"Makoto. Can I try something?" I asked.
I had drifted off to sleep by accident, waking up to Mako's stirring movement. I didn't want her to leave me, tightening my arm around her waist. My mind wanted to sleep, but the urge to check on Mako and ensure she was okay was stronger.
Mako had tried to apologize and I stopped her by kissing her. I didn't want her to apologize anymore. She'd done nothing wrong and her actions were understandable.
We'd worked things out and it felt like a burden had finally been lifted off my shoulders. It was a fresh start to our relationship, and what would be the best gift to celebrate but to attempt to heal her legs with all the knowledge I'd gained?
She gave me a confused look, blinking at my now serious expression before nodding slowly. “Sure," she replied.
I slid off the bed and helped her sit up. I pulled my shirt off and removed my glasses, placing them on one of the dressers in the corner of the room.
I returned to stand at the end of the bed. Nightmare stood up from where she was curled up at the edge and moved to sit on top of Mako’s legs. Mako looks confused, curious as to what was going on, but I returned my attention to her legs, knowing I needed an immense amount of concentration and power to attempt this. This has to work. Please Starlight gods, let this work.
I began trailing my finger down her legs, moving over Nightmare who looked unbothered as her tails wagged from side to side.
"Mako, you didn't feel any of that, right?" I'd used a small amount of my gift to travel through my fingertips, curious to see if it would have any effect.
"Of course not. I can't even feel Nightmare sitting there," she stated with a frown.
"Okay." I crossed my arms in concentration, needing a moment to try and ramp up my gift. It was a struggle because my emotions were relatively calm, and my gift was heightened by strong feelings like anger, sadness, or lust.
"Think of the joy you'll bring Makoto. The way her turquoise eyes will twinkle with happiness that will be centered on you. Imagine the way she'll hold you tight and how you'll want to kiss her in return. Healing her will bring you a level of accomplishment and satisfaction of all your work paying off and giving your Princess, the woman you vowed to protect and serve, a chance to get back up and try to enjoy life again. All thanks to you," Azriel explained.
His words helped me picture everything he'd said. The idea of her lips on mine and her arms around my neck while her body pressed against me left me feeling aroused.
My fingers tingled to the point they were uncomfortable and I opened my eyes with determination. I wanted to try again, but I needed to clarify one more thing.
"Makoto, I want to try something. I need your permission and if Midnight's there, I need hers too," I announced. I wanted both of them to be okay with this. With Midnight's past, I didn't want her thinking I was taking advantage of Mako. I was doing this for her host to be healed and function normally again. Not because of my own desires and wants.
"You need permission from both of us?" she asked, looking completely confused as she tilted her head.
"Yes. I need it from both of you." I nodded, lifting my gaze to stare directly into her eyes.
"What do you want to do?" she questioned.
"I need to use my gift," I replied.
She remained quiet and I decided to elaborate what I meant.
"My gift is able to make people feel. I can make you happy, sad, angry or in love. If I direct my gift on a certain limb of the body and use my magic to enhance its effect, I can make a lifeless limb work again, with the right amount of magic," I explained in more detail. I stood there watching her in silence for a good minute before her eyes grew wide.
"That’s…not possible," she finally said, her voice so low I almost missed it.
I took a deep breath, concentrating on increasing my magic until my chest felt hot. I knew my shoulder blade markings would be glowing at this point and my eyes had darkened to a metallic copper.
"This may hurt. I've only tried this as a test on Midnight," I admitted.
She looked deep in thought, the expression she always had when talking to her spirits, but I didn't want to delay now that my power had peaked.
I began to trail my hand up her leg like before, taking quick glimpses at Mako who was eyeing my hand movement carefully. I could see the anticipation flicker in her eyes and it only gave me more motivation to make this trial work.
I allowed a small burst of energy to go through my hand, combining with the already built up magic on my fingertips and the result made Mako flinch. I paused, staring up at her.
"Did you feel that?" I questioned.
"Yes," she whispered in shock.
