CHAPTER 57: GOALIE

  “Ready?” Yael asked it with a smile, even as his attention was already elsewhere.

  His fingers closed gently around Suryel’s hands while his eyes tracked the corridor ahead, measuring distance and turns.

  With his free hand, he tucked a loose strand of hair back into the braid Helel made earlier.

  “Stop asking.” Suryel bounced on the balls of her feet, barely touching the floor between movements.

  Her smile was bright but wobbly, excitement buzzing too loud for her body to sit still. “You know I’m excited.”

  “Great.” Helel said, grin sharp and delighted.

  He swept Suryel’s hair straight into her face as he passed, then tugged Yael’s hood down over his eyes with a quick flick of his fingers, earning annoyed groans.

  He was already breaking into a run as he laughed over his shoulder. “Race you both!”

  “Cheating!” Suryel shouted, laughter spilling out as she took off after him. “I will absolutely beat you!”

  “You’re both impossible.” Yael said fondly, already moving as his stride lengthened to match theirs.

  It was night in the Eternal Realm.

  Not the kind meant for rest.

  This night sharpened edges.

  The corridors glowed faintly beneath their feet, blue light pulsing in response to speed and intent.

  Stone curved and folded as they ran.

  Architecture shifting just enough to accommodate momentum.

  Like the Realm itself was watching and decided to allow it.

  The air hummed low.

  Responsive.

  Alive.

  Yael overtook Helel at a bend and took the lead without effort.

  No wasted motion.

  No hesitation.

  He ran like someone who already knew every turn before it appeared.

  Gabriel used to say it was a waste of talent that would have served him well if he had chosen the Logistics path back when he chose Sentinel.

  He was definitely fast.

  Suryel followed close behind, breath light, heart loud, her steps syncing instinctively with the hum beneath the floor.

  She laughed when Helel stumbled, the sound torn away by wind and speed.

  Helel lagged.

  With purpose.

  They burst through the final corridor into open space.

  Grass unfurled beneath a star-scattered sky.

  Silvered with dew that caught the light underfoot.

  Columns marked the path forward.

  Leading toward what was considered the Eternal Realm’s gate.

  Tall.

  Ancient.

  Marble margins worn smooth by time.

  It carried a faint scent of iron.

  Beyond it arched a stone bridge.

  It stretched into the vastness between realms.

  A familiar figure waited at the far end.

  Azriel.

  Yael crossed the bridge first without slowing.

  Suryel followed in a sprint.

  She angled her path, trying to overtake him.

  Then light bent sideways behind them.

  Helel vanished with a grin and reappeared beside Azriel.

  Posture snapping into perfect stillness.

  His arms folded across his chest.

  Expression settling into what looked like practiced boredom.

  Azriel sighed without looking at him.

  Yael and Suryel skidded to a stop.

  Hands braced on their knees as they caught their breath.

  “You are both late.” Helel said.

  He clicked his tongue and tipped his head at them in mock disapproval.

  Before he broke to a loud snicker, grinning.

  Yael straightened and shot him a glare.

  Suryel scooped up a handful of dirt.

  She flung it at Helel without even looking.

  He dodged easily.

  He laughed even louder.

  It echoed on their surrounding.

  Azriel reached out and flicked Helel’s ear.

  Surprisingly hard.

  “Don’t exasperate the young.” Azriel said calmly.

  “Ow!” Helel yelped, clutching the side of his head. “Violence. I will report this to Michael.”

  Azriel lifted his gaze toward the open field. “Authority, we’re ready.”

  The air shifted.

  No sound.

  Just pressure.

  Like the world drawing a breath it had been holding for centuries.

  Light folded inward at the edge of the field, lines collapsing into a gate that was not carved so much as permitted.

  Beyond it shimmered the Star Bearing Tree Domain.

  They crossed through the threshold into it.

  The Dream Realm greeted them with a deep resonant hum as they stepped into the rooted domain.

  The mirror-like lake glowed faintly.

  Roots of starlight threaded beneath its surface like veins beneath translucent skin.

  The sky stretched wide and dark.

  Scattered with stars that felt close enough to touch.

  Yet the Tree stood quieter than before.

