They reached the Pools of Wisdom with Tyrael leading the way. He went straight to the chamber that held Chalad'ar. He placed his armored hands on either side of the Chalice, as the others gathered in the background. With a deep breath, he slowly let it out to focus. Then he asked, "Does Malthael need to copulate with Anaurael in order to help make my champion?"
Izarius seemed to stiffen on hearing this. He honestly had no idea of what was being spoken of. Tyrael was motionless, as he gazed into the depths of the Chalice. The shining Light that came forth seemed to swirl in front of him. His hands became fists, and he slammed them down on either side of the Chalice. Imperius only knew what that meant.
"It needs to be done. Doesn't it?" Ilerael asked.
"What made you guess?" Tyrael said. He tried to sound calm. He managed to do just that.
"Do we know how often?" Imperius asked. He had Anaurael keep him focused with her hand on his cheek. He needed her direct touch for this. She didn't sense anything from Malthael. If he showed any form of being pleased, he knew that he would be shot down. Silence was his best choice for now.
"As often as it takes," Tyrael sighed with distaste. He turned to face them all after he straightened and composed himself. Auriel and Itherael were unable to respond to this. They felt horrible for Anaurael for needing to go through with it.
"She is mine..." Imperius said with a possessive mutter. "Don't forget that."
"I know. And Malthael had best remember that, too," Tyrael said in his own controlled voice.
"He does," Anaurael said softly. She was very troubled over this now. At the look of slight despair that she gave Imperius, he was looking away from her. But, he squeezed her to show that she was not at fault. He was simply pissed off at Malthael. At her soft whimper, he looked at her in a gentle way.
"It is not your fault, my ward. Come. Let us retire to my sanctum," he said lightly.
"Tyrael, you can rest in my bed," she said when she looked at him. "I'm sure you will be able to sleep there. My scent will be all over the sheets."
"Thank you. I'll do that," he nodded.
"Izarius, darken the room for him, if you must," she said.
"I will," her guardian nodded. Imperius nodded to the others there and teleported away with her to his sanctum. Itherael excused himself to consult Talus'ar. He needed to research where all of this was heading. He was now incredibly concerned over Anaurael's health. Auriel didn't know what to think of it all, but she regarded the troubled parents warmly.
"Please come to the Gardens of Hope with me. We can discuss what the future can hold," she said. Lilaurael smiled, and Ilerael readily agreed. Izarius took Tyrael to Anaurael's bedchamber with a mild teleportation jump. He knew it was the only way to be accessed now.
"You can remove your armors here. The Greed Goblins won't take them," Izarius said.
"I may be too tired to do that," Tyrael admitted. "I'll be fine."
"If Anaurael joins you later..."
"Oh. Right. Her bed. Well..."
"I'll help you."
"Fine," he nodded. Once his armor was removed, he was given a light cloth to cover over himself before reclining in the bed. El'druin was placed right next to him to ensure that it was in easy reach. That was important to him. Then, the moment his head hit the pillow, his mind was soothed from Anaurael's scent around him. She was right. He was in a deep sleep within seconds. Izarius put an extra cloth over the silk curtains to dampen out a bit more light from the windows. That would help him sleep even further to recover himself.
In Imperius's inner sanctum, it was completely sealed off again. Her gown was removed for him and laying in a small heap on the floor with her slippers close by. He was holding Anaurael to his core and trembling with her. She knew he was very upset.
"No more," he sighed painfully. "I can't let any others touch you. You are mine!"
"I know!" she whimpered and pressed into him. "I can't stand it!"
"When Anu severed you from me, I felt complete despair. That I had fully lost you. The moment it happened, I ran over to you to pull you back to me. And, when Titharius stole you away to Pandemonium, my mind was muddled with rage. Izarius had to find you for me. There was no other choice in the matter. I couldn't focus on you. I can't see things clearly without you anymore."
"I feel so lost without you," she shivered and pressed her face into his neck. "You are the only one that lets me feel safe and secure. The only time I tell one that I love them is for family basis only. I did tell Izarius that I loved him, but only to show that he was my brother. He responded in kind to show that I was his sister. But...when it comes to emotions of the heart...only you will ever have that form of love from me. I will never love another so fiercely. I cannot let myself love any other like you."
"Never do that," he growled and ran a large, fiery hand up her spine. "Your love is mine."
