Page 67 of Gates of Rapture (The Guardians of Ascension #6)

Only the deepest, most unexpected changes

Can conquer great evil.

— Collected Proverbs, Beatrice of Fourth

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? ”

“Yes, absolutely.”

James drew a deep breath. “That’s because you’re not officially ascending to Third Earth.”

At that, Leto turned and met Grace’s gaze. She saw relief in his eyes. They had both been worried about what would happen if he actually did ascend to Third.

James smiled as Leto turned back to him.

“There will be no disruption of your breh-hedden , you may trust me in this. Sixth wouldn’t have allowed it.

But I digress. There is a specific purpose in your ascension.

We need you to take over my role as the gatekeeper of Third Earth.

My duties call me elsewhere, and I’m not allowed to make war in your dimension, to use force to protect the gate.

And we feel it’s necessary for the securing of peace on Second Earth that a warrior be stationed at this critical gateway. ”

This pronouncement brought a hum through the group. Grace had no idea what Leto would do as a gatekeeper or why it was necessary at all.

Endelle stepped forward. “I don’t understand, Shorty. I thought Alison would be opening the portal and we’d have access to Third Earth society, customs, even their wisdom and knowledge.”

“You should know by now that nothing in the ascended world is simple. One day I’m sure that the sharing of cultures will happen and that this will be true among all six dimensions.

But right now we have to deal with a situation that Greaves has caused.

It needs to be locked down before we can go further. ”

“What situation with Greaves?” Endelle asked, her voice sharp.

“The commander created an invisible breach in the portal to Third that has allowed him to bring Third Earth death vampires through at will and without you or your warriors aware of what he’s been doing.”

Endelle frowned. “Somehow I thought Greaves had found a way to create those vampires himself, making his usual squads bigger and better. It never occurred to me that they really were from Third Earth. Not that I could have done anything about it had I known.”

“Exactly. Their origin would have changed nothing. But the real danger is simple: Greaves is ready to bring a hundred such vampires through the breach in the portal as soon as he engages you in what we believe will be the forthcoming battle over White Lake. Not even you could have fought a contingent of that size; they would have decimated your Warriors of the Blood. You would have lost the war that fast.”

This brought a number of heated expletives from all the warriors against Greaves and his machinations.

But it was Leto who asked the next logical question. “So are you saying that by opening the portal and sealing the breach, we end the possibility of Greaves sneaking these bastards through during a battle against him?”

“Precisely. The portal will once again be secured—but it will need to be guarded by a warrior. May I ask if you are willing to accept the assignment?”

“There is no question. Of course, I accept. But what will it entail? Will I reside on Third?”

“No, on Second, but the ascension that I initiate here today will give you a permanent mind-link with the portal. You will be alerted when anyone approaches, no matter which dimension, and because of the demand inherent in the mind-link, you will need to respond to each approach. Are you willing to engage in a mind-link of this sort?”

Grace felt the sudden tension in Leto’s thighs, back, and neck.

She understood his reaction. He had served as a spy for a century, always at Greaves’s beck and call as well as James’s.

Now he would be bound, or so it would seem, to the portal, with no real guarantee how easy or how pressing that duty would be.

But she also knew Leto’s character, the essential element of his warrior’s soul. Above all things, Leto was a man of duty, something he would always do and something she treasured about him. She was not surprised when the tension eased from the same parts of his body and he said, “I am willing.”