I didn't want to get sidetracked, moving my hand to her right side and pooling the same amount of energy and added the extra burst I'd used on her left leg. I centered the magic into my finger and began to move upward, feeling a little dizzy from the exertion of magic, but stayed focused, wanting to see this through until I got a positive result.
Before I even reached Nightmare's tails that were resting on Mako's left leg, Mako hissed and moved her leg slightly away from my hand.
"Mew." Nightmare moved from where she sat on Mako’s right leg over to her left, staring at the spot I'd stopped at; she began to lick it.
I looked up to see Mako's shocked expression, her mouth opened wide. Did it work?
"Mako?" I pulled back my magic before it got too much for me. The burning sensation from my shoulder blades dimmed and I felt the magic leave my eyes. I walked to her side and watched as she blinked; a tear rolled down her cheek as she stared at Nightmare who was rubbing the spot with her head.
"I…can…feel," she revealed and the tears rolled down her cheeks freely.
I pulled her into my arms, overwhelmed with gratitude that it worked. I can heal her. She'll be okay.
"Mako, no more tears. Hey. You're supposed to be happy." I tried to lighten her mood, but my voice cracked. I had to take a deep breath and attempt to compose myself. It was a mixture of emotions and it was hard to not let them flow through into the knight bond.
"I am happy. Dammit, Daniel, you can heal me. How…did you possibly figure this out? But wait, this can't be permanent. It's just temporary, right?" she demanded.
I pulled back to wipe her tears away, only realizing that I too was crying as a tear rolled down my cheek.
"There were two other people who experienced what you have. In both situations, an Archangel healed them using their gift. It was a lengthy process, but it worked. When I researched, my gift is still ranked stronger than the previous angel shifters. That means it will take me fewer attempts in order to heal your legs. But it's energy costing for both individuals. I have a method that was proven to work…but…it's a little tricky," I mumbled the last sentence, feeling a little embarrassed to reveal what I'd discovered from Winterlya.
Still sounds like a booty call.
Azriel sighed in my mind. "You shifters always think so much," he hummed and left my mind.
I mentally rolled my eyes.
"Why is it tricky?" Mako asked; my face grew red.
"My gift is amplified with my emotions. If I'm super happy, sad, angry or…aroused, my gift becomes much stronger," I whispered, avoiding eye contact. This is embarrassing.
Her lingering silence had me slowly turning my gaze back to her, watching her cheeks turn bright red as she picked up at what I was hinting at.
"You…mean…if we…have um. You know. Your gift doubles or triples in strength?" she whispered.
I nodded. "Not a lot of people know about it. To be honest, I didn't know it worked in that department either."
"Did the other two individuals use your theory?"
"The second individual had relations with an Archangel. He healed her using that method, though it took a few times," I explained, my voice rather low. The thought of having the chance to do more than just kissing Mako was already starting to have its effect on my body.
"Interesting," she whispered before leaning forward to press a kiss to my lips.
I closed my eyes and kissed her back, wanting to enjoy her taste and the warmth of her body.
"Mako," I moaned, trying to stall what I knew was sure to come. I needed to tell her now. Tell her how much I cared about her. How much I loved her.
"Hmm?" Her lips were inches from mine.
"Before we do this, I want to say one thing."
"What is it, Daniel?" she asked, pulling back slightly to stare into my eyes.
"I love you. Love every part of you. The good, the bad, when you're angry or sad. I adore you and hope you realize how precious you are in my life. I was a fool to not tell you this earlier, but I won't be foolish twice. I'll never lose sight of my love for you, and if by some chance I do, let the stars knock some sense into me," I declared.
The happiest expression I'd ever seen formed on her face and her turquoise eyes twinkled with joy.
"I love you too, Daniel Moore." She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a deep kiss.
I moaned against her lips and kissed her with every ounce of desire I felt.
Her admission of love meant everything to me, allowing the last bits of anxiety, fear, and doubt to drift away and be replaced with a hungry desire to claim her as mine for this one moment.
She loved me and I'd reward her for those truthful words.