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Chapter Text

Pain. It was the first thought Gyrus had every time he woke, and the last one he had before he lost consciousness. He couldn’t really call it sleeping, or the times when he was conscious true wakefulness. Everything was always seen and felt through a haze of pain.

He didn’t know how he’d come to be a prisoner in the dungeons of whatever terrible place he was in, or how long he had been there. All he knew was that he was an angel surrounded by demons who tortured him day after day. Beaten, burned, flogged, stabbed—over and over until his natural gifts healed him enough for them to begin again.

Every time he saw a demon, it always resulted in pain. With a single exception: the one with blue eyes.

Gyrus didn’t know his name, but the demon with long dark hair and blue eyes always seemed to be near him. He was beautiful and cold, watching Gyrus’s suffering without any reaction at all. And when he spoke, his words were always cruel, mocking Gyrus for his weakness, for his pitiful and cowardly nature as an angel, and a myriad of other things Gyrus couldn’t remember or understand. A liar. Yes, the blue-eyed demon had called him a liar more than once. But he didn’t know why. Perhaps the demon was right, and he was a liar, but Gyrus had no way of knowing.

Once, when Gyrus’s torturers were on the verge of killing him, the blue-eyed demon intervened, scolding them harshly and threatening them with suffering should they end his life even by accident.

Why?

Why did the demon with blue eyes care what happened to him? And why…did his eyes look so sad sometimes? It was the only emotion he ever seemed to show other than anger. And Gyrus wondered at it. But there was never any time to dwell on it, because the next round of torture was always just around the corner, waiting to steal his thoughts with waves of agony and drive him into a sleep from which he would find no rest.

Blue eyes…

Sad…

I’m sorry…

Chapter Text

Contracts. They were the thing that underpinned the very fabric of Heaven and Hell. Both angels and demons were bound to uphold the oaths they swore—especially to each other. It was the only thing that held together their fragile shared world.

There wasn’t anything Kodya despised more than contracts—except those who broke them.

And yet somehow, he kept coming back to the dungeons, day after day, forcing himself to look at the wretched angel who languished there. It was pointless, and he knew that. But he just couldn’t stop himself.

“Kodya, man, you gotta let him go.”

Kodya lifted his head as he stepped out of the dungeon doorway, finding his friend Anan watching him with a sympathetic expression on his face. Anan was in charge of the palace guard, so it was his job to know where everyone was at any given time. As such, he was well aware of Kodya’s daily visits to the cells.

“It’s been eleven years,” Anan said gently. “It’s time to move on.”

“Eleven years, one month, and three days,” Kodya muttered, pushing past the other demon as he headed for the stairs that led back up to the main part of the castle. “And tomorrow it will be eleven years, one month, and four days. And it still won’t change what he did to me.”

He didn’t give Anan the chance to respond, climbing the stairs quickly, his heavy footsteps echoing off the thick stone of the stairwell.

Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone had chosen this particular day to harass him, for he spotted the svelte figure of Don, Hell’s spymaster, leaning casually against the wall at the top of the stairs.

“Back from your daily visit already, Your Highness?” the demon said, lifting an eyebrow.

“It’s funny,” Kodya said, straightening to his full height and flaring his batlike wings as he cleared the stairs and glared down at Don. “I’d think that someone like you would have better things to do than keep tabs on the activities of his prince.”

“Oh, I’m not concerned with your activities, amigo,” Don replied, giving him a smile that held poisoned knives. “But I do wonder…what would the king think of all this? Surely, it might give him cause to question your loyalty if he knew where you went every day.”

Kodya returned Don’s razor smile. “The king is well aware of where my loyalties lie, Don,” he said, “and I’ve made no secret about where I go within this castle. His Majesty is not troubled by it in the slightest by it. Because unlike some people, I don’t go sneaking around behind anyone’s backs.”

Don tsked, shaking his head. “Well, that’s not very nice, amigo. You really should try to be kinder to your subjects.” His eyes hardened. “Otherwise someone might just take that title of yours away from you.”

Kodya leaned forward, forcing Don to arch his back to avoid colliding with him. “I’d like to see that someone try,” he breathed, his eyes flaring blue-white with a promise of violence.

“Prince Kodya, Lord Don!” called the shrill voice of a messenger.

They both stepped apart as the small demon approached them.

“Speak,” Kodya commanded.

“The King requests your presence!” the messenger squeaked. “An emergency meeting has been called in the Council Chambers!”

“What’s the emergency?” Kodya asked, frowning.

The messenger fiddled with the hem of her little tunic. “Apparently, General Ragan has been defeated.”

Kodya swore darkly and Don’s lip curled.

“You are dismissed,” Kodya said, brushing past the messenger as he headed down the hall towards the stairs that would take him to the council chambers, Don hot on his heels.

He was never in a good mood after visiting the dungeons—not to mention trading veiled threats with Don—but that didn’t matter right now.

As prince of the demons, he had a great deal of responsibilities, especially considering that they were currently at war with Heaven. Truthfully, they were always at war with Heaven, but there were often decades at a time where both sides would lapse into an unspoken ceasefire. For the last century though, tensions had been running high, and an incident from just over eleven years ago had been the breaking point for both sides. Now they were engaged in another brutal campaign.

Originally, Heaven had gained the upper hand thanks to a ruthless first strike on one of their bases that had left Hell reeling. But over time, the tide had shifted, in part because Hell simply had more manpower. Things had been going in their favor of late—at least, until now. Ragan’s defeat was a heavy blow, as her legion had been one of the strongest among Hell’s forces.

I’ll get those cowardly angels, Kodya swore, clenching his fists as smoke curled up from his palms. I’ll burn them all to ashes like they deserve.

He turned down the corridor, arriving before the gilded purple doors that led to the council chamber. He nodded to the guards standing on either side before pushing his way in. Before him, seated around a rectangular table, sat the demon king, Iro, along with his ministers and generals.

Kodya inclined his head to Iro as he entered and took his seat at the king’s right-hand side. He was not Iro’s son—demons didn’t follow a hereditary power structure—but he had been chosen by the king out of many candidates to serve as his heir. The selection trials hadn’t been easy, but at the tender age of fourteen, he’d succeeded in proving that he was the best of the best, and the mantle of prince had been his ever since.

His eyes slid to Don as the spymaster slid into the room and took his seat across the table from Kodya and Iro. The man was a coward, and had made himself Kodya’s enemy from the moment he’d been chosen as heir to the throne. Lucky for Don they were at war and needed his talents, or else Kodya would have killed him a long time ago.

“You’ve heard the news,” Iro said without any preamble, drawing Kodya’s attention. “Ragan’s legion has been defeated. It’s a major loss, but not a fatal one. We need to reorganize troops in the area to prevent Heaven from capitalizing on their victory. Suggestions?”

Several of the generals piped up, offering various reallocations of soldiers and supplies to shore up the weakened front, and Kodya watched in silence, calculating as they moved pieces around on the map at the center of the table.

The primary battlefield was the thin strip of land that separated Heaven and Hell: Earth. It was an unremarkable place, occupied by plants and simple animals for the most part, but possession of it was fiercely contested by both sides, since it served—in a mystical roundabout way—as the ceiling of Hell and the floor of Heaven.

“Kodya, what is the status of the troops we have here in the garrison?”

Kodya glanced over at the king. “They are prepared to march at a moment’s notice, Your Majesty,” he replied. The troops within the castle were his responsibility, a reserve force to be called on whenever needed.

“Good,” Iro replied. “Have half of them ready to leave for the surface tomorrow morning. We’ll send them out to bolster Ragan’s remaining forces. Fresh faces should make the angels think twice before they charge in to claim more territory.”

Kodya inclined his head, then sat back to listen as the generals and ministers debated the finer points of the war. He preferred to watch and wait in meetings like this. Extraneous talking was simply a waste of energy. He would speak when there was something that needed saying.

After that, the meeting quickly wound to a close—Iro never did have the patience for long, drawn-out discussions and the court was well aware of it and did their best not to test his limits.

“Before we go,” Don said, getting to his feet, “there is one other matter that I’d like to address since we’re already gathered here.”

Iro raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what’s that?”

“It has to do with the assassination attempt on our dear prince last week,” Don replied, his gaze falling on Kodya.

Kodya rolled his eyes. This again? It hadn’t been the first time someone had tried to kill him since he’d claimed his title, and they hadn’t been any closer to successful this time than they had the last dozen times. He’d disarmed and restrained the perpetrator—a low-level demon of indeterminate origin—with ease. However, Don had insisted on interrogating the woman, and it had surprised Kodya that Iro had agreed, but he hadn’t given it much thought beyond that. Don and Iro were old friends, after all. Sometimes the king gave him extra leeway.

“Go on,” Iro said, tapping his fingers. “Get to the point.”

“It appears,” Don replied, sounding almost smug, “that the assassin was working for a group that has connections to Heaven.”

Kodya’s fists clenched as gasps and murmurs broke out among the other assembled demons.

Iro’s face darkened. “Exactly what kind of connections?” he growled.

“The kind that links them to the angel we have languishing in our dungeons, Sire,” Don replied, his dark orange eyes glowing faintly as they flicked back to Kodya. “Apparently, the wretch has been the ringleader of this little group, feeding them plans and information this whole time.”

Kodya’s fists clenched tighter.

That was beyond bullshit. Don knew just as well as Kodya did that the angel in the dungeons couldn’t do more than raise his pathetic head, let alone plot any kind of assassination attempt. But admitting that would put Kodya under suspicion for colluding with Heaven—something he would rather die than do.

Iro bared his teeth, the air crackling with the energy of his fury. “All this time, that little brat has been masterminding our downfall from where sits in our dungeon!?” His fingers tensed, digging into the arms of his chair with a sharp crack. “We granted him the mercy of life and he turns our own citizens against us!?”

“I’m afraid so, Sire,” Don said. “It is my recommendation that the prisoner Gyrus be slated for immediate execution, to prevent further spread of his corruption and future attempts on the prince’s life—and perhaps on yours, as well, Your Majesty.”

Kodya’s heart was pounding, a response that had him cursing his own weakness. He knew exactly what the king was going to say, and a moment later, Iro proved him right.

“I want him dead by nightfall tomorrow,” Iro growled.

“I agree,” Kodya forced himself to say, looking up at the king. He knew what was expected of him, even if the words tasted like ash in his mouth. “It’s obvious that we need to put an end to this conspiracy before it weakens the war effort.”

“Well said,” Iro replied, nodding at him. “Don, see to it.”

Don quickly bowed. “It would be my pleasure, Sire. I will see him dead before dinnertime.”

With that, the meeting ended and the council members dispersed.