  Its vast branches drooped slightly.

  Embedded stars pulsed weakly.

  Like a heart that had grown tired of beating alone.

  Suryel stepped fully across the boundary.

  The air changed first.

  Like a held note finding pitch.

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  Then the Tree shuddered.

  Light rippled outward in a slow wave through its trunk.

  Branches chimed like distant bells.

  One by one, the stars embedded in it like leaves brightened.

  Not reacting.

  Recognizing.

  Suryel stopped breathing when she felt it. “Oh.”

  She took another step, voice barely above a whisper. “Hey.”

  The domain stirred around her.

  “I’m back.” She said softly. “Did you miss me?”

  The answer came without words.

  A resonant thrum struck her chest and settled there.

  Warm, aching and unmistakably familiar.

  Her lip trembled.

  She broke into a run. “Oh. I missed you too.”

  “Careful, you might trip!” Yael called, already moving toward her.

  Helel caught his wrist, smiling as he shook his head. “It’s fine, let her.”

  Suryel wrapped her arms around the trunk, pressing her forehead to the bark like it might remember the shape of her. “I’m sorry I was gone for so long.”

  Yael exhaled slowly, relief loosening behind his eyes.

  Helel’s grin softened into something quieter.

  Azriel scanned the perimeter, eyes narrowing.

  The hum deepened.

  Then steadied.

  “That’s enough.” Azriel said quietly. “Listen.”

  The Dream Realm trembled.

  Not here.

  Elsewhere.

  Static crackled at the edges of perception, interference bleeding through reality itself.

  “The Dream Realm and In-Between are degrading faster than projected.” Azriel said. “Unclaimed domains have no rules. No anchors like the Eternal Realm has the Throne to protect Domains actively.”

  “That lets things slip through.” Helel muttered, hand tightening around his blade.

  “With teeth.” Yael added, stepping closer to Suryel.

  “Michael and Gabriel are restoring order where they can.” Azriel continued. “But the Sentinels are stretched thin— That’s why this must happen now.”

  Suryel pulled back, one hand still pressed to the bark. “Happen how?”

  Azriel met her gaze. “You are bringing your domain through.”

  Silence.

  She looked between them.

  As if searching for a joke that didn’t come. “What?”

  “It’s the same principle as when you pull and put back things into your Abode.” Azriel said, gesturing toward the Eternal Realm beyond the gate. “Just larger. And into the Realm instead of your Abode. Think of it as moving furniture.”

  Then, more firmly he added. “If you hesitate, the recoil will break you.”

  Helel whistled low. “From chairs to realms. Bold curriculum.”

  “It’s necessary.” Yael said gently. “Leaving it here is a vulnerability, Suryel.”

  “An open invitation.” Azriel added. “As you have learned from Raphael’s lessons.”

  Suryel swallowed, memories of the Infirmary flashing sharp and unwelcome. “Okay. So I focus. Um. Pretend this is just… a chair.”

  “Correct.” Azriel nodded. “A folding chair, if that’s easier. You will know when it works.” He pointed to the still-open threshold. “Then run.”

  “And if something interferes?” She asked, eyes and a hand already back on the Tree. “What should I do?”

  Static screamed.

  Their gazes snapped toward the far end of the lake.

  Opposite the gate.

  The sky tore.

  Not open.

  Aside.

  Darkness spilled through like ink in water, coiling with intent.

  Shapes followed.

  Horned silhouettes.

  Wings that cut the air wrong.

  Too many eyes.

  Samael stepped through as if arriving late to a meeting.

  His gaze locked on Suryel—

  As if hungry.

  Definitely possessive.

  “Well.” He said mildly, hands spreading in mock welcome. “There you are. The realm always sparkled prettily when you panic, my dear.”

  Her chest tightened.

  Belial drifted beside him, head tilting as he studied the Tree. “We wondered when you’d try moving the root instead of just protecting the branches. Brave. Or should I say… desperate.”

  “We knew you’d step beyond the Throne’s reach eventually.” Samael continued. “We just had to wait, Suryel.”

  Helel moved instantly, stepping in front of Suryel, blade flaring to life in his grip. “Say her name again and I’ll take your tongue.”

