Gates of Rapture (The Guardians of Ascension) (46 page)

Patience took his hand. “Casimir, I’d like nothing better than to date you. And I will wait as long as you need me to wait before we share a bed.”

Casimir felt his heart open as it never had before. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him. He felt as though an angel had taken pity on him, had believed in him, and had given him a method by which he could transform.

Of course, in reality, that angel was Grace.

*   *   *

All the walls had come down. That was the truth that Grace knew as she slid into bed beside Leto. They were back in the villa guest room and wouldn’t return to the cabin until the Seattle Colony was safe from Greaves permanently.

Something mysterious and magical had happened during the time that she and Leto had battled Greaves in Leto’s cabin. She had passed through some kind of veil that had given her new insight into herself. She had embraced Endelle’s ability to live out loud, and Beatrice had helped her to see that by returning as she had to Leto, to serve as obsidian flame, she had already begun the process of becoming real in her life, of giving up her ghost-ways.

Leto, it would seem, had experienced something similar. He was fully present when he looked at her, when he touched her face, as he did now, when he kissed her.

She slid beneath him and parted her legs. She wanted this moment with him more than anything, to have him make love to her with both hearts wide open.

“I love you so much,” he whispered.

She looked into his clear blue eyes. Her heart strained toward him. She would never get enough of him, of being this close, of looking at him. “Everything is different now, isn’t it?”

He smiled a very soft smile. “Yes. That separation I felt is no longer there. Earlier in my cabin, facing death, somehow I began to see things more clearly, especially my relationship with you. I let go of my holding back. I realized that if I had been fully engaged with you, Grace, if I had shared myself with you in a deeper, more profound way, we probably wouldn’t have ended up in that situation.”

“I know what you mean. And because of my ghost-ways, I didn’t have enough life experience to do battle with Greaves. In that sense, I was as much to blame that the situation devolved as it did. But I’m here now, Leto.” She squeezed his buttocks, and his smile broadened.

“Me, too.” His gaze fell to her neck, and what do you know, his fangs emerged.

Her back arched.

He smiled a little more. She lifted her hand to touch the sharp tip. She punctured her thumb, then let the blood pool. She slid her thumb into his mouth and let him taste. He closed his eyes and groaned. He pushed his cock up against her hand. She squeezed his crown.

I’m too close,
he sent.

She released him, and he shifted his hips. He found her entrance and pushed. She savored both sensations: what it was for him to feel how tight she was as he made his way inside her, and how much pleasure all that pushing gave her.

I love the connection,
she sent.
I love being this close to you, feeling you, then enjoying the pleasure you feel. It’s extraordinary.

He moved slightly and began licking her neck above the vein. Her voice caught in sharp little gasps.
Do it, Leto. Please. I’m in agony now because I feel how close you are and now I’m close all over again.

He struck and began to pull heavily on her neck.
Oh, God, your blood, Grace. It’s sweeter than I remember, and the power is heady, a rush everywhere.
He groaned, and she felt that he would change for her, become the beast that she loved, which made her grow lax and smile.

He kept pulling at her neck and making short jabs within her body, but the entire time he swelled and transformed. She petted his arms and shoulders, relishing the size of him, thrilling at the massive growth of his muscles.

Even his cock was bigger, broader, so that with each new push, she arched in pleasure.

I’m here,
he sent. She knew what he meant because his powerful mind was suddenly pushing within hers.

Everything had changed.

That was what she thought the moment Leto pierced her mind.

She surrounded him with her arms and savored. His right hand drifted up her thigh, her waist, and squeezed her breast. She felt tears start to her eyes. She had never felt so possessed, never felt like she belonged so much as she did right now with Leto stretched out on top of her.

She overlaid his hand with her palm and pressed that she might feel the pressure of his hand once more against her breast.

He groaned.

I love you,
he sent. It was so different when he was deep within her mind and spoke telepathically, as though his words had resonance. But it was also different because there were no more walls. The intense physical sensations began to blend with all that she felt for him and with all that love that he was pouring into her.

She took his hand and lifted his wrist to her mouth. With the practice of two millennia, she brought her fangs forth and struck.

She felt the piercing because she could feel his external sensations. It hurt yet felt so good at the same time.

His blood hit her tongue and thirst was all she knew. She drank, and somehow the power of his blood eased back the closeness of her orgasm, holding it just offshore. The
breh-hedden
hovered at the edges as well, like last time, yet it all felt so very different because his love was like a constant wave pulsing over her now.

And in the same way, she let her love flow toward him.

Leto, I want to go deep into your soul this time.

Yes, please, yes.

She pushed against his mind, then fell in, because he wanted her there. She dove to the limits of his mind, then fell again through the cloud that separated his soul.

But once inside his soul, it was as though an iridescence surrounded her and covered her—and she knew it was his love, newly birthed in the past few hours. She let him feel her love as well, and the iridescence brightened.

I love you so much,
he sent.

Delight filled her, a layer over the physical pleasure, a gentle coloring over the depth of the love that now flowed back and forth, two waves meeting and passing through each other, returning to meet and pass again.

Then suddenly the
breh-hedden
struck, so unexpected, like a wonderful fire that erupted to great heights.

The iridescence burned bright; pleasure filled her deep within her soul, then her mind, then shooting outward to wash in heavy waves over her body. She knew she was screaming, and Leto’s cries wrapped around her own, rising high into the sky.

She felt his pleasure as he began to come, which ignited hers. All the years of loneliness and separation burned away in the face of the
breh-hedden,
as though a fire ripped through her and through Leto. On that fire burned, forging a rapture that simply exploded.

She withdrew her fangs. He withdrew his.

“I’m coming again,” he cried against her ear. He pumped into her, that great hulk of him, hard and fast and true and honest and beautiful.