Kodya made his way back to his chambers, his mind racing with a chaotic jumble of thoughts and feelings. He pushed open his door and pressed it shut behind him, activating the runes that would lock it and prevent eavesdropping. Finally alone, he allowed his shoulders to slump, stepping forward into the spacious, richly furnished room.

His eyes fell on the painting that hung above his desk and he crossed to it, sorrow filling his heart as the figure in the painting stared back at him with a bright smile.

“I wish you were here, Neph,” he whispered, gazing at the portrait that depicted himself and his best friend the day he’d been appointed as heir to the throne. There had been a massive celebration held in every corner of the demon realm, and amid all the chaos and merriment, Nephthys had dragged him away for an hour to sit for a portrait to commemorate the occasion. He’d insisted that she be in it with him, since he never would have made it through the trials without her support.

Now that painting was all that was left of her.

Anger and bitterness welled up inside him and his fists clenched.

It was all that angel’s fault that she was dead! He was the one who had been responsible for the destruction of the base near the city of Osta where Nephthys had been stationed as a healer. He had sold them out to Heaven without any hesitation! Maybe it was for the best that he was sentenced to die tomorrow—maybe it was exactly what that lying bastard deserved!

His eyes caught on Nephthys’s in the painting, her gentle lilac gaze taking the edge off his anger, just as the real thing so often had in the past.

“I know what you’d say,” he muttered under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut against the tears that threatened to fall. “You’d say ‘Kody, it’s been over eleven years. You need to stop holding on to the past and move on.’” He ran his hands through his hair, pulling at the long, wild strands. “But I can’t,” he whispered, looking back up at Nephthys’s face. “I can’t do it. I can’t forgive him. Even after all this time, it still hurts just as much as it did that day.”

He paced away, throwing himself down into the nearest chair with a sigh. “I must be the biggest idiot in all of creation.” He chuckled wryly. “I should be glad he’s finally getting what he deserves. But here I am, moping about it.” He tipped his head back and closed his eyes. “Pathetic.”

He didn’t know how long he sat there, but it was long enough for him to have fallen asleep because he was woken by a cool breeze blowing through the room. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Where was a cool breeze coming from in here? The windows were still shuttered and he hadn’t adjusted the temperature-controlling runes at all.

Getting to his feet, he glanced around, wary of another assassination attempt. But instead he found something much more unsettling.

There, on his desk beneath the painting of himself and Nephthys, lay an envelope. It bore his name in familiar curling script, the emblem of the third eye pressed into the wax seal making his heart skip a beat.

He hadn’t seen that crest in over eleven years. Could it be?

“Nephthys?” he called softly, glancing around the room again. But no one answered him.

He picked up the envelope and carefully broke the seal, unfolding the letter inside with shaking hands.

Kody,

If you want to know the truth, bring him to the mouth of Halberd Pass.

Love,

N

Kodya staggered back a step, mind reeling. There was no doubt at all that this had come from Nephthys. The handwriting was exactly the same as he remembered from the letters he had kept, and her faint but familiar scent clung to the paper.

“What the hell is going on here?” he whispered, staring at the letter again.

Bring ‘him’.

Bile rose in his throat as the meaning of those words sank in.

There was only one person that it could possibly be, and Kodya groaned as he contemplated the task before him.

Fuck.

It appeared he was going to have to plan a rescue mission.

Chapter Text

It was easier than Kodya had expected to drug the dungeon guards’ evening meal and render them unconscious. Finding the keys to the solitary confinement cell that held his target was even easier. Unlocking the cell and stepping inside it to face the broken angel who lay within, however, took more courage than he cared to admit.

Molting feathers that had once been so pristine and lovely, battered, bruised, and bloodied skin that had once been so pale and soft, along with long unkempt emerald hair that had once been so neat and well cared-for. Looking at him was a reminder of everything Kodya had lost.

He swallowed hard, drawing on his courage again. He needed to do this.

“Gyrus,” he called softly, the once-familiar name lodging painfully in his throat. It had been over eleven years since he’d last thought it, let alone said it aloud. “Wake up.”

The angel remained unresponsive, his body limp and breathing shallow. The lacerations and welts from his earlier session with the torturers were still fresh and Kodya cursed. Of course Gyrus wouldn’t be in any state to move. He’d watched the proud angel’s decline with his own eyes—or at least, the latter part of it, since visiting him had been too painful for the first few years. Relentless magical interrogation and physical abuse, combined with the sedatives in his food and water that kept him docile, had rendered the angel little more than a pile of bones and feathers.

He gritted his teeth. All that power, all that intelligence, wasted away to nothing.

But he wasn’t here for Gyrus—not really. He was here to find out what had happened to Nephthys, and the longer he stood there staring at the angel, the greater the chance that someone would discover him. He’d already prepared an alibi in the form of a letter to Iro that informed the king that he was flying out to the battleground on Earth to lend a hand with the recovery efforts. It would be days before anyone realized he was missing. So it was time to get down to business.

He stepped forward, quickly snapping open the shackles that bound Gyrus’s wrists and ankles, then lifted the little angel into his arms.

He gazed down at Gyrus’s face and a warmth bloomed in his chest that he quickly tried to squash. But a flicker of it remained, the weight of Gyrus’s smaller frame in his arms still comforting after all these years.

He ignored it, pushing back against all of the warm bubbly feelings, and was making for the door when Gyrus’s brow creased and he stirred slightly, muttering something under his breath.

“Sun…shine…”

Kodya stopped dead in his tracks, his heart felt like it had been pierced by a dagger.

That name. How was it possible that Gyrus still remembered it? He could sense for himself how tattered the angel’s mind was. So how did he know that name!?

He gritted his teeth again, hardening his heart and mind against the fangs of the past as they rose up to tear at him. Right now, none of that mattered. All that did matter was finding the truth about Nephthys. He’d worry about the rest if and when Gyrus regained his memories.

With that, he left the dungeons, concealing Gyrus with a heavy cloak from his pack before he snuck them both out through one of the castle’s many hidden escape routes.

What he didn’t see was the figure watching him from the shadows, orange eyes glowing faintly in the gloom.

He was moving somehow, although he wasn’t sure how, considering his body was far too weak to produce any kind of motion beyond simple breathing. Everything hurt, every jostle of his shattered frame sent pain ricocheting through him. But he felt something else, too: warmth.

He’d been cold for so long that he’d almost forgotten what it felt like to be warm. Whoever was moving him, or carrying him, judging by the rhythm of the motions, was incredibly warm and gentle. Almost like…sunshine. Yes…sunshine…

So in spite of his pain, Gyrus savored the feeling of being held. He didn’t know what it meant or where he was going, but surely anywhere had to be better than the hell he’d been enduring for as long as he could remember.

Safe…for now…

Kodya glanced back over his shoulder, eyes falling on where Gyrus lay just inside the mouth of a cave beside the small fire he’d built. He’d kept the angle wrapped in the heavy cloak, both because he was so thin that he was actively cold to the touch, and because it would disguise the dull white of his wings. Almost nothing in hell was light-colored, so things like angel feathers stood out from a mile away.

He couldn’t say for certain, but it seemed like Gyrus looked slightly better now that he was out of the dungeons. But perhaps that was just wishful thinking on Kodya’s part, since for the time being it seemed he needed the angel alive, according to Neph’s letter.

“I still can’t believe that she would make me do this,” he muttered, turning his attention back to the map in his hands. “She of all people should understand how much I hate you.”

According to the map, it would take him another two days on foot to reach Halberd Pass—and he had to travel on foot or risk being spotted easily in the air. Two days would be time enough for the sedatives in Gyrus’s body to start wearing off. Which meant the angel would likely start to regain awareness soon.

“You’d better not cause me any trouble,” Kodya grumbled, glaring back at Gyrus’s sleeping form. “Because, so help me, if you do, I won’t even think twice about killing you myself.”

But Gyrus said nothing. Not a single word. Just the same as he had for the last eleven years, one month, and four days.

Kodya cast a glance back towards the castle, which had been reduced to nothing more than a faint outline in the distance. No doubt the guards had discovered that Gyrus was missing by now and would be looking for him. Which meant they needed to get moving.

He got to his feet and waved his hand, snuffing out the fire with a touch of magic as he shouldered his pack and went to retrieve Gyrus.

The angel remained limp as he picked him up and Kodya found himself staring at Gyrus’s face again. The most recent bruises and welts had begun to heal, slowly giving way to the beautiful rose-tinted skin he remembered.

He forced himself to look away, once more pushing those memories to the back of his mind.

The past is the past. I’m never going back there.

Chapter Text

Kodya sat in the castle library, hunched over the table as he poured over a stack of books. It was just past noon, long before most of Hell’s nocturnal citizens were awake. But Kodya had always liked the quiet of the midday, so here he was, savoring the peaceful silence.

Suddenly, warm arms encircled his shoulders from behind and soft lips pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Hello there, Sunshine,” Gyrus whispered cheerfully.

Kodya smiled, turning to look at the angel, who was smiling back at him.

“Hey there, angel face,” he replied, gently rubbing his nose against Gyrus’s. “What are you doing here at this hour? It’s a little early for you, isn’t it?” Gyrus had quickly adapted to Hell’s nocturnal schedule after his arrival, and now followed it more regularly than Kodya did.

Gyrus chuckled and stepped around Kodya, scooting his way onto Kodya’s lap while he kept his arms locked behind Kodya’s neck.

“I missed you,” he said softly, violet eyes sparkling. “That was reason enough for me to get up and come find you.”

Kodya grinned and rolled his eyes. “I swear, you’re needier than an orchid in a desert,” he murmured. Before Gyrus could reply, he looped his arms around the angel’s waist and pulled him in for a kiss. He lost himself in Gyrus’s gentle embrace, savoring the taste of his lips and the comfort of his presence.

Yes, this is what he wanted for the rest of his life. The two of them, together the way they were promised to be. Always. Always and forev—

Kodya sat bolt upright, chest heaving. He rubbed his eyes, brushing away the traces of sleep as he sought to cast the memory far from his mind.

He wound his fingers into his hair and tugged hard, forcing himself to take deep breaths as his rage sought to boil over. He couldn’t afford to lose control now. If he abandoned himself to his emotions and his magic went out of control, he’d end up leading the castle guards right to them. He’d seen them, the lower ranked demons, combing the area for any trace of Gyrus and whoever had freed him.

It was nearly dawn now, though, and the searchers would be growing tired. He’d give it another hour, and then he would take Gyrus and set off again. They still had at least one more day of traveling before they reached the pass.

I’m coming, Neph. I just hope it’s really you who will be there to meet me. Gods help anyone else who might be waiting there, because if this has all been some kind of trick, I will show no mercy.

The first clear sensation that Gyrus was aware of was the pain. Pain was nothing new for him, but it was sharper now, more concentrated. He could actually tell which parts of himself were injured and which were merely neighbors to those injuries. He could also tell that he was being carried in someone’s arms. His angelic senses were still dull, but he could feel the faintest trace of demonic energy emanating from the person carrying him.

