchanged were private…intended only for each other. But they were sincere and spoken from the heart. I’ll repeat them here and now if that’s what it takes to remain by his side.”
She held out her left hand. Gabriel’s delightful eyes caught the light as he held out his. They wove their fingers together. She nodded at him. At the same time, they said, “I love you now and always will. You’re my best friend and I have complete faith in you. I wear this ring as a symbol of my love and unbreakable commitment to you.”
And when the rings began to glow, they leaned forward to kiss and seal the vow.
The universe could have imploded then and Amber wouldn’t have noticed. The past couple of days had been the longest she had been apart from Gabriel since they first met, and they had been by far the most stressful. As soon as her lips touched his, it was as if everything was suddenly all right.
His taste filled her. The feel of him, both familiar and foreign, felt perfect against her. His hands moved to cradle her, making her understand without words that she was loved, cherished and under his protection.
A quick sear of pain slid across her right shoulder and along the outside edges of her eyes, like she had been branded. She inhaled sharply. Almost immediately thereafter, he tensed against her in a similar manner. They didn’t pull apart. Although she had never been romantic or at all sentimental, she wanted nothing more than to engulf herself in the essence of him for all the days to come.
And then her mind was filled with thoughts and sensations that were not her own.
Thank God. I’ve missed you so much. I love you, Amber.
She could have wept when she realized she could hear his thoughts again at last. Instead, she briefly came to her senses and broke away from his kiss, pulling back to look into his beautiful eyes.
I love you, Gabriel.
His face reflected surprise as he also realized the connection had been reestablished. Then he grinned.
You’re wrapped around me, he thought with a laughing gleam in his eye.
Now her eyes widened and she looked at herself. He wasn’t lying. With a flood of embarrassment, she started to put some space between them. He wouldn’t let her. Instead, he held her still beside him for a moment and looked into her eyes.
We have much ahead of us. But we’ll face it together.
The silent words calmed her down as nothing else could. She nodded firmly in agreement. When he deliberately turned her so that she faced the center of the stadium and her back was to the Elphresti, she didn’t resist. She trusted him implicitly.
His voice rang out across the silent stadium. “Amber bears the mark of her father, Saraqael. It falls to you, Jabari, to acknowledge the mark on behalf of the Elphresti and the Estilorian people.”
Jabari’s magnificent black wings suddenly emerged, and he lifted out of his place in the seats to land quietly beside Amber. She kept her eyes on him and realized that he didn’t make her nervous or uncomfortable. She sensed that Gabriel considered him a friend, and that allowed her to relax. When he gave her a subtle wink as he approached, she hid a smile. This was someone she would consider a friend.
The Elphresti approached her and glanced at her shoulder. Then he turned and looked at Gabriel’s right arm. He nodded.
“Let it be known that the Estilorian known as Amber now bears the mark of her father, Saraqael, as well as that of her avowed, Gabriel. And he also bears her mark.”
Amber realized that the pain in her shoulder and around her eyes during the kiss had been the making of her mark. She gave a quick glance over her shoulder and saw an indistinguishable glimmer of burnished gold and blue-gray. Realizing that only a mirror would allow her to see the parts of her body that now bore the imprints of her pairing with Gabriel, she turned to him. He held his right arm toward her so she could see his bicep. Now inscribed there was a star-like pattern, very similar to what she had seen on the outer edge of her eyes. It was a four-pointed gold star, like a ball with thin, diamond-edged tips at four points. Surrounding the star on Gabriel’s arm were flickering, blue-gray flames.
To her, it was utterly beautiful and perfect.
And so are you, she heard.
Startled, she looked at him. Then she realized he had read her thoughts. She laughed, not caring that it was the only sound in the silent coliseum and that all eyes were entirely focused on them. She had Gabriel now.
Before Jabari spoke again, Gabriel took Amber’s arm and pulled her gently in the direction of the circle she had abandoned. Simon stood there still, watching uncomplainingly and without expression. She suddenly realized how the Gloresti who had protected her must feel, having failed to invoke the mark he had spent nearly two decades waiting to bring forth. Guilt flooded her.
As they neared the circle, she glanced at Gabriel. Please let me speak first, she thought. He released her without a word of objection.
“Simon,” she said clearly as she entered the circle. “I can’t thank you enough for your protection while I resided on the human plane, as well as for your assistance as I transitioned. I truly wouldn’t be here if not for you. To me, you are surely all that the Gloresti strive to be. I am indebted to you.”