  “You already tried that once.” Samael said, smiling at him before flicking his gaze to Azriel. “Besides, I’m here to collect one of our own.”

  “What one of your own?” Yael said, planting himself forward as if to hide Suryel with a hand raised like a shield, daggers shimmering into existence around his fingers. “There is no one here who belongs to you. Get out!”

  “You should have known by now… Didn’t Azriel tell you?” Samael said, eyes sliding back to Suryel. “I was the one who left our little star in that crib.”

  Samael’s grin widened as he enjoyed their reaction. “You may even think of me as… your Daddy.”

  The Abyss squad snickered.

  “Oh heck no.” Suryel spat out, already turning back to the Tree, her will snapping tight as she demanded the Domain to fold quick.

  “Shut up Samael." Helel raged. “If anyone here would be her father."

  He breathed before pointing his blade up at the Ancient watcher turned Abyss crow. “That would be me."

  There was a brief silence.

  Yael looked offended.

  “You abandoned her.” Azriel said finally, halberd manifesting in his grip, the weapon cleaving the air between them like a line drawn. “She is our family. You are not getting her back.”

  “Yeah! As if I would come with you. Fuck off!” Suryel shouted, voice ringing across the lake even as she focused.

  Samael laughed. “Exactly how I knew you’d react, dear.”

  Suryel recoiled, almost hugging and disappearing into the tree.

  Helel was gone, colliding with him midair, longsword screaming against rapier as the impact rattled the stars.

  Belial blinked into existence before Azriel, probability bending around his gauntlet as he swung.

  Azriel met him head-on, halberd locking with crushing force.

  The legion surged.

  Suryel’s hands went numb.

  Her breath hitched in her throat.

  She gasped, cold crawled up her arms. “This is too much.”

  She whispered. “I can’t—”

  “Yes you can.” Yael stepped back beside her.

  Just long enough to grip her hand. “And you have.”

  His voice was steady, anchoring. “Do not look at them.”

  “This is your domain and we are here with you.”

  He threw a dagger, pinning a hellion mid-charge. “We will go home.”

  She nodded, breath shaking.

  The bark beneath her palm felt warm and steady.

  She held onto that and breathed.

  She didn’t picture a place.

  She felt the height of the Tree.

  The weight of it.

  Its patience.

  Then her Abode.

  Ownership.

  Recognition.

  She asked the Tree to move and to protect itself—

  The Tree answered.

  Roots flared with light.

  It sank not into soil but into her spine.

  Her mind.

  Pressure slammed into her chest.

  The domain inverted.

  Then condensed.

  It spun into a golden cloud that floated and followed around her.

  A dome erupted outward.

  Sigils and glyphs interlocking mid-air.

  Not just a weapon.

  A domain anchor.

  A refusal.

  Hellions struck it and burned away mid-scream.

  The spin intensified.

  Suryel forgot to scream.

  Her senses detonated.

  Water rushed past her ears.

  Old voices overlapped.

  Gravity vanished.

  Her feet lifted. “Oh no.”

  And then she remembered to scream.

  Yael caught her shoulders. “Stay with me!”

  Space folded.

  Domain locked.

  Her feet hit the ground.

  Yael flashed her a relieved and proud smile. “Good.”

  Then his expression sharpened. “Now run! I’ll cut the way for you!”

  Across the now dark, empty and cold dreamscape.

  A dome—

  Her domain shone brightly like a light.

  Ready to run.

  Defend.

  Or be conquered.

  The brothers eyes steeled with protection.

  The hellions mouths watered and glinted cold in its light.

  Ready to devour.

  Author’s Note:

  *Attempts to whistle but fails* Ball in court! Hahaha.

  Also, can we just take a moment to circle back to this Judge Judy moment where we got Helel and Samael fighting over our little sunbird like two father wannabes.

  Meanwhile Yael was just silently offended and Azriel appeared to have checked out at that moment. Pretty sure Metatron bookmarked it tho. LOL.

  And then Suryel just going the equivalent of “Oh hell nah.” trying to pack up the domain fast like a suitcase for carry on and leave.

  LMAO.