With a great deal of effort, he cracked his eyes open, looking up at his apparent rescuer. His heart skipped a beat. It was the demon with blue eyes! The one who was always watching him in his cell!

For the first time, Gyrus was able to actually examine the demon, so he did so, slowly soaking in the strength and nobility of his features. The demon was bare-chested, with a handful of scars covering his pale skin, contrasted by the black of his leathery wings. His face had a strong jaw and nose, with two pairs of black horns that curled elegantly up from the sides of his head, all framed by long wild hair of a deep chestnut brown. And of course, there were those eyes, so vivid and blue that they reminded Gyrus of a crystal-clear lake.

Beautiful…

Suddenly those eyes flicked downwards and a look of disgust washed across the demon’s face.

“So you’re finally awake,” he sneered. “Good. Then you can walk on your own.”

Abruptly the arms holding him vanished and Gyrus crashed to the ground. Agony ricocheted along every nerve and he reflexively curled into a ball, desperately holding in his cry of pain. Crying out only made the demons hurt him more. It was always best to stay silent, to pretend he was dead. Eventually they would move on and let him—

Calloused hands caught his wrists, pulling him out of his protective position. He whimpered and fought back, struggling to curl around himself again, but the demon was much stronger than him.

“Calm down,” the demon said, his voice gruff and yet strangely comforting—almost familiar. “Let me see where you’re hurt.”

Gyrus stopped struggling, holding as still as he dared as the demon quickly examined him.

“Looks like some contusions and fractured bones, plus a little internal bleeding, but nothing life threatening—at least, not for an angel.” The demon sat back, eyeing him distastefully. “Think you can walk?”

Slowly, Gyrus nodded. His legs were shaky, but they didn’t hurt too bad. Not like his ribs and back. Those were the areas where his torturers had taken the most pleasure in hurting him.

“Come on then,” the demon said, getting to his feet. “We don’t have time to waste.”

Taking a deep breath, Gyrus tried to follow suit, but the moment his feet got under him and tried to stand, he wobbled and would have fallen had the demon’s hand not shot out and caught him by the arm.

“Like a fledgling,” he scoffed, righting Gyrus and holding onto him until he was able to steady himself. “Come,” he commanded, then turned and began to walk away.

Gyrus was left with no choice but to follow him. He wrapped his arms around himself, shivering at the sudden cold. How was he so cold here in Hell? The whole place reeked of fire and brimstone, and yet deep in his core he felt as frigid as the depths of winter.

He did his best to keep up with the demon’s long strides, but that left him with little breath to spare for questions. And he had so many. Where were they going? Why had this demon rescued him? Who was this demon? And for that matter, who was he?

His memory was shaky and vague. He remembered almost nothing about his past. He knew he was an angel and that angels came from Heaven, while demons dwelt in Hell. But beyond bits and pieces of his torture and a few vague flashes of sounds and images, he couldn’t recall anything else about himself.

All that said, there was a little voice in the back of his mind that told him that he was safe with this demon. In all the times he had watched him, hurled insults at him and mocked him, the demon had never once raised a hand against him.

So for now at least, it appeared that he was safe.

Kodya didn’t know what to do with himself. This wasn’t the same Gyrus he’d known eleven years ago. Gone was his confident swagger, his bright smile, and astounding intellect. No, this was indeed just a fledgling, little more than a baby bird stumbling its way through the first moments of life.

It wasn’t hard at all to read Gyrus’s emotions now. Once, the angel had been able to hide them from Kodya's powers, but right now, he was an open book. He truly knew nothing at all.

So I was right about his memory being damaged. Was it just a fluke then? What he called me back there in the dungeon? Surely it must have been…

“Your…name…?”

Gyrus’s breathless panting brought him out of his thoughts, and he glanced over his shoulder. The angel’s cheeks were flushed from the effort of keeping up with him, but there was a familiar spark of curiosity in his violet eyes.

“Kodya,” he grunted in response to the question, turning to face forward again.

“Kodya…” Gyrus repeated, and the sound of his name falling from those lips sent shivers down Kodya’s spine.

No! I won’t go back! I won’t fall under his spell again!

“Stop wasting your breath,” he growled. “We’ve got a long way to travel yet today and I’m not going to wait for you if you fall behind.”

He could sense the shift in Gyrus’s emotions, feel the press of questions bubbling up inside the little angel. But for once, Gyrus did as he was told and kept his mouth shut, devoting his energy to putting one foot in front of the other.

A small sense of victory flared within Kodya. This wasn’t so hard after all. He could do this, keep his distance. And if Nephthys really was alive, then it would be worth it.

It wasn’t more than a few hours later that Kodya realized he was wrong. They’d been walking for miles along a path that led through one of Hell’s petrified forests, when suddenly he heard a sound from behind him and turned around to find that Gyrus had collapsed in a heap on the rough volcanic stone.

Kodya’s stomach lurched. What if he’d miscalculated the extent of Gyrus’s injuries? Was the angel actually dying!?

He hurried back towards Gyrus and knelt beside him. The angel’s whole face was flushed and his body was trembling, his breaths sawing in and out of him unevenly.

“S-sorry…” he gasped, looking up at Kodya through glazed eyes. “I can…keep going… Just… give me…a….”

“Enough,” Kodya growled. It was obvious Gyrus was running a fever, no doubt due to infection from his wounds and overexerting himself.

Idiot. Why didn’t you think about that before you made him walk all this way!?

“C’mere,” he muttered, scooping Gyrus into his arms and straightening up. “Just try to conserve your energy, all right? We’ll be stopping to make camp soon, and I’ll get you something to eat then.”

Gyrus nodded weakly, seeming to fold in on himself as he curled into Kodya’s embrace. His violet eyes slid closed and just like that he was asleep again, leaving Kodya staring down at him for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Foolish angel. You shouldn’t have any reason to trust me, and yet despite that, I know that you do.

Taking a deep breath, he made sure his hold on Gyrus was secure, then set out again through the petrified forest.

Chapter Text

Gyrus slept fitfully that night as Kodya kept watch over him. He’d set up camp for them beneath the branches of one of the larger stone trees, lighting a small fire to ward off predators.

Gyrus had woken a few times, just long enough for Kodya to get him to eat a little of the dry bread and drink some of the water he’d packed before immediately lapsing back into uneasy sleep.

Kodya sat across their campfire, watching Gyrus. In the distance, some sort of beast howled, but Kodya paid it no mind. The howling inside of his head was far louder—and more dangerous.

This man… He used to mean everything to me… And now look at us.

He closed his eyes against the memories as they surfaced, but they came anyway, rising up to sweep across his mind. There was no escaping their past, after all. No matter how much he might wish otherwise.

Twelve years ago…

“Heaven’s delegation has arrived, my lord.”

“I can see that,” Kodya replied, without turning from where he stood with both hands on the railing of the balcony, gazing down at the castle courtyard where a portal had just admitted a group of angels.

He could hear the messenger shifting nervously behind him. In his five years as crown prince of Hell, he had never once lashed out at any of his servants. But he had made sure to keep them on their toes—it was the only way to ensure that they didn’t think him weak enough to try to kill him in his sleep.

“S-shall I tell the king you’re on your way…?” the messenger asked.

Kodya snorted, unfolding his wings and stretching them out wide. “No need,” he said, then leapt onto the railing and jumped into the air, gliding down towards the courtyard.

He circled the area slowly, eying each of the angels in the delegation. Which one would it be? The bald one? The nervous-looking blonde? The woman with short pink hair? None of them seemed to match the description he’d been given, so where was the man he was looking for?

“Ah, there he is now,” Iro called, beckoning him down to where he was standing with an angel in a white hooded cloak.

Kodya landed and folded his wings, giving Iro the customary low bow a king’s heir was supposed to give him in front of visitors.

“Excellent timing, Kodya,” Iro said. “I was just saying that you would be here momentarily.”

“I am glad to be so reliable, Sire,” Kodya said, walking up to stand beside Iro. “Now, where is he?”

“Right in front of you, hotshot,” said the angel in the hooded cloak. He reached up to pull back his hood and Kodya’s eyes widened.

The angel prince had a dazzling—if rather smug—smile, and violet eyes that twinkled with amusement. The top half of his shoulder-length emerald hair was tied back, allowing the rest to hang free, and the small metal charms woven into it tinkled as a warm breeze blew through the courtyard.

“You’re Prince Gyrus?” Kodya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“And you’re Prince Kodya,” the angel—Gyrus—replied with another smug smile. “I’m so glad we’ve managed to establish the basics.”

Kodya bristled. It didn’t take a genius to tell that the angel was mocking him.

“Watch it, angel face,” he growled. “You’re not in Heaven anymore. This place is much more dangerous than you seem to think it is—as am I.”

Gyrus chuckled. “Well, aren’t you just a little ray of sunshine,” he quipped.

“Enough, you two,” Iro said with a sigh. “Drop the sarcasm and play nice, all right? There’s a lot riding on both of you here. It took over a decade for Amelia and I to come to this arrangement, and I won’t have you two tearing it apart before it’s even been signed.”

Kody sobered immediately. “Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, dutifully bowing his head.

Gyrus did likewise, but Kodya could sense how smug the angel was still feeling.

Just be patient. He’ll drop his guard at some point, and then I’ll show him who he’s dealing with.

But for now, they had a summit to attend. So for the moment, Kodya swallowed his pride and followed Iro and Gyrus inside as they prepared to wait for Queen Amelia’s arrival.

Kodya opened his eyes, letting the memory fade out. He’d been right about Gyrus from the beginning. The angel was exactly as arrogant and self-serving as Kodya had thought. But in the end, all that arrogance had gotten him exactly what he deserved.

He scooted around the campfire and pressed his wrist to Gyrus’s forehead. Still damp with sweat and feverishly warm, even beneath the obvious heat from the fire.

“What a fucking mess,” he muttered, picking up his waterskin and reaching out to shake Gyrus’s shoulder gently. “Oi, angel. Wake up. You need to drink more water.”

It took a long moment, but finally Gyrus’s eyes fluttered open. They were still hazy with fever and his limbs trembled as Kodya helped him lift the waterskin to his lips. After swallowing a few mouthfuls, Gyrus went slack again, a convulsive shiver running through him. He tried to move one of his wings to cover himself, but a pained gasp escaped him.

“Idiot,” Kodya said, carefully pushing Gyrus’s mangled wing away. “Just hold still.” It was clear that Gyrus’s torturers had done a number on his wings. Small wonder, then, that even moving them would cause him pain.

“S-sorry,” Gyrus said shakily. “C-cold…”

Kodya sighed and rolled his eyes. He knew full well what he had to do and he didn’t like it one bit.

