Dream Eater (m|m)

Chapter 26

That night, I share Damien's dreams once more.

I'm alone in a darkness deeper than any night, but I'm on my way towards something more, and my heart burns with a strange emotion.

After a moment I recognize it.

Hope.

There have been whispers--rumors spread in the dark--for a long time now. They say that someone--a Celestial, of all things--wants to abolish the age-old laws that keep the Fallen below, and forbid us from wandering the Earthly Realms or entering the Heavens. Some of us have joined him already, and I've decided to throw my lot in as well.

I crawl and climb my way up from the unknown depths, and then take flight, winging my way upward through the dark.

At long last, I arrive, and I am afraid--terrified--that the person I seek will look at me and see a monster, and send me back.

I approach, and he turns, and I feel like I've taken a spear through the heart.

I've never seen a Celestial before, though I'd heard they are beautiful. This person is more than beautiful. They are beauty personified. He's almost as tall as I am and seems to be male. His figure is almost human, except for his impossible height and perfection of form, and the fact that his skin is like gold. From his back sprout great wings, but they are nothing like my own leathery appendages. They are feathered, and a lovely mottled gray like those of an owl. He looks at me, and his unearthly green eyes go wide.

"Who...are you?" he asks, coming towards me.

"I am Dantalian," I say, looking down at my hoof-like feet. "I am Fallen."

He stops in front of me, and I flinch as he raises a hand. "Dantalian," he touches my face gently. "I am Sakariel, and we are the same."

In that moment, I fall in love; and to my surprise, it hurts more than anything I've experienced so far.

Sakariel takes my hands, and I watch as he gradually begins to shift and change, and a moment later he's been replaced by another person entirely. The only thing that stays the same is his eyes.

It's a weird sensation, but I see myself as Damien sees me, and the pain is even worse when he falls in love again.

~xxx~

In the morning, I wake still wrapped in his arms. We lie on our sides, facing one another, and he's already awake. He's propped up on one hand, while the other rubs gentle circles on my back. He smiles when I open my eyes and leans down to kiss them each.

"You were crying again," he says softly. "What did you dream this time?"

I look up at him, remembering what he felt in the dream, and wonder if he feels that way even now.

"It hurts, the way you love me," I say softly.

His brows pinch with concern.

"Was I too rough?" He asks, not understanding.

"Not that," I laugh, though it's a wet, teary sound. "I mean...you. The way you feel. It hurts. I don't think love is supposed to hurt that much."

His smile is tinged with old pain. "It is when it's something you never thought you'd feel. Never thought you could feel, or even deserved to feel. More than that, when it's something you believed no one could ever possibly feel for you."

As I watch the shadows in his dark eyes, I realize something.

"I haven't said it," I say.

"What?"