"It will always be yours," she vowed and ran her hand along his cheek. Then she giggled.
"Hmm? What's that laugh for?" he asked.
"You would think that I would see eyes on you. Or a facial structure. Instead, I can just barely make out your features. It would be something, if I could see something more."
"You can feel, though. Can't you?" he said and moved his mouth along her jaw.
"I can..." she whispered.
"I did want to try something," he mumbled and moved a hand over her hip.
"What was that?" she asked.
"I have been studying...mildly, mind you...on how Tyrael is with you from your thoughts. So, I want to test something," he said and moved one of her legs to lock around his glowing waist. "Tell me if you feel something. Anything at all."
"Okay," she nodded. When he vibrated with his Song, he focused with it slightly. At the harsh cry she gave out next, it was with surprise. His experiment worked. The surprising twist that he got was that he felt pleasure in it. It caught him by surprise, too. For a solid ten minutes they were like this.
"That was different," he mused. "It actually felt...good."
"You...felt all of that...too?!" she managed to gasp out.
"I did. I may want it again," he admitted. He still hovered with her and let her rest in his embrace. At the worrying to her lip that she did, he gazed at her in question.
"Oh. I just...had a thought in my mind," she said softly.
"What thought?"
"Just...if you never met..." she found herself silenced with his large forefinger to her lips.
"Never. Ask. Not that question. Never that question," he said sternly, but in a gentle manner. She nodded, and he crushed her to him. "I suffered enough without you. I waited over a millennia for you. There is no need to ask that. You are here. You are mine."
"Yes. That I am," she murmured and let him kiss her in a branding way.
"And, just so you know," he growled. "when Malthael does do what he needs to do, I will be watching him! The moment he mistreats you, he will know no mercy from me!"
"I doubt he would, but I do understand," she smiled and nuzzled into him. Then she blinked at a mental poke that she got. She grimaced. "Malthael is insisting that I am with him now. Before I see to Tyrael. I don't know what to think."
"Fine. But, I will monitor everything. Relax in my arms. I will protect you," Imperius said.
"Will you become your armor?"
"No. My sanctum is sealed. There is no way in or out. Just rest," he soothed. When he started to breathe deeply in long, calm breaths, she succumbed to sleep. He pressed a kiss to her mark and focused. He was definitely going to watch everything that happened.
Malthael didn't mind, in truth. His only concern was to have his champion body take form. He wasn't sure if he would fully leave her mind, though. In many ways, he felt it would be like Tyrael. Where I would only reach her again when I slept in mortal flesh. If that was the case, then he wouldn't mind it at all. I can still protect her. He even mused at the idea that he could train his flesh to let him be in her mind at the same time. A bit like sleep walking. When my mortal mind was trained enough, I will be testing it thoroughly. I won't have to worry about losing my memories, either. Maybe that was the true purpose for my soul to be stored in her mind? It was possible. As for now, he had a mission.
"I'm here," she said softly. Even though her body was nude in Imperius's embrace, she had herself dressed in a gown of gold with diamond accents for a soft, sparkling effect. Imperius clearly liked this one and would have to mention it to Gurzick when he could. Even Malthael was impressed.
"So, I see..." he nodded. "And...yes...I know he is watching. It matters not. This must be done. Come to me. I know where we can go."
"Very well," she nodded. She walked up to him and didn't shy from the caress he gave her cheek. She had to accept him now. She didn't even fight him when he tilted up her face to kiss her. He was actually a touch surprised when she kissed him back. It sent an odd feeling through him. Even when her hands moved over his bound up, armored chest, his mind seemed to reel with it. "Are you all right?"
"Yes. I am," he said after a moment of recollection. "I never thought I would finally get to the point that I would be so willingly accepted by you. The sensation is...different."
"Do you want me to fight you? Tooth and claw?" she smirked.
"It does sound like fun...but no. It will give the wrong idea," he seemed to chuckle. Then he went still when her hand came up to caress his invisible cheek from within his hood.
"How does it feel for me to finally respond the way you do to me?" she asked with a hint of challenge in her tone. "Is it all that you expected?"
"I..." he was assaulted again by the sensations he received. She floored him again when she ran her fingers along his right shoulder to walk around him to his back and pressed against him. He ended up sinking to his knees in a daze. Even at the slight touch to a misty wing, he tensed.