“Don’t think this means I give a damn about you,” he grumbled, reaching over to draw Gyrus carefully up and onto his lap. “I just can’t have you dying on me before we reach our destination.”

“Where are we going?” Gyrus murmured, laying his head on Kodya’s thigh.

“Halberd Pass,” Kodya replied.

“Why?”

Kodya snorted. “To meet a ghost. Or kill a fraud.”

Gyrus looked up at him with puzzlement in his eyes but Kodya pushed his head back down.

“No more questions,” he grunted. “Get some sleep.”

Gyrus nodded weakly and closed his eyes. Kodya could feel the angel relaxing against him as Gyrus soaked in his heat. He almost wanted to laugh at the ludicrous domesticity of it all. Gyrus had always loved how warm he ran. The angel had been quite content to snuggle him all day in bed. But this wasn’t like that at all. It was purely for survival.

Reaching for the heavy cloak, Kodya drew it up over Gyrus like a blanket.

“I hate you,” he whispered into the silence. “You’re nothing but a liar and a coward, and I wish I didn’t need you alive.”

He just had to make sure he didn’t ever forget that.

Chapter Text

Gyrus was still sleeping when Kodya decided it was time to set off. The angel’s fever seemed to have gone down a little, but it was clear he needed medical attention beyond what Kodya was capable of administering.

If Nephthys was really waiting for them at the pass, then she should be able to help Gyrus. If not, it wouldn’t matter anyway, because he’d be too busy tearing apart whoever had lured him there to care about what happened to Gyrus.

For now though, he needed the angel alive. So he wrapped Gyrus in the heavy cloak, tucking his long hair out of the way before he carefully lifted Gyrus into his arms and set off through the forest. It would take them at least the rest of the day to reach the pass, so for now all he could do was walk. Walk and think, even though he tried very hard not to do the latter.

The pain on Gyrus’s face when he’d tried to move his wings last night played over and over in Kodya’s mind. He’d been hyper aware of every beating and broken bone the angel had suffered over the last eleven years—a curse of his empathic powers and of his own stubborn insistence on witnessing it all. He’d thought maybe watching Gyrus suffer would somehow mend his broken heart, that it would heal him to know that the man he’d once loved was getting exactly what he deserved. But it hadn’t.

He clenched his jaw.

Anan was right. I should have let him go a long time ago. But I just can’t seem to do it.

He shook himself, careful not to jostle Gyrus as he did so.

Stupid. Why are you bothering to be careful with him? He’s so out of it that he probably can’t feel a thing!

And yet, after seeing how much agony the once-proud angel was enduring, he couldn’t bring himself to be as rough as he had been the day before.

He shook himself a second time. He needed to think about something other than Gyrus. The war—yes, the war. His forces should have met up with Ragan’s troops by now. Too bad he couldn’t be there himself. He would have loved to see the annoyed look on Ragan’s face. She’d always been so arrogant. A defeat by the angels would not have sat well with her…

Kodya managed to distract himself with thoughts of the war and hypothetical combat scenarios for another few hours as he made his way through the trunks of the petrified forest. The legends in Hell told of a time when this forest had been lush and green—a gift from the angels as a gesture of peace in the early days of the war. Of course, things had quickly deteriorated, and it turned out that the trees had been designed to produce a pollen that demons were deathly allergic to.

Kodya’s lip curled in disgust. Just another lie told to us by those smarmy bastards.

The then-queen of the demons had burned the forest to a crisp, eliminating all traces of life from it, and over the centuries, it had solidified into stone, left as a monument to remind demonkind that angels were not to be trusted. Of course, there were equally gruesome tales on the other side. Demons had once poisoned one of Heaven’s ambassadors with a specially designed toxin that had caused the woman to explode in a massive firebomb the moment she returned to Heaven’s council chambers, killing the then-king of the angels and half of his court.

They lie to us; we lie to them. And the cycle repeats.

Kodya looked down at Gyrus’s face. The bruises had mostly healed now, although some of the welts were still red and raw.

I was a fool to think that this was the face of peace. If something looks too good to be true, it always is.

He stopped suddenly, tilting his head as he heard a faint sound from behind them. He turned slowly, sniffing at the air.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

Hellhounds. Ferocious scavengers about the size of a wolf and with a bite that could paralyze even a demon as powerful as himself. Most demons avoided the forest for this exact reason, but he’d thought that they would be safe if they stayed along the edges of the forest rather than passing through the center. Normally, he would simply take wing and avoid them altogether, but he couldn’t risk being spotted in the air. And if those beasts got their jaws on Gyrus…

“You’re always getting me into some kind of shit, aren’t you?” he said to Gyrus, settling the angel down against a nearby fallen tree.

Straightening up, he rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck as he prepared for battle. He couldn’t use his fire for the same reason he couldn’t fly: it would draw too much attention. But that didn’t mean he was defenseless. After all, he was the demon king’s heir. He wasn’t going to fall to a pack of scavenging vermin.

The first hellhound that came running out of the dark was quick to meet its end as Kodya caught it by the scruff and quickly snapped its neck, killing it instantly. The second was smart enough to come at him from behind, leaping up onto his back, razor claws raking into his flesh and the delicate membrane of his wings as it landed. Kodya hissed at the pain, seizing the beast before it could bite him and tearing its throat out as he hurled it far away from him.

Two more rushed him and he narrowly avoided the snap of their jaws before he was able to dispatch them. A howl went up from nearby—the rest of the pack had scented his blood and was closing in.

“Come get me!” Kodya growled, his adrenaline sweeping through him with a pleasant rush. He’d needed to blow off some steam, and although these weren’t ideal circumstances, he wasn’t going to waste this chance to unleash some of his pent-up aggression.

Three hounds charged out of the darkness, their crimson eyes blazing as venomous drool dripped from their open maws. But Kodya paid them little heed. He caught the legs of the first one as it leapt at him, swinging it down and around to bludgeon the other two. All three went down in a heap, broken bones protruding from their thin-furred skin.

 He spun, hearing one approaching from behind, but was too slow to completely dodge as the hound’s fangs clipped his calf, tearing through his trousers and sending a sharp pain lancing up his leg. He snarled, pulverizing the beast in one blow, but it was too late. He could already feel the venom beginning to take effect.

He grimaced. A small bite like this wouldn’t paralyze him completely, but it was definitely going to slow him down. And there were about fifteen more hounds still circling him, a few who were eying Gyrus’s unconscious form.

“Don’t you dare touch him,” Kodya growled. “His life is mine!”

The hellhounds, of course, paid him no heed, and five of them launched themselves at hi and Gyrus,, snapping and snarling. Ignoring the pain and sluggishness in his leg, Kodya fought back, showing no restraints as he pounded the pests into the rocky soil over and over again. But he was beginning to get overwhelmed. Every time he killed one of the hounds, two more came to take its place, and his strength was wavering as his limbs grew heavier and heavier. One of them lunged at him, aiming for his throat, and Kodya tried to move, but he knew he wasn’t fast enough. The beast was going to kill him!

“No!”

Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light and then the hellhounds were knocked away from him, landing in a smoldering heap a few feet away. Frightened by the scent of their torched comrades and their dwindling numbers, the remaining hounds took off, howling mournfully as they retreated.

Kodya spun around, spotting Gyrus propped up on one elbow, arm outstretched, hand sizzling with fading energy.

The angel was breathing hard, his whole body trembling, and as Kodya watched, Gyrus’s eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp, collapsing against the rough ground.

“Idiot!” Kodya hissed, limping back towards Gyrus. If one of the searchers had seen that light, let alone sensed that heavenly magic—

But he didn’t have time to worry about ‘what if’s’. So he scooped Gyrus into his arms and took off as fast as he could, heading for the edge of the forest. They weren’t far from Halberd pass now. Maybe another two hours if he kept up this pace. Not that Gyrus had left him much choice.

Two hours later, Kodya’s lungs were burning and his no-longer-numb body ached from fatigue and the myriad of small cuts and gashes he’d accumulated, but they had made it to the mouth of the pass.

He stopped in the shadow of one of the pointed outcrops of black stone that gave this pass its name and lifted the waterskin to his lips, drinking deeply. The water burned a little on his parched throat, but his body welcomed the refreshment.

“This is all your fault,” he grumbled after a few minutes, having regained his breath, glaring down at Gyrus. “I hate running.”

“You always did.”

Kodya shoved himself off the stone, fists raised in anticipation of battle…until he saw who it was who had spoken.

A tall demon with warm lilac eyes, a single set of curling black horns, and long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was dressed in tunic and leggings of a pale grey, her wings folded neatly behind her, a series of golden hoops pierced along the outer edge.

“Neph?” Kodya whispered, hardly daring to believe his eyes. “Is that really you!?”

“Hey, Kody,” Nephthys said, smiling at him with tears in her eyes. “I’m so glad you made it. It’s good to see you.”

Heart overflowing with joy, he rushed to embrace her, squeezing her tight. This was really happening! His best friend was alive! He could feel her, sense her familiar warm emotions!

“I don’t understand,” he said, drawing back. “Where have you been all these years? How are you alive? The information that Gyrus gave the angels—”

Nephthys’s face fell. “Kody, Gyrus wasn’t the one who sold out the location of our base,” she said. “It was someone else entirely. Gyrus may have given Heaven some information, but he had nothing to do with the attack that day.”

Kodya’s chest felt tight. That didn’t seem right, let alone possible. If Gyrus wasn’t to blame, then who was?

“I promise I’ll explain everything later,” Neph said, clasping his hands. He felt her energy flowing into him, restoring his strength and healing his wounds.  “But right now, it looks like Gyrus needs help. Let’s get him stabilized and then I’ll answer all of your questions. I promise.”

Kodya took a deep breath. “All right,” he said. “I’ll trust you.”

Nephthys gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you. Now, let’s get out of here before anything nasty comes along. Our base isn’t far.”

Filled with a mixture of hope and confusion, Kodya went to retrieve Gyrus, then followed Nephthys as she headed for the towering black cliffs.

Chapter Text

It turned out that the base Nephthys had mentioned really wasn’t far at all. It was hidden within the cliffs themselves, covered by a doorway that opened in response to Nephthys pressing a few scattered rocks along the cliff that acted as keys.

They stepped inside and the doorway quickly closed behind them, leaving them in complete darkness. Nephthys fumbled around for a moment, but the straightened up with a torch burning brightly in her hand.

“It’s this way,” she said, beckoning for him to follow.

Kodya did so, questions buzzing around his mind as they walked. But he kept his mouth shut, voicing none of them. Nephthys had promised she would explain everything, so he was going to let her do the talking.

As they walked, he noticed that she kept glancing over at him, the light of the torch in her hand reflecting off her lilac eyes.