She received what he had to give. Her body responded with ecstasy again and again, pleasure flinging her into the stratosphere, waves of heat driving her back to be flung wide again until her screams resounded through the room and his roars could be heard all the way to the edge of the universe.

After a time, she floated back into her body.

She felt him float back into his.

He lay on top of her, sated, beyond sated; she could feel in him the intensity of his satisfaction.

She was moved beyond words as she embraced him. His wing-locks wept. She was damp beneath her back as well.

“The gates of rapture,” she said.

“What?”

“It was something I read in one of Beatrice’s collections, something like, ‘Approach the gates of rapture with wonder, Lay down the past, Then fall.’” She chuckled. “I fell hard.”

“Me, too.”

Only the deepest, most unexpected changes

Can conquer great evil.

—
Collected Proverbs,
Beatrice of Fourth

CHAPTER 20

The following morning, Endelle stared at James. She sat on her purple couch, her heart now pounding in her chest. “We’re that close?”

“Yes,” he said. “Very nearly home on this one.”

“You really believe that, don’t you? That the war against Greaves could be over soon?”

“Yes.”

She couldn’t believe it.

Thorne had come to her suite a few hours ago to report that obsidian flame had successfully stopped the torching of the colonies. His account had been extraordinary. Adding to the fact that shortly afterward the triad had healed Casimir after Julianna blasted open his stomach, and Endelle couldn’t believe her fucking ears.

Grace’s return had done this, had created some kind of magical effect on Second Earth. She didn’t know how else to think of such a wonderful string of wins for her side.

And now this. James wanted to get Leto ascended within the next couple of hours, because soon afterward Alison would open the portal to Third as had been prophesied from the beginning of her ascension.

“But we have to act quickly,” James said. “Greaves is getting very discouraged by all his setbacks, and he’s spoiling for war. Wake your people up, then let’s get both Alison and Leto over to White Lake. It’s time to move things along.”

She rose to her feet and called out, “Carla?”

A slight pause, then the security audio system came on. “Yes, Madame Endelle?”

“I need all the WhatBees here to my palace, ceremonial dress, their
brehs
included. Make sure that Alison wears flight gear and obsidian flame as well. Got it?”

“Yes, Madame Endelle.”

*   *   *

Leto slung his purple cape over his shoulder. Warrior formality demanded that he wear a traditional brass breastplate over a short black leather tunic. On the breastplate was the emblem of the Warriors of the Blood—a silver sword crowned with a green laurel wreath. He had always thought the emblem simple and quite beautiful, even powerful.

He sat down in the chair near his twig bed and buckled on a sleeker, more formal version of battle sandals.

“You show a lot of thigh in that tunic,” Grace said, but she was smiling.

He worked on the last buckle, looking up at her as he gave a final tug. She stood near the entrance to the bathroom, brushing a long curl around her finger, then letting it fall.

“You like?” he asked.

“Can’t you tell?”

“Oh, I can tell. Your scent has this room clouded, and I’m not blocking any of your physical sensations.” He could feel her nipples pushing against her bra. He took a couple of deep breaths because he was so close to throwing her back on the bed and taking care of business … again. But with five minutes left before they were both expected at the palace, he’d run out of time. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

“Thank you.” She glanced down at her flight suit. “But I feel underdressed for the occasion.”

“Carla was adamant,” he said, rising to his feet and turning toward her. “Endelle wanted Alison and obsidian flame ready to mount wings if necessary.”

“I know, but still. This is your ascension ceremony.”

“Sort of an ascension. I wouldn’t worry about it.” He put his hands on her arms. “And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not complaining about the flight suit at all. It fits your curves perfectly.” He drew her close, then ran his hands from her waist over the curve of her bottom.

She laughed. “Now your scent is filling the room.”

He released her because he was feeling way too much. “Are you ready to go?”

She folded her brush away and nodded.

He put his hands on her arms once more and thought the thought.

*   *   *

Grace arrived at the landing platform in the palace and was immediately overwhelmed by the sight of all the warriors dressed in the same garb as Leto. They were gathered in small knots, just talking, but they were a massive physical presence given their height and general physique.

She had known these men for a long time, some of them her entire life—like Marcus and of course Leto. Others had come later: Kerrick, Luken, Santiago, Medichi, and Zacharius. Jean-Pierre was the youngest, having ascended out of France during the revolution years.

And Thorne was one of the men as well.

They looked magnificent, all powerful, muscular warriors, the shortest six-five.

James appeared in the doorway and called out, “Ah, the man of the hour. Leto.”

So, this was to be an ascension ceremony attended by a Sixth ascender. That was a surprise. His appearance brought a knot to Grace’s stomach. Something was going on, something big.

He waved everyone forward. “The ladies are in the central rotunda, and we’ll have the ceremony in there. If you’ll come with me.”

James led the way. Casimir, as Leto’s Guardian of Ascension, was already present and stood near Endelle. The warriors who were bonded joined their
brehs
. Luken, Zach, and Santiago stuck together, the last bastion of bachelorhood in their small group.

Moving to stand near the terrace, James waved Grace and Leto forward. She stood off to Leto’s right, a foot back as was the usual position for those supporting the ascendate.

James took his place in front of the terrace.

In a typical ascension ceremony, the officiate would offer thoughts on service to the dimension, usually reading from a book. In this case, James began very differently as he addressed Leto outright.

“Your ascension, Leto, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, is very different from the usual process since you’ve not been
called
as an ascender. You’d normally be called by the appearance of dreams detailing the new world and longings for a different life. The only aspect that resembles a typical ascension is that you’ve developed the ability to morph like a Third Earth warrior. Would you agree that all of this is true?”