Page 169 of A House of Gold
I'm dying.
After everything, after surviving the absorption, after killing an archangel, after doing the impossible, I'm going to die anyway. Burned out from the inside by the very power that saved us.
"No." The word comes from the shadows, quiet but absolute.
Everyone turns to look at Caspian.
The angel of sloth sits in the corner point, leaning heavily on his cane even though he's seated. He looks exhausted as always. But there's something in his expression now that wasn't there before.
Determination.
"There is one way," he says slowly, like the words cost him energy he can barely spare.
"We've tried..." Seraph starts.
"You've tried mortal solutions to a divine problem." Caspian's colorless eyes find mine. "But there's another option.One we haven't discussed because it requires a sacrifice none of us wanted to make."
The chamber goes very still.
"What kind of sacrifice?" Croesus demands.
Caspian doesn't look at him. Keeps his gaze locked on me. "The divine energy is killing her because her mortal body can't contain it. But what if she didn't have to contain it alone?"
Understanding dawns on Seraph's face. "No. Absolutely not."
"It's the only way," Caspian continues. "We already created a binding, all seven of us tied to her, sharing the burden. Now we just need to redistribute the divine energy across eight beings instead of one. Make the binding permanent."
"She'll die anyway if we do nothing." Croesus's voice cuts through the argument. "How long do we have?"
Croesus looks at me. Through our bond, I feel him asking the question he can't voice: Is this worth it?
"Do it," I whisper.
"Raven."
"I'm not ready to die." The admission costs me, makes the burning worse. "Not yet. Not like this."
"You understand what we're proposing," Seraph says, and there's something almost gentle in his tone. "This isn't temporary. Once we create this binding again, once we tie all seven of us to you, there's no undoing it. You'll feel us. We'll feel you. Forever."
"I already feel you," I point out. My voice is getting weaker, the burning spreading through my chest, my limbs. "This just...makes it official, right?"
"It makes it deeper," Lysander says quietly. "Right now, you feel our presence. After this, you'll feel everything. Emotions. Thoughts when they're strong enough. Pain. Joy. All of it."
"And you'll feel us," Kael adds. "All seven of us. In your head, in your heart, every moment of every day. There's no privacy and no escape."
I look around at them, seven fallen angels who've argued and fought and barely tolerated each other for millennia. Seven deadly sins incarnate. Seven beings who should hate being tied together.
And they're all here. All seven of them, in the same room, willing to bind themselves to me permanently just to keep me alive.
"Then I guess we'll get to know each other very well," I manage.
Dorian laughs, surprised, genuine. "She's joking. While dying. I think I might actually like her."
"Don't get attached," Seraph mutters. But there's no real heat in it.
"How do we do this?" Croesus asks. All business now, pushing past fear to focus on the solution. "The ritual. What do we need?"
Caspian shifts on his cushion, and I see how much effort even that small movement costs him. "Blood. From all eight of us. Mixed at the center of the star."
