Methuselah spoke in a soothing cadence, paying one last tribute to those who’d died on the battlefield. We raised our glasses in their honor. More toasts were given. Stories were shared.
The more the ambrosia flowed, the higher the volume of voices rose. The stories shifted in tone until soft laughter bloomed amongst the crowd. Michael spoke of the time in their youth when Raphael talked him, Gideon, and Gabriel into streaking through Utopia. Gideon blushed and buried his face in his hands as Michael’s booming voice carried over the masses. Gabriel smiled sadly, and I realized that it was the first time I’d ever seen him look soft.
More memories. More laughter. More ambrosia.
The music changed, the violin picking up a happier melody. It was joined soon by a mandolin before a woman sang in a whiskey-smooth voice. At some point, space was made in the street for dancing, and the wake mourning those lost turned into a celebration of their lives and the lives of the ones they’d left behind.
We’d won the battle, and it was the first time we’d allowed ourselves to celebrate in our victory. The ambrosia chased away our sorrows, if only for tonight, and we danced—well, I didn’t.
Since returning to the land of the living, my leg hadn’t fully healed. All my energy had gone to healing the life-threatening injuries; my leg was the last priority. The chunk of muscle Asmodeus had ripped from my thigh never grew back. There was an ugly concave shape to my leg, the skin lumpy and scarred. On particularly bad days, I walked with a noticeable limp.
Dancing to the enthusiastic music playing in the street was near impossible. So I stood beside Gideon and watched as Jai spun Noel around the cobblestone dancefloor. Our bonds were bright and strong, a little lazy thanks to the buzz of ambrosia.
After the beer, I’d opted for wine, and a pleasant haze had blanketed my mind. My smile came easy as Gideon twined our fingers together and brought the back of my hand to his lips. He kissed my knuckles, his green eyes less haunted than they used to be. The angry red scars from Lucifer’s claws marred his neck, matching the harsh jagged line carved into one side of his back from his missing wing.
We all bore scars now. Noel’s back, my leg, Gideon’s neck, Jai’s chest. There was only so much magic could do to erase the evidence of all we’d given. But I was thankful, in a way. Our scars told our stories, and we would carry them with pride instead of shame.
Noel had endured the bowels of Hell and survived, a phoenix rising from the ashes of pain. Jai had fallen avenging his Other, and the raised flesh over his heart was proof of his loyalty. Gideon had sacrificed everything to give me the chance to end Lucifer’s tyranny, and I had walked through the valley of the shadow of death and emerged triumphant on the other side.
We were battered and bruised, but we were not broken. We were alive. We were loved. After all the heartache and struggle, we had finally made it here, to this moment, dancing beneath the Utopian sky.
Above all else, we were together. It made every single day of pain and hardship worth it. For them, I would do it all again, a hundred times over. For them, I would give every breath, every heartbeat. For them, I would offer my Angel soul to the Maker with a smile on my face. Because they were worth everything.
My guardian angels. My family. My Committed loves.
Someday, I would cross the threshold between this life and the next. I would walk through the door and take my place beside my Maker. I would embrace my mother and shake my father’s hand. I would see my friends again.
But not today.
Today was a day for life, a day of mourning all we’d sacrificed, a day of celebrating all we’d gained. Today, I would kiss Noel under the starlight as I promised him always and always and always. Today, I would get a little buzzed on ambrosia and let Jai lead me into an abandoned corner where no one could see him drop to his knees. Today, I would hold Gideon’s hand and melt into him as he whispered, “I love you,” in my ear.
Today and forever, our bonds would burn bright and unbreakable. And whatever Fate brought our way, we would face it together. Because our love was hard-fought, and we would not surrender it easily.
Love was the greatest force in all the universe, and it would always be worth defending, worth fighting for, worth dying for. Truth had brought us here, and we’d overcome. Through our sacrifice and our betrayals. Despite the lies woven by fractured realities and the darkness that forever hovered, waiting for the first sign of weakness. Love had redeemed us all, and it was time to step into the light and live.
For those who had gone before us. For those we were leaving behind. For those we would one day see again.
But most of all, for ourselves. Because as much as my angels were worth dying for, they were worth living for too. I was ready to live. With them. For them. And for me. Because maybe I was worth it too.
“Let’s go,” Gideon whispered against my temple, his words a little slurred.
I smiled, my heavy heart feeling airy and free for the first time in days. “Okay. I want to sleep for, like, a week.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll stay home in our pajamas all day. We’ll turn the phones off. Just us.”
“All four of us?” I asked, leaning back against his chest.
He chuckled into my scalp. “Just the four of us.”
“Good.”
Gideon waved at Jai and Noel, and they stumbled their way to us from across the street. Noel was swaying dangerously, his eyes glassy, his smile wide and loose. Jai wasn’t much better as he attempted to keep Noel from tripping over his own feet.
“Jai said I could fuck him,” Noel announced joyously, much to Gideon’s horror.
I burst into hysterical giggles as Jai scowled at his Other. “I said you could someday. Not now. You’re way too drunk to be anywhere near my ass,” he growled. At least, he tried to growl, but he was too inebriated to manage it and ended up bursting into drunk laughter halfway through.
“And you’re both drunk,” Gideon said sternly. “It would be irresponsible.”
“Psh.” Jai blew a noisy raspberry. “We survived the Second Heavenly War. We deserve I-can’t-believe-we’re-alive victory sex.”
“Yeah, alive victory sex. Boop!” Noel booped Gideon’s nose as he cackled.
Gideon managed to remain stoic, even though he was clearly not sober. “As opposed to dead victory sex?”
Jai blinked slowly, brows furrowing in confusion. “Huh?”
Noel grimaced. “Ew, I don’t fuck dead people. I mean, I try not to kinkshame, but there’s some things I just can’t support.”
“You guys are drunk,” I said moments before I tripped from standing perfectly still. “What the…”
“Did the roots get you?” Gideon teased, and I laughed again.
“Those darn roots.”
With Gideon’s arm around my shoulders, we meandered through the jovial crowd. Jai and Noel walked hand in hand, snickering to each other quietly like they were planning something naughty. The music faded behind us as the street before us emptied until we were the only ones.
The moon was bright, bathing the road with light. Noel jumped onto Jai’s back with a howl. He told Jai to “mush” and to go “onward, my valiant steed!” Jai did neither of those things, but he did hook his elbows under Noel’s knees and hitch him higher so he didn’t slide off. Gideon smiled his secret smile as the moonlight played over his handsome features.