“I’m not pretty like them,” Star said.
Radu snorted as he stepped into the circle and unfurled his wings, sighing as if it were a relief to let them out. “Self-delusion at its finest.”
“I’m not deluding myself.” Star glared at him.
“I still wish I had wings, but the space they require is a bit of an inconvenience,” Lucian said. “I may need to expand this anchor point.”
“We rarely all travel at once,” Radu said. He stared at Star and took a step closer, his gaze hot, filled with lust. “I like this little form.”
Star released his other form as if to prove he scared everyone, the size and eruption of wings making Lucian grumble and grab Yuri and Theo to his side. Radu’s gaze further heated.
“I like this one, too,” Radu said, purring as he reached out to stroke Star’s throat with gentle fingers.
Yuri wrapped his arms around Star’s middle, small to Star’s Onari form, but they still fit together as if they were meant to. “You’re so beautiful,” Yuri said. “Like a peacock rainbow where the sun touches your wings and horns.” He ran his fingertips over Star’s bare shoulder, the ripple of muscle beneath his pale flesh glittering in dark iridescent navy. “From one direction you look purple, from another it’s blue green. So cool!”
“Right?” Theo said. “Same way Lucian is red one way and orange/yellow the other.” His gaze landed on the blond prince,who busied himself with tugging everyone inside the circle’s minimal edges.
“Peacock rainbow…” Star grumbled, annoyed that the comment pleased him.
“Oh sorry. Am I supposed to be afraid?” Yuri concentrated hard for a moment and Theo giggled as Yuri’s expression turned to exaggerated terror. “Oh my, how scary! Someone save me before the pretty horned man has his naughty way with me.” Theo burst into hysterical laughter, and Lucian muffled his own chuckle in Theo’s hair.
“Wings in, old man,” Lucian commanded Radu. “Else you might lose them in the transition.”
“Can only Lucian create these travel things?” Yuri asked.
“No,” Radu said, as he folded in his wings and encircled them all in his wide embrace. “But it’s easier to have one guide us and the others save their energy. Very few can travel between worlds. Which is for the better, as it keeps the worlds from spanning into chaos again.”
Lucian dropped them into a clear field overlooking the dock and a slew of boats that could take them to Auroi. The magic stopped and Star let his wings free to stretch, the breeze ruffling through them like a gentle caress. Yuri clung to him, and when he looked down, Yuri was smiling up at him.
“I love you,” Yuri said. “Even when you’re grumpy ‘cause you are overwhelmed.”
Star opened his mouth to protest, but Yuri wasn’t wrong.
“I’m not a fan of boats,” Theo confessed. “Maybe we can fly this time?”
“Air defenses will shoot you out of the sky,” Lucian said. “Sorry, angel. It’s a short ride to the island.”
“We have wings for a reason,” Star said.
“And here I thought they were just to give you more personal space,” Lucian snarked as he stepped out of the anchor circle,grabbed Yuri and Theo’s hands and dragged them toward the path down to the dock. “Come, littles.”
“Littles?” Theo asked, but clung to Lucian’s side.
“You’re little and cute,” Lucian said. “So is Yuri, and sometimes Star.”
Star grumbled, but slid his wings into the ether. Radu struggled to do the same, frowning as he stood in the center of the anchor.
“Deep breath,” Star instructed. “It’s a little like opening a portal. Only think of it as a pocket, but for your wings.”
Radu stared at him a moment, then shut his eyes to breathe and focus. The wings slid away. “Thank you.”
“You should visit the mortal worlds more,” Star said.
“I will if you will,” Radu said as he followed the others down.
"The shadows will always be drawn to me," Star said.
“But you can scatter them. Perhaps it’s you who need more time in the mortal realm to understand why your fear overwhelms your self-reliance. The choice will always be yours.”