“What!?” he snapped after the fifth time he caught her looking at him. So much for keeping his mouth shut. But his patience was wearing thin after the stress of the last few days.

“Sorry,” Nephthys said, turning her gaze back towards the tunnel in front of them. “It’s just been a long time since I’ve seen you in person. I missed you.”

Kodya’s heart ached and softened at the same time.

“You could have come to see me,” he murmured. “It didn’t have to be like this. Why did you let me believe you were dead, Neph?”

Nephthys sighed. “At first, it was just a matter of practicality,” she admitted. “A few days before the attack on our base, I had a strange feeling that something was wrong, so I did some investigating. That was when I uncovered that someone had been feeding the angels information about our troop movements. But before I could do anything, Heaven had launched its assault and it was all I could do to get myself out of there alive. I wasn’t sure who to trust in the aftermath. I knew there was no way you were involved, but I didn’t want to risk contacting you and telling you what I knew in case the person responsible got a hold of the message and came after me—or tried to get rid of you before you could warn King Iro.” She shook her head. “I told myself it would just be a few weeks of hiding out, with you mourning me visibly so that no one would suspect I was still alive, but…”

“But what?” Kodya pressed. He needed to know, needed to understand why his best friend had abandoned him when he’d needed her most.

“I was afraid,” she whispered, “afraid of how you would react when you found out I’d betrayed you, too. When you learned about Gyrus, your rage, Kody… I could feel it a world away. I was afraid you would hate me too. And…and I couldn’t bear that.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “You’ve been my best friend practically since we were born. I didn’t have the courage to face you after what I’d done. Not until circumstances forced my hand.”

Kodya’s heart sank. “Neph…”

“No,” she said, shaking her head as she brushed away the tears that had begun to fall. “It’s my own fault, Kody. I should have known better. But I was a fool and I made a mistake.”

“You’re not the only one,” Kodya muttered, glancing down at Gyrus, who was still unconscious in his arms.

“Kody…”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Kodya growled. “Forget I said anything.”

Nephthys bit her lip, but nodded. “All right.”

“I am glad you’re alive though,” he added softly.

Nephthys gave him a small, heartfelt smile, before turning her attention back to the tunnels.

“We’re here,” she announced, stopping in front of another seemingly solid wall. Another few presses of hidden stones and suddenly a doorway appeared in the rock face, letting the warm light of a fire spill out into the tunnel. Nephthys stepped inside and beckoned for him to follow her.

“Welcome to our little haven,” she said, setting her torch in an empty bracket on the wall.

“Hey! You’re back!” exclaimed another voice. “And it looks like they made it in one piece!”

Kodya blinked in surprise as he saw the familiar figure getting to her feet in front of the hearth.

“Maria?” he said, incredulous. “Is that you?”

The blue-haired demon who had once been one of Hell’s top intelligence agents smiled at him. “In the flesh!” she said, making a muscle with her right arm and patting it, producing a slightly metallic sound. She winced. “Well, mostly, anyway! Lost some bits and pieces in the attack, but thanks to Nephy, all the parts that matter are still here!” Her eyes fell on Gyrus and she frowned. “He’s not looking too good though.”

“I’m working on that,” Nephthys said, grabbing a blanket and handing one end to Maria. “Here, Kody. You can set him down by the fire.”

Together, she and Maria spread the blanket out in front of the hearth and Kodya stepped forward, laying Gyrus out on the soft fabric. In this light, Gyrus looked less feverish, but the rapid, shallow rise and fall of his chest and the sheen of sweat that clung to his pale skin were obvious enough.

“I’ll get started,” Nephthys murmured, kneeling by Gyrus’s head and placing her hands on either side of his face.

“C’mon,” Maria said, nudging Kodya gently. “Let’s let her work. We’ve got some decent brandy in the other room if you’d care for a drink.”

“Sure,” Kodya muttered, glancing over his shoulder at Nephthys and Gyrus as he followed Maria. “I could definitely use a drink.”

The side room she led him to had a handful of chairs arranged around a circular wooden table. Several cabinets lined the walls and Maria crossed to one of them, retrieving a bottle of deep amber-colored liquid and a pair of glasses, all of which she set on the table before taking a seat and motioning for him to do the same.

“So, I bet these last few days have been interesting for you,” Maria said, pouring some of the brandy into each of the glasses and sliding one of them towards Kodya.

Kodya snorted. “Hardly.”

Maria chuckled. “I said ‘interesting’. Not ‘fun’.”

Kodya rolled his eyes, taking a sip from his brandy. “Fair point,” he conceded.

“I’m sure you’ve got mixed feelings about seeing Nephthys again,” Maria said. “And I don’t know what she’s already said to you on the subject, but I just wanted you to know that I was the one who pushed for us staying hidden as long as we did. She wanted to see you a lot sooner.”

Kodya lifted his gaze to meet Maria’s. “She told me she was afraid of me—of how angry I would be when I discovered she’d been lying to me too.”

Maria’s expression softened. “That’s true too,” she admitted. “She had a flash of precognition just before we got the news about Gyrus. She saw you raging and tearing apart everything within reach of you, and it definitely left her shaken. She told me she could feel your pain.”

“An empathic echo,” Kodya murmured. “It happens sometimes when a person spends a lot of time with someone like me. They pick up a faint trace of our gifts, one that’s connected directly to us.”

“Well, whatever the hell it was,” Maria said, taking a sip of her brandy, “it hit her pretty hard. She was convinced that you would be just as hurt by learning that she was still alive, so she agreed with me when I suggested we stay hidden. The last few years though, she wanted to go see you, and I was the one who talked her out of it.”

“Hmph.”

I guess Neph was trying not to throw Maria under the bus. Unsurprising.

Maria shrugged. “I don’t care too much one way or the other if you hate me or blame me for it. I just wanted all the cards on the table, and I figured Nephy probably wouldn’t tell you all that herself.”

Kodya sighed, swallowing the last of his brandy. “Yeah,” he said. “She didn’t. But that’s Nephthys for you. Always trying to protect others.”

“Yeah,” Maria agreed, a smile tugging at her lips. “It makes it hard not to love her for it though.”

Kodya raised an eyebrow. “So you two are…?”

Maria grinned. “Well, when you spend enough time with the right person, it’s hard not to fall in love.”

Kodya felt as if someone had thrown a cold bucket of water over him. He clenched his fist, turning away from Maria.

“Shit,” Maria muttered. “Sorry, big guy. Bad choice of words.”

“Not like there are any good ones when it comes to him,” Kodya muttered, taking another swallow of his brandy.

“That’s a bit harsh,” Maria said, arching an eyebrow.

“It’s what he deserves,” Kodya spat.

Maria sat back in her chair, looking at him thoughtfully. “He really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Kodya grumbled. “I trusted him. I cared about him! And all along, that filthy no-good, lying angel—”

“Was a spy,” Maria finished for him. “Yeah, I know. No one is contesting that. Thing is, he wasn’t the one who gave Heaven the information that was used to wipe out the base where Nephthys and I were stationed.”

Kodya scowled. “That’s what Nephthys said, but if it wasn’t him, then who?”

Maria reached for the brandy, pouring some more into her glass. “It was Don.”

Kodya’s eyes widened. “What!?”

He’d always known Don was a slimy, scheming scumbag, but this was on another level entirely.

“According to my sources in Heaven,” Maria said, “Gyrus’s regular transmissions to the strategic intelligence department stopped a few weeks before he was discovered as a spy. And the base was set up during those weeks where he wasn’t talking to the guys upstairs, which means that Gyrus can’t have been the one who ratted it out. And all the remaining evidence points to one person: Don.”

Kodya’s blood went cold. That couldn’t possibly be true.

But what if it is.

He’d spent years blaming Gyrus for Nephthys’s death because it had been the easy thing to do at the time. It was the only time he’d ever agreed with Don, and the spymaster had seemed so genuinely outraged at the tragedy, especially seeing as several of his agents, Maria among them, had perished in that attack. But if what Maria was telling him was true, it must have all been an act, one designed to lull him and Iro into believing the lies Don had spun.

But despite this revelation, the fact remained that Gyrus had still been a spy from the beginning, one sent by Heaven to learn Hell’s secrets. And he’d succeeded, breaking Kodya’s heart along the way.

“Which brings us to why I left you the note telling you to bring Gyrus here,” Nephthys said, drawing Kodya’s attention to her as she entered the room.

She pulled the door closed behind her, but he caught a glimpse of Gyrus’s sleeping form still lying in front of the hearth. It looked like he was resting peacefully.

Nephthys pulled out a chair beside Maria and sat down, propping her elbows on the table.

“How is he?” Maria asked when it became clear Kodya wasn’t going to.

“Stable,” Nephthys replied. “For now.”

“That’s good,” Maria murmured.

Nephthys nodded, then turned her gaze back to Kodya. “Back to the matter at hand though,” she said. “Like I was telling you earlier, Kody, I discovered that Don was a traitor just before the base was attacked. After we escaped, I told Maria what I’d found and she confirmed that she’d had suspicions about Don for a while. So we started tracking his movements from the shadows, keeping ourselves hidden while we tried to figure out what his real objective was.”

Maria nodded. “And about a week ago, we finally figured it out, which is why Neph thought it was worth the risk of contacting you.”

“He’s after the Root, Kody,” Nephthys said. “He used Gyrus, tricked him into researching it, since Gyrus had access to both the libraries of Heaven and Hell. And Don used the gold Heaven gave him in exchange for his information on the Osta base to build himself an army loyal to him. If he’s able to seize control of the Root, he’ll be able to conquer Hell and overthrow you and Iro.”

Kodya’s eyes widened. The Root was the mythical source of all of Hell’s power. It was equivalent to Heaven’s Holy Sol—the only difference being that all knowledge of the Root’s location had been lost millennia ago, while the angels kept the Sol under tight guard at all times, sealed away in some secret temple. As for the root, demons and angels alike had sought it out over the years, but none had been successful. At least until now.

“So you’re saying,” he murmured, glancing back towards the room where Gyrus was still sleeping, “that he knows where the Root is?”

Maria nodded. “According to our sources, Gyrus found the location of the Root during his time in the palace, but he never shared it with Heaven, though we don’t know why. Somehow Don found out that he knew, so he made it his mission to get that information from Gyrus.

“That’s why our intrepid spymaster insisted on keeping him alive all these years,” Nephthys said. “Not as a punishment, but as a source of information.”

Kodya pressed his lips together. That made a certain kind of sense.

“Fortunately,” Nephthys continued, “Gyrus was able to seal away that information away in his mind with angelic magic, which kept Don from getting at it even with torture.” She grimaced. “Unfortunately, Don recently managed to find the Root’s location from another source.”