"It's funny," she mused and moved to press her mouth to where his invisible ear would be. "Imperius showed no hesitations. No surprises. He knew what to expect out of me. He was there my whole life. Even Tyrael was bolder than this, too, though he did show some hesitation at first. But, that was because he wasn't sure of what to do. He was a very quick learner. As was I. But...with you...I think you don't like being the one that has no control over things. You like to take the lead. To know what lies ahead. But, like this, you don't know what to expect."
"I do not..." he shivered. "I only speculated..."
"Then why show such hesitation now? Isn't this what you wanted?" she growled and felt him shiver when her fingers came up to gently squeeze into his shoulders. "Your armor is like skin. Imperius told me this. It's true, you know. It can be either armor. Or it can be skin. And I know that right now...this is skin..."
A spark of fire shot through him at the small nip she gave his invisible jaw now. It was white-hot need. Something he never experienced before. He scowled, rose up and yanked her into his embrace to carry her. Then he launched himself into the sky to barrel towards a certain part of her mind. He was first thinking of a cave. But, after her kidnapping, it was declined. A mossy cove was decided on, and he landed with her here. A small pool of water was nearby, but ignored. He wanted the soft ground.
"Here. This place will work," he muttered and set her down.
"You surprise me. I thought you would have picked a building," she chuckled.
"No. Confinement is not needed," he said. He seemed to pause when she looked over at the pool of water. He did not expect her to suddenly strip out of her gown. "What...?!"
"I want a bath," she shrugged. Her molten gold hair seemed to cover her like another cloak when she began to step into the water. He lost his resolve. He grabbed her and fell onto the moss with her.
It was a good thirty minutes later when he found his senses coming back to him. He realized he was staring up at the mental sky from being on his back. She was resting fully on his chest and watching him with a bit of amusement. At her small giggle, he had to ask, "What happened?"
"I'm honestly not sure," she admitted. "I think you Sang with me. But...it was different."
"How?" he asked and ran a gloved hand along her spine.
"There was vibration, but...not quite, either. As we know, the Light left you. But, I think you had just enough left from your wings. Enough for this, really," she mused and ran her own finger along his chest. "It just felt more physical than anything."
"Physical...?"
"Like with Tyrael."
"Oh."
"What did you think?"
"I...cannot recall...honestly. It was a rush..."
"That's how it was for him, too. But, I bet you would remember if it happened again."
"Possibly."
"Is that all you have to say?"
"Why talk?" he asked and sat up with her. She was positioned right over his hips. He began to hum out his Song, as he ground her down on him. For ten more minutes, he had her in a state of ecstasy with him. After he was able to finally relent, he only held her. He suddenly looked over at Tyrael's angelic form landing close to them.
"So, this is where you were hiding?" he mused and flexed his white tendrils of wings.
"Not hiding. We were coupling. What do you want?" Malthael seemed to growl. "It needs to be done. You know this."
"I know," Tyrael sighed and looked away. "I was only concerned for her well-being."
"As was I!" Imperius thundered when he landed. "Are you finished?"
"For now..." Malthael nodded. He gave her one final kiss and released her. On watching her figure walk over to Imperius dutifully, he moved to stand tall and cross his arms over his chest. He wanted her again, but it could wait. He was patient.
"What is the plan now?" Tyrael asked.
"She wakes up. Then she wakes you up," Imperius said when he gathered her back into his arms.
"Good. I'll wait here until she does," Tyrael nodded.
"Getting crowded..." Malthael seemed to mutter to himself. He didn't like how he wasn't the only one in her mind anymore. When Imperius vanished with her waking form, Tyrael now looked over at his disgruntled brother. "What is it?"
"I have a feeling that I may need to do the same thing you just did. Here in her mind," he admitted. "Do you feel this, too?"
"Hmm..." Malthael actually found himself thinking. And agreeing with the thought. "You may be right. Should it happen, I will not intervene. But...I do find it...disturbing..."
"What?"
"Practically all of the Angiris Council, save Itherael, and Auriel, of course, needs a place with her. Think about it."
"Trust me. I know all too well. She belongs to Imperius in the end."
"And yet...she does not..."
"No. She does."
"Her soul does. But not her flesh."
"Silence!" Tyrael finally growled at him.
"You only speak this from your vow of truce. I understand. But...even I know that you want more. You do not fool me."
Tyrael said nothing, but Malthael knew that he was right.