The blond male before her looked positively stunned. Then Gabriel took a step forward, and Simon’s slightly widened eyes shifted to the Gloresti who governed him.
“Simon,” Gabriel said, his voice more commanding than Amber had ever heard, “you have done everything in your power to keep Amber’s Estilorian form safe, and you successfully brought her over despite many believing it couldn’t be done. You would have given your life for her. And to me, there is simply no r
epayment for that. But I will begin by offering you a highly valued position of authority under my command, as you have demonstrated that you can be trusted to guard that which is most important to me and our people.”
Another round of whispers flooded the stadium. Simon’s face wavered between shock and elation. After a moment of processing this turn of events, he went down to one knee and crossed his right arm across his chest.
“I am honored, archigos Gabriel.”
“Please rise and join the ranks of your fellow Gloresti,” Gabriel said. “We’ll discuss your new appointment at a more appropriate time.”
Simon rose and gave a nod. He leaned forward briefly so that only Gabriel and Amber could hear him. “I admit that I am glad I did not mess up. When the symbol did not appear, I had my doubts.” Then, with a wink, he turned and flew the short distance to the Gloresti seats. His brethren offered him words of congratulations as Gabriel turned back to Jabari.
“My apologies for causing such disruption during this important ceremony.”
“We accept your apology, Gabriel,” Jabari said, his good-humored eyes moving to Amber, “especially under the circumstances.” Then he turned and walked to the center of the stadium. “As I am already here, let us proceed with revealing Olaya’s mark.”
“Um, Olivia, please,” she responded shyly.
Raising an eyebrow, Jabari responded, “Very well, Olivia.” He turned his head to glance over at Skye. “And you?”
“I’d prefer to be called Skye, if it’s all right with you.”
He paused thoughtfully, then said, “It does seem fitting to bring your human names with you. Very well.” He looked again in Olivia’s direction. “James, please proceed with the Gloresti’s kiss.”
James bent down and touched his lips to Olivia’s right shoulder. She flinched and her eyes glowed bright green for a moment. Her hands curled into fists as she experienced the same searing pain that Amber had. Still, she maintained a calm expression and didn’t make a sound. Jabari approached her and turned her so that her shoulder was visible to the other Elphresti. A still-shimmering image of a curving green olive branch with finely-detailed leaves had appeared.
“Let it be known that the Estilorian known as Olivia now bears the mark of her father, Saraqael,” Jabari said in his deep, resonating voice.
He walked over to Skye, who was almost bouncing up and down in her enthusiasm. Jabari smiled at her. “Caleb, please proceed with the Gloresti’s kiss.”
Skye looked over her shoulder with a small smile and caught Caleb’s gaze as he bent toward her shoulder and kissed her. When he stepped away, she gasped at the resulting pain. Her blue eyes gleamed.
Once again, Jabari stepped forward, turning Skye so that the brilliant blue swirls of her mark could be seen. “Let it be known that the Estilorian known as Skye now bears the mark of her father, Saraqael.”
A wash of noise covered the stadium.
“And now it is time for Saraqael’s identified progeny to assume their powers.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Grolkinei was in the middle of a bench press weightlifting routine when Layla, who sat beside him doing free weights, suddenly drew in a sharp breath. The dumbbell in her hand fell free from her slack grip, landing with a heavy thud less than an inch from her foot. She didn’t move. She sat and stared into nothingness.
With excitement flowing through him, he reset the barbell and slowly sat up on the bench, then sat as still as he could and watched her. He knew that any abrupt sound or action could disrupt her. Her lips moved faintly, her red eyes darkened almost to maroon.
After a long, intense moment, she blinked rapidly, her breath leaving her in a dramatic whoosh. He lurched off the bench and caught her before she fell off her seat.
“Now, now, lovely,” he said in his smoothest tones as he sat beside her to prop her up. “Take a couple of deep breaths. Good girl. I need you to tell me what you just intercepted.”
She gasped in another breath as her body reset itself after the intense subconscious intrusion. “It was not,” she said breathlessly, “an interception. It was direct contact.”
His eyebrows rising, he clarified, “An Orculesti reached out to you?”
She nodded as she continued to focus on stabilizing her breathing.