“Which is why you needed Gyrus,” Kodya murmured, connecting the dots. “And why you contacted me to bring him to you.”

Maria nodded. “We need him to unseal his memories so he can tell us where the Root is. Then we can stop Don from getting to it and seizing control of Hell.”

“And you’re sure that Gyrus actually knows where the Root is?” Kodya asked, glancing at the sleeping angel. “From what I’ve been able to gather, he doesn’t remember anything from his previous life.”

Nephthys frowned. “All his memories are gone?”

Kodya nodded. “He didn’t even know who I was. And before you ask, yes I’m sure it wasn’t some trick he was playing. I can read his emotions clear as day—he doesn’t remember how to mask them.”

“Interesting,” Maria murmured. “I suppose it’s possible he did a rush job with the sealing and ended up sealing his entire memory away rather than just the information about the Root.”

Kodya simply grunted, choosing not to mention what Gyrus had said to him when he’d first rescued the angel. It was probably just a coincidence—either that, or the universe had been flipping him one big-ass middle finger.

“Either way, we’ll need to take him to Yumeji,” Nephthys said. “He’s the only person in Hell who can undo an angelic seal.”

Kodya frowned. “Who is this Yumeji?” It was incredibly rare for any demon to specialize in Heavenly magic.

“A friend,” Nephthys said simply. “I promise, we can trust him, Kody. He’s helped us on more than one occasion—he rescued me and Maria and gave us shelter after we first escaped the attack at Osta.”

“All right,” Kodya said with a sigh. “I suppose I’ll just have to take your word for it.”

“Thank you,” Nephthys said, giving him a grateful smile.

Kodya returned it hesitantly, a comfortable warmth welling up inside him. It had been too long since he’d seen Nephthys’s smile, and whatever mistakes had been made, he truly was glad she was back.

“There is one more matter,” Nephthys said, pushing to her feet. “Before we do anything about retrieving Gyrus’s lost memories, we need to get him healed. Otherwise there’s no way he’ll survive the trip to Yumeji’s hideout.”

Kodya sighed. “I’m sensing there’s a ‘but’ coming,” he grumbled.

Nephthys gave him a sheepish, apologetic look. “But,” she said, “his wounds are beyond even my power to heal alone. So in order to treat him, I’ll need your help, Kody.”

Kodya raised an eyebrow. “And how exactly am I supposed to help? I’m no healer.”

“No,” Nephthys agreed, “you’re not. However, there’s a regeneration pool nearby. It’s one of the reasons we built this base here. And in order heal injuries of this extent, we need a powerful demon to supply energy to the pool…”

Kodya bit back another sigh, glancing towards the door to the main room.

There was a time when I would have done anything for him, no questions asked. But then, I suppose that time has come and gone.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Just show me what I need to do.”

Chapter Text

Kodya was trying very hard to keep a lid on his emotions as he followed Nephthys through the stone passageways, heading deep underground. But it was proving quite the challenge considering he had a certain unconscious angel in his arms.

“Time certainly seems to have changed you both,” Nephthys said, glancing over at him.

“Yeah,” Kodya grunted, “and not for the better.”

He’d barely reached adulthood when Gyrus had turned his life upside down and left him hurt and filled with bitterness. Not that Gyrus had been any older—in fact, he was a year younger than Kodya. Although that hardly made a difference now that they were both fully grown.

“I don’t need to be an empath to know that you’re still hurting a lot, Kody,” Nephthys said softly. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”

“I don’t think it would have made a difference if you had been,” he muttered. “Things still would have turned out just as shitty.”

Nephthys sighed. “Maybe. Maybe not. I remember how much you loved him….”

“Yeah,” Kodya growled, his temper flaring, “and then he went and stabbed me in the back!”

“He did,” Nephthys agreed softly. “But I get the feeling that’s not what you’re really upset about—not anymore. I know it hurt to learn he was a spy, but I think as a fellow ruler, you understand that he was taking a risk to protect his people. I think,” she said gently, “that what you’re really upset about is losing the life that you’d envisioned with him. Not that I blame you. After all, he was your betrothed.”

Kodya squeezed his eyes closed, feeling the weight of those words.

Betrothed.

Yes. It was something he’d thought about almost every day for the last eleven years.

Gyrus had been promised to him, and he to Gyrus, as per the arrangement their respective monarchs had made under the banner of a real, lasting peace. Kodya had had his objections at the time, but despite his best efforts, he’d gone and fallen in love with the arrogant, playful prince of the angels. He’d imagined their life together—a happy one filled with love and playful bickering. And he’d thought Gyrus had felt the same. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of life I may have wanted,” he murmured. “What’s done is done and there’s no going back.”

“Kody…”

“Are we close to the pool?” he asked, changing the subject. “I want to get this over with so that I never have to see him again.”

Nephthys nodded solemnly. “It’s just up ahead.”

A few moments of awkward silence later, they reached the doors to the regeneration pool’s cavern.

“All you need to do,” Nephthys said, holding open one of the doors for him, “is take him into the water and allow your power to seep out. The pool will absorb whatever you put into it, which in turn will be funneled into healing Gyrus.”

Kodya nodded. That sounded simple enough.

He stepped through the door, allowing Nephthys to close it behind him, and took in the scene before him. The cavern wasn’t overly large, with room for at least thirty demons to stand in the faintly glowing and steaming pool that dominated the space. To his right there was a small alcove that held what appeared to be towels—no doubt for drying off after using the pool.

He stepped towards the water, then paused, glancing down at himself and Gyrus. Both of them were filthy, their clothing covered with sweat, grime, and hellhound blood.

He grimaced. It would probably be best to remove it before they entered the pool. So he set Gyrus down on the cavern floor and reached for his tattered clothing.

“Don’t get any ideas,” he muttered to the unconscious angel as he slid Gyrus’s pants off, moving on to Gyrus's ragged shirt before divesting himself of his wrecked leather trousers. “This is just a matter of pragmatism. Nothing more.”

Of course, Gyrus didn’t respond, and with a deep sigh, Kodya scooped him up once more and headed for the pool, wading into the water until he was up to his waist.

Okay, Neph, he thought, closing his eyes and reaching for his power. Let’s see if this works.

“Come on, Gyrus,” murmured a familiar voice. “It’s time to wake up.”

Gyrus groaned, burrowing deeper into his pillow and tugging the blankets up over his face.

“Nooo,” he moaned. “I don’t wanna. It’s waaay too early.”

He heard a sigh, then the bed beside him depressed and a comfortable weight leaned over him. Warm lips pressed against his in a soft kiss and he sighed contentedly, rolling onto his back and leaning into it.

“I thought all you angels were supposed to be disciplined and diligent,” Kodya teased, pulling back and tucking a rogue strand of hair behind Gyrus’s ear.

“I’m the angel prince,” Gyrus replied haughtily, grinning as he looped his arms around Kodya’s neck. “I’m allowed to be lazy when I want to be. And I say that you should join me.”

Kodya arched an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Well, I’m the demon prince, and since you’re in my kingdom, in my castle, in my bed, I say that it’s time to get up!”

Gyrus let out a squeak of surprise as Kodya promptly scooped him up, bundling him over his shoulder as he made for the shower.

“Not fair!” Gyrus cried, laughing as he struggled in vain against Kodya’s iron grip.

“Life’s not fair, gorgeous,” Kodya replied, playfully swatting him on the backside. “Now come on. We’ve got a busy night ahead of us.”

Gyrus just smiled, allowing Kodya to carry him into the shower.

He couldn’t imagine a better way to wake up.

Kodya stared down at Gyrus’s face. The angel’s expression looked strained, as if he were wrestling with something, and Kodya could sense an odd mixture of emotions coming from him.

Is it the pool? he wondered. Or maybe he’s dreaming. Should I try to wake him up?

The question was taken out of his hands as suddenly Gyrus’s eyes fluttered open. They were hazy for a moment, but cleared the moment they locked with his.

“I remember,” Gyrus whispered, tears forming in his eyes, which sparkled with something that looked dangerously like love. “I remember you!” He flung his arms around Kodya and hugged him tightly. “Oh, Kodya, I’ve missed you so much!”

Kodya went stiff for a moment, trying to process the feeling of Gyrus’s arms around him for the first time in eleven years.

“Gyrus,” he croaked, throat hoarse with conflicting emotions.

Gyrus drew back, releasing him. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Should I not have…? I don’t remember much, and it’s all a little jumbled. I didn’t mean to push too far, I just—”

“Fuck it,” Kodya growled, capturing Gyrus’s wrists and drawing him back in. His lips descended on Gyrus’s and suddenly everything felt right in the world. Even if it was just for this one moment, he wanted to pretend, to forget about the last eleven years of pain and just feel something good for a change.

Gyrus moaned beneath him, winding his arms around Kodya’s neck as he deepened the kiss, and Kodya eagerly reciprocated. Within seconds, he had the angel pinned up against one of the rocks that protruded from the water, kissing his way across Gyrus’s throat.

Fuck, he had missed this! He’d forgotten after all these years how alive he felt when he touched Gyrus like this; how much he had craved the taste of his little angel! And Gyrus certainly wasn’t shy about showing his enjoyment. Every touch of Kodya’s hands and lips had loud moans and whimpers escaping him, those sounds burrowing their way deep into Kodya’s heart.

Gyrus’s fingers wound their way into his hair, tugging at it as Gyrus urged him closer, clearly unsatisfied with the scant few millimeters between their bodies. Kodya found he wasn’t satisfied with them either. He needed to be inside Gyrus—fast!

He lifted Gyrus up against the rock, spreading Gyrus’s thighs wide. The angel’s cock was already hard and weeping, a delicious blush spread all across his rosy skin, and Kodya lifted a finger to Gyrus’s mouth.

“Open,” he growled.

Gyrus complied, his eyes hazy with desire as Kodya slid his fingers inside. The angel wasted no time in wetting Kodya’s fingers properly, his tongue laving along them in a way that had Kodya’s cock twitching. If they had more time, then maybe they could have… But he couldn’t wait that long. If he did, he might start realize that this was a terrible idea.

Satisfied that his fingers were slick enough, he withdrew them from Gyrus’s mouth and hoisted the angel even higher, bracing him with his hip as he gently probed Gyrus’s entrance.

Gyrus gasped, clutching at Kodya’s shoulders and tossing his head back as Kodya worked his fingers inside him.

Fuck… It had been over eleven years since he’d last known Gyrus’s body, but it appeared to have remembered him quite well, relaxing quickly at his touch as he delicately stroked in and out, even adding a second finger in quick succession.

In response, Gyrus whimpered, biting his lip, which Kodya took as an invitation, swooping in to seize his lips in another deep kiss. He continued to work Gyrus open, adding a third finger and curling them up to brush a particular spot that he knew drove Gyrus wild.

“K-Kodya!” Gyrus gasped, his nails digging sharply into Kodya’s back. “I’m, I’m going to—”

That’s it, Kodya thought, his eyes locked on Gyrus’s blushing face as he rubbed against that sweet spot. Come for me.

He reached up with his free hand and grasped Gyrus’s cock, giving it a firm stroke and a hard squeeze.

Gyrus cried out, convulsing as he came, spilling himself onto his chest and Kodya’s hand. Kodya eased him down, withdrawing his fingers and allowing the angel a moment to catch his breath before he fisted his cock and brought it to Gyrus’s entrance.

In one swift motion, he plunged inside, groaning at the blissful feeling of Gyrus’s body around him. An orgasm had always helped loosen Gyrus in the past, and this time proved to be no exception, as the angel’s body felt as supple and receptive as he remembered.

Kodya allowed himself just a brief moment to savor the feeling, then grasped Gyrus’s hips firmly and began to thrust, capturing the angel’s lips in a heated kiss and swallowing down the moans that escaped him as he began to build a steady rhythm.

Desire rode Kodya hard, rushing through his veins like a wildfire as heat began to build deep within his core. He needed this—one moment of peace and pleasure amid all of the pain and turmoil. And damnit, Gyrus was the only one who could give it to him!

He broke their kiss, ducking his head to trail nips and licks across Gyrus’s creamy skin. The sound of the angel’s ragged, pleasure-riddled gasps was like an aphrodisiac, shooting through him to join the delicious heat growing within him.

“K-Kodya!” Gyrus cried, his voice cracking slightly, fingers tightening almost painfully in Kodya’s hair. “Harder!”

Fuck!

Kodya gritted his teeth and obliged, pistoning his hips back and forth as hard as he could before burying his cock deep within Gyrus’s welcoming body as he finally tumbled over the edge. A great shudder wracked him as the heat inside him exploded, racing outwards in a devastating wave that consumed him completely.

Distantly, he felt Gyrus tightening around him, the angel crying out as he, too, reached his climax, but frankly, Kodya was too lost in his own pleasure to really notice.

Several long minutes passed in silence as the two of them caught their breath. Then Kodya reluctantly withdrew himself from Gyrus’s body, leaving the angel caged between him and the rock behind him.

Chest heaving, Gyrus leaned forward and laid his head against Kodya’s shoulder. “I love you,” he murmured softly, smiling up at Kodya.

Kodya went stiff, but before he could say anything, the angel’s eyes closed and his breaths slipping into a sleeping rhythm as fatigue claimed him.

“Damn you,” Kodya whispered, tears welling in his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut against them angrily, scooping Gyrus up as he quickly waded out of the water.

He set the sleeping angel down on the rocky ground, tossing one of the folded towels near the door on top of him, then grabbed one for himself and shoved his way through the door, letting it slam closed behind him.

Nephthys leaped to her feet from where she’d been dozing against the wall of the tunnel.

“Kody!” she exclaimed. “Did it work? Is Gyrus okay? Are you okay?”

Kodya gritted his teeth. “He’s fine, I’m fine,” he grated out, cinching the towel securely around his waist.

“Are sure you’re all right?” Nephthys asked, looking concerned. “You two were in there for an awfully long time.”

“Quite sure,” Kodya growled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need some air.”

Nephthys frowned as he stalked past her. “What about Gyrus?”

Kodya didn’t even glance over his shoulder. “He’s in there.”

As he rounded the corner in the tunnel, he heard Nephthys sigh deeply. The sound sparked his rage and he drove his fist into the nearest wall, pulverizing a chunk of the stone before he set off again.

It was her idea for me to bring that bastard here in the first place! This is all her fault! Eleven years I went without so much as speaking his name, let alone touching him, and the first time I’m alone with him and he isn’t half dead, what do I go and do!? I fuck him! Just because he hugged me!

He yanked at his damp hair, growling angrily before punching the wall once again, the stone crumbling beneath his fury.

It’s not Neph’s fault—it’s mine! Because apparently, I’m a fucking idiot who never learns his lesson! I swore I wasn’t going to fall back under his spell again, but the moment he smiled at me, I was lost! Like some pitiful dog begging its master for scraps! Damn him! Damn that fucking angel! Why does he always make me so weak!?

Tears of rage pricked at his eyes and he dashed them away, forcing himself to continued off down the hallway and back towards the base—as far away from Gyrus as he could get.

From this moment on, there will be no more mistakes.

Chapter Text

“Oh, come on, Kody,” Nephthys said, crossing her legs as she leaned one elbow on the arm of the couch in his room. “He can’t be that bad. So what if he showed you up at the summit? That doesn’t mean he’s automatically an awful person.”

“I beg to differ,” Kodya spat. “He’s the most obnoxious little bastard I’ve ever met!”

The angel prince had been in Hell for only two weeks and already Kodya was nearing his breaking point.

Nephthys rolled her eyes. “You always did have trouble playing nice with the cute boys when we were kids.”

Kodya’s cheeks flamed and he glared at Nephthys. “This has nothing to do with him being cute!” he snapped, then realized what he’d said and blushed harder. “I mean, he’s not cute!” he corrected quickly. “He’s just irritating!”

“Mmmhmm,” Nephthys said teasingly. “And what exactly is it that makes him so irritating?”

“He’s so smug and arrogant all the time!” he growled. “So superior with his ‘heavenly intellect’ and all that ‘holier than thou’ attitude! It’s like the man thinks he knows everything!”

“Then maybe you should show him that he doesn’t,” Nephthys suggested, a sly smile on her face. “Give him a taste of demon intellect. Our people haven’t been arch rivals in a stalemated war since the beginning of recorded history for nothing…”

Kodya’s eyes narrowed, a grin slowly spreading itself across his face.

“That’s brilliant, Neph,” he said. “And I think I know just how to go about it.”

“So what exactly did you want to show me?” Gyrus asked, sounding annoyed and rather tired as they walked through the hallways of the castle. “And why did it require waking me up from my nap? Adjusting to your people’s backwards sleep cycle hasn’t been easy, you know.”

Kodya rolled his eyes. He knew that was bullshit. From all reports, it seemed that the angel prince had taken to Hell’s nocturnal cycle quite eagerly, since it apparently required very little change to his routine in Heaven. Gyrus was just complaining for the sake of complaining.

“Well, angel face,” he said, making sure to sound as snide as possible, “while I hate to interrupt your desperately-needed beauty sleep, I think what I’m about to show you is a little more important than your vanity.”

He could feel Gyrus bristling behind him and allowed himself a smile.

Angels are so easy to rile.

Not wanting to give Gyrus a chance to retaliate, he lengthened his stride, forcing the angel to quicken his pace to keep up.

It didn’t take them long to arrive at their destination, and with a flourish, Kodya pushed open the doors, stepping inside.

Gyrus followed closely behind him, and Kodya heard the angel suck in a soft gasp as he saw the contents of the massive room before them. Satisfaction filled Kodya at the sound. His plan was working perfectly. He knew from the profile he’d received on Gyrus before their first meeting that the angel prince was notorious for his love of books. Which was why he’d brought the angel to the castle’s library.

 Although, he had to admit as he turned to face Gyrus, he hadn’t expected how soft the angel prince’s expression was going to be—or that he sort of liked it.

“Is this what I think it is?” Gyrus whispered, his gaze roaming reverently across the ceiling-high shelves stuffed full of books.

“Sure is,” Kodya replied, grinning. “Go ahead.” He swept his arm out. “Pick any book you like. You are our guest, after all. What’s ours is yours.”

Gyrus’s eyes lit up and he made a beeline for the nearest shelf, selecting a thick volume bound in red leather. As he carefully opened the book, Kodya allowed a satisfied smile to spread across his face.

He could sense a faint glimmer of Gyrus’s irritation, and the angel whirled to face him, his perfect face set in a scowl.

“Is this some kind of joke?” he demanded.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Kodya said, not bothering at all to hide his smugness. “Did you not know? All of the books in the royal library are written in Old Sheoulic, the original tongue of the demons. Was that not something you learned in Heaven?”

“No,” Gyrus replied, his eyes narrowing. “It wasn’t.” He marched over to Kodya, the book still in his hands, and thrust it out towards him. “Teach me.”

Kodya blinked. “Excuse me?” Surely he hadn’t heard that right.

“Teach me,” Gyrus repeated, squaring his shoulders, head held high. But then his expression softened and he allowed his shoulders to drop a little. “Please,” he added, his violet eyes sparkling with a strange light that had warmth blooming in Kodya’s chest.

“Y-you really want me to teach you to read Old Sheoulic?” he asked. That wasn’t the reaction he’d been expecting at all. Most angels he’d encountered wouldn’t stoop to admitting there was a gap in their divine knowledge, much less asking a demon to help them fill it in.

Gyrus nodded. “I do,” he replied. “Truthfully, I’ve been bored stiff since I arrived, and I’d love to be able to read the books you have here.” His gaze softened further as it trailed affectionately over the shelves before returning to Kodya. “If you like, I’ll even teach you our old tongue, the Divinus Lingua, in exchange.”

Kodya’s eyes widened. No demon had ever been able to study the ancient tongue of the angels before. It was known only to those of the royal family and the Order of Scribes.

“You’re serious?” he said. “Isn’t that some closely guarded secret?”

“Not really,” Gyrus replied, shrugging. “It’s just used for record keeping and a bunch of old documents. Nothing actually important that wasn’t transcribed into the modern tongue centuries ago. The only reason no one in Heaven really knows it anymore is that it’s a beast to learn.” His eyes narrowed, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Think you’re up to the challenge, Sunshine?”

Kodya drew himself up to his full height, leaning forward until he was looming over Gyrus.

“Just try me,” he whispered.

Kodya blinked his eyes open, grimacing as he felt how stiff his body was. After storming away from Nephthys and the regeneration pool, he had returned to the base’s main chamber where Maria had given him a fresh pair of trousers and something to eat. Then he’d found the nearest dark corner and sat himself down, fuming in silence. Apparently, at some point he’d drifted off to sleep, and fallen into another cursed memory.

Will I ever be free of this? he wondered morosely, stretching his aching neck and shoulders as he pushed to his feet. Or am I destined to replay the worst moments of my life in my head over and over until I go mad?

He made his way back into the main room of the base, where Maria was arranging plates on the central table.

“Evenin’,” she said, flashing him a casual smile. “Have a seat. Breakfast will be ready soon.”

Dipping his head in thanks, Kodya pulled out a chair and sat down, glancing towards the sizzling pans suspended over the fireplace. Whatever it was smelled good.

“Where’s Nephthys?” he asked as Maria moved to stir the contents of the pans.