He rose, leaving Layla to support herself. He began pacing. The Orculesti typically did everything in their power to buffer their thoughts from the Mercesti. Because the Mercesti class was formed of members from all other Estilorian classes who had diverted from the path of what was considered “good,” there were some Mercesti, such as Layla, who had once been Orculesti. Thus, all Estilorians knew that some of the abilities that Layla and other converted Orculesti innately had would have transferred into their Mercesti selves. In an effort to keep the Mercesti from intercepting Orculesti thoughts, specific protections had been put in place. He couldn’t think of another time that an Orculesti had overridden those protections to contact a Mercesti. Could it be a trap of some kind?
“What did they say?” he asked sharply.
Having caught her breath as he paced, she replied, “They gave me the location of the Becoming ceremony, which is taking place right now.”
He stumbled to a halt. “What?”
Her eyes gleamed. “They are at Flavian’s Coliseum.”
“But—that is not even ten leagues from here!” He ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair as he considered this. “Were you able to determine anything about the Orculesti who sent it?”
“Not really,” she admitted, rubbing her temples while her elbows were braced on her knees. “But the broadcaster promised to get at least one of the sisters into an unprotected location for us in short time. They said we have only to move in and wait. And,” she looked up with a dark grin, “I did easily sense the rage, hatred and jealousy that prompted it.”
And here, Grolkinei stilled. And smiled. “I see. So be it. Go with Ryce and Angius and bring them back. Saraqael’s daughter…
“…and our new brother or sister.”
The noise in the stadium swelled and ebbed as Jabari made the announcement to complete the Becoming ceremony. Gabriel instinctively reached out and took Amber by the shoulders. She leaned back into him and looked up to catch his gaze with a smile. He knew that she would never have done the same with anyone else. It was a knowledge that made him feel both powerful and extraordinary.
“Amber, Olivia and Skye,” Jabari said loud enough to carry, “Please join me in the middle of the stadium.”
You’ll be magnificent. Just remember the little people when you’ve fully assumed your powers, okay?
A corner of her mouth rose. I’ll make every effort to fit you in between the glamorous parties and my many television appearances.
He grinned, then gave her a gentle push toward the center of the stadium where Olivia and Skye already stood with Jabari. As his hands left her bare skin, he couldn’t prevent the less than gentlemanly thoughts that flashed through his mind. She glanced at him over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow as she walked.
Hey, I’m still a guy. And you look amazing.
She snorted inelegantly and shook her head at him as she joined Jabari and her sisters, but he saw her smile. The lights settled into focus on the new central location as she stopped a few feet from Jabari. She eyed Aurora, who still sat in the center of Olivia’s ring not far away, with notable suspicion. And then, with a flick of Jabari’s wrist, an image started to form between the three girls of a round, waist-high table made of light gray stone. Gabriel sensed Amber’s amazement as the image solidified, and was impressed by her unaffected stance and expression. Olivia started visibly when the table settled into place with an audible thud, though curiosity soon filled her gaze. Skye looked positively enraptured.
“Please join hands around the table,” Jabari instructed.
Sensing Amber’s hesitation, Gabriel thought, Don’t worry. You’ll react differently here. She gave an almost imperceptible
nod, squared her shoulders, stepped closer to the table and reached for her sisters’ hands.
The moment the girls were all connected, a blaze of energy seared through them. It was so powerful and intense that it brought Gabriel to one knee as he struggled to somehow buffer his connection with Amber. He kept his gaze centered on her. The girls’ eyes gleamed like they were backlit. They all stood rigid and unmoving as the energy swirled faster and faster, like an invisible riptide that could whisk them all out to open sea.
Aurora suddenly let out a sound that made everyone glance around warily. She had risen from her haunches and now looked poised to pounce. Gabriel assumed she was seeking to defend Olivia, as he also felt that danger was imminent. The urge to protect soared through him.
When a powerful eddy of wind whipped through the stadium, he knew he was right. He forced himself back to his feet.
Amber, you have to focus. You’re losing control. All of you have to focus!
She was unresponsive. The wind picked up in speed, making him blink against the sand that it swept up from the ground. The ground rumbled. Behind Skye, an image suddenly blinked into appearance. He watched the silvery, transparent figure of who he guessed was Sky Tomaganuk stride toward his namesake. Aurora studied the image with frighteningly intelligent green eyes and then sprang closer to Olivia. Gabriel followed their lead and stepped out of Amber’s circle to approach her.
“None of you must interfere,” Jabari called out above the wind. “They must assume their powers on their own, or they will lose their abilities forever.”
Coming to a halt about ten feet from Amber, Gabriel held his hands in fists at his sides. Come on, Amber. I know you can do this! You’re the strongest person I know.