“In there,” Maria replied, jerking her chin towards another of the small side rooms. “That’s where we set Gyrus up yesterday after you came back and crashed. Poor guy is still sound asleep. Must have taken a lot of energy to fix him up with the state he was in.”

At that Kodya grunted, doing his best to push aside the heated images that rose to his mind at the thought of their time in the regeneration pool.

It was a mistake, he reminded himself. A lapse in judgement that will not be happening again.

“You want coffee?” Maria asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah,” he replied, rubbing his face tiredly. “That’d be great.”

Maria nodded. “Figured as much.” She grabbed a metal pot that had been sitting near the edge of the fire and snagged a mug from one of the nearby cabinets, filling it with the dark steaming liquid before she set it in front of Kodya.

“Thanks,” he murmured, wrapping his hands around the mug before lifting it to his lips. The heat of the coffee felt pleasant, warming him from the inside out. Just like—

NO! STOP! We are not going there again!

Angrily, he forcibly shook himself, gritting his teeth.

“That bad?” Maria asked, raising an eyebrow.

With a start, Kodya realized she’d been watching him.

“It’s fine,” he assured her, setting the mug down. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Yeah,” Maria said kindly. “I bet you do.”

Before Kodya could reply, the door to the other room opened and Nephthys poked her head in.

“Come here, you two,” she said. “Gyrus is awake.”

Kodya’s chest tightened, but he forced himself to ignore it and got to his feet, following Maria into the small room.

Gyrus was indeed awake, sitting up on the small cot against the back wall. He was dressed in clean clothes and his hair was neatly combed and braided, and he was looking much better overall than he had the day before. Nephthys was sitting beside him, handing him a cup of water, which the angel took with a murmur of thanks.

Then his violet eyes fell on Kodya and he brightened noticeably.

“Kodya!” he exclaimed, beaming up at him. “I got worried when you weren’t here when I woke up!”

“So you do remember him?” Nephthys asked, saving Kodya from having to reply.

Gyrus nodded. “Of course I do! He’s my betrothed after all!”

Kodya felt like he’d been punched in the stomach, a sudden wave of nausea rising up inside him. His fists clenched.

You have no right to say those words with such an innocent face!

 “I remember you and Maria too,” Gyrus said, failing to notice Kodya’s reaction. “Although I can’t seem to recall how we met.” He frowned. “Why can’t I remember that? Or much of anything else beyond being in a dungeon for a really long time? Did something happen?”

Nephthys nodded. “Your memory has been partially sealed,” she said. “And we know someone who can help you, but first it would help us to know how much you can remember right now. Any piece of information could be useful.”

Gyrus’s brow creased, his eyes going distant for a moment. It was clear he was trying very hard to piece things together.

“It’s really just a few scattered pieces,” he murmured. “But let me see… I remember the dungeons…people hurting me… Before that, there was an evening where I didn’t want to get out of bed… And there was something else, too, something that was really important…” He grimaced and held his hands to his temples. “But…it’s just out of reach.”

Maria and Nephthys sighed and Gyrus flashed them an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can try a little harder once my head stops spinning a bit.”

“No, it’s okay,” Maria said, walking over to put a hand on Gyrus’s shoulder. “Our friend Yumeji will be able to help you. It would just have been convenient if we didn’t have to make the trip out to see him.”

“Is there something in particular I need to remember?” Gyrus asked, looking between them before glancing back at Kodya. “It has to do with that really important thing I can’t reach, doesn’t it?”

Nephthys nodded. “You found the location of the Root, Gyrus. And we need that information in order to stop someone else from getting there first.”

Gyrus’s eyes widened. “The Root?” he echoed. “But…how? No one is supposed to have that knowledge.”

“Doesn’t matter how,” Kodya grunted, drawing all their eyes to him. “All that matters is that we find it before Don does.”

Gyrus frowned again. “Don…” he murmured, shuddering. “That name…it sounds familiar too.”

Kodya bit back a snort.

It should. He tortured you every day for over eleven years.

“I know things must seem really jumbled right now, Gyrus,” Maria said kindly. “But you know us. You can trust us. And we need your help to stop Don before he destroys both Heaven and Hell in his mad quest for power.”

Gyrus nodded, his eyes briefly flicking back towards Kodya. “Okay,” he said, turning to face Maria and Neph. “Let’s go see this friend of yours.”

“Thank you,” Nephthys said, squeezing his hand.

Kodya’s heart gave a twisted lurch and he bit his lip. Why did he care whether Nephthys was holding Gyrus’s hand? She had always been physically affectionate with her friends. That was nothing new. So why did it bother him now?

Suddenly, Gyrus frowned, sniffing the air. “Is something burning?” he asked.

“Shit!” Maria cried. “The bacon!” She raced back into the main room, where they could clearly hear sounds of violent cursing and the clang of metal on metal.

“So much for breakfast,” Nephthys said with a wry smile. She turned back to Gyrus. “We need to get going as soon as we can to restore your memories. Which brings me to my next question: How are you feeling? You seem a lot better than yesterday. Do you think you’ll be up for a journey? Yumeji isn’t far, but the way to reach him goes through some rough terrain.”

Gyrus nodded. “Yes, I feel a lot better,” he replied. “So I should be fine to travel. I just have a few lingering aches and pains.”

Nephthys frowned. “Where does it still hurt?”

Gyrus bit his lip. “A lot of places,” he admitted. “My joints mostly, but especially my wings.  It’s a little…difficult to move them.” He tried to lift one to demonstrate, but quickly grimaced and let it drop.

“Strange,” Nephthys murmured, placing a gentle hand on his back. “The pool should have repaired any damage to your body.” She closed her eyes and Kodya felt the familiar prickle of her magic as she reached for it.

She was silent for a long moment, a faint lilac glow surrounding her hand. Then she opened her eyes and shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Gyrus,” Nephthys said, sympathy plain on her face. “It seems that even the regeneration pool has its limits. From what I can tell, several of the major tendons and muscle groups in your wings were cut or torn multiple times and healed improperly over and over. Same with some of your bones. And the pool couldn’t heal what was already technically healed.”

Gyrus’s face paled. “Is…is there anything you can do?” he whispered.

Nephthys shook her head, her eyes full of sorrow. “I’m sorry, Gyrus,” she said. “But based on the level of damage to your motor functions, I don’t think you’re ever going to be able to use your wings properly again.”

Kodya watched the muscles in Gyrus’s neck constrict as the angel swallowed hard.

“A-ah,” Gyrus said after a moment, clearing his throat. “I-I see. I guess I’ll be walking then.” He sucked in a breath, shaking himself. “Well, thank you for tending my other injuries. I, uh, I appreciate it.”

Nephthys shook her head. “Don’t thank me for that. Kody’s the one who brought you here and carried you to the pool.”

Gyrus’s eyes jumped to Kodya and Kodya scowled.

“No,” he hissed, “don’t thank me either.” Without another word, he turned and stormed out of the room.

Gyrus watched Kodya go, a strange weight pressing down on his shoulders.

“Nephthys,” he asked, turning to the demon, “why is he so angry with me? Did I do something to upset him?”

Nephthys bit her lip, looking conflicted. “I think it’s best if you leave him be for now,” she suggested. “Once we get you to Yumeji and restore your memories, I think you’ll understand everything.”

“Oh.” Gyrus’s shoulders sank. So he had done something to upset Kodya. Something pretty bad by the look of things. But what could he have done? He’d been sent to Hell to marry Kodya, after all. He remembered that they’d been happy together—what could have gone wrong?

And why do I get the feeling that it was completely my fault?

“Come on,” Nephthys said, pushing to her feet. “Let’s get you something to eat, and then we can head out for Yumeji’s place. We don’t have any time to waste.”

Chapter Text

“It’s…passable,” Gyrus said, lifting his eyes from the paper Kodya had just handed him a few moments ago.

Kodya crossed his arms. “Passable?” he echoed. “Your standards are higher than your halo if think that’s ‘passable’. I successfully translated one of your people’s oldest and most complex poems, and even added detailed annotations for words that had more than one translation.”

The two of them were sitting in the royal library, stacks of books piled on the table between them along with papers of half-translated passages. Kodya had been the first one to finish the work they’d assigned each other, and he wasn’t about to let Gyrus tell him he’d wasted his afternoon—not when he knew he had done a good job.

Gyrus’s lips quirked. “All right,” he admitted, “It’s pretty damn impressive. Especially considering we’ve only been teaching each other for a few months.”

Pride made Kodya’s chest swell and he squared his shoulders. “Finally!” he exclaimed. “Some praise from His Highness, Crown Prince of the Angels!”

Gyrus rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to make it sound like such a big deal,” he grumbled. “I’m plenty capable of being nice.”

Kodya snorted. “Nice? Try ‘frosty, high-handed, and bratty’.”

Gyrus flushed, looking genuinely embarrassed.

“Look,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I…I owe you an apology.”

Kodya arched an eyebrow. “What for, precisely?”

Gyrus fiddled nervously with the edge of his tunic, the gesture so at odds with the calm exterior that it caught Kodya by surprise.

“Since I first got here,” Gyrus murmured, “I’ve been…well…”

“A dick?” Kodya supplied, expecting Gyrus to immediately deny his statement.

But to his continued surprise, Gyrus nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve been a colossal dick—to you more than anyone else. You didn’t deserve it, and for that I’m sorry.” He sighed. “I came here expecting to have to fight tooth and nail for even an ounce of respect. That’s the way we were always taught that demons treated outsiders, so when I arrived, I thought it would be best to strike first and show no mercy.” He grimaced. “And that really didn’t set the right tone for our relationship.”

Kodya looked at him, astonished. He couldn’t think of a time he’d ever heard of an angel apologizing to a demon, let alone so genuinely. But, after a moment, he let out a sigh and nodded.

“I suppose I can understand you being defensive,” he said. “Coming to a new place like this practically all by yourself must have been unsettling, especially since we were blood enemies only a few months ago.”

“It wasn’t easy,” Gyrus agreed. “Especially with how I grew up.”

“Oh?” Kodya pressed. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

Gyrus sighed, leaning back in his chair. “How much do you know about the power structure in Heaven?” he asked.

“Enough,” Kodya replied, shrugging. “I know your family has been in power forever, and is supported by various noble houses, the heads of which make up your ruling council—which answers to the monarch, of course.”

Gyrus nodded. “That’s right,” he said. “It’s a very strict system with a lot of importance placed on hierarchy and proper behavior. As such, from a young age, I was taught that I had to behave a certain way towards everyone else in order to maintain the proper respect for the crown among my subjects.” He rubbed his face tiredly. “Can you imagine being told as a child that you had to sneer at your classmates and look down on them whenever they failed, even when they were just doing the best that they could? ‘Friends’ weren’t exactly on the agenda either. At least, none of my choosing. I was supposed to play with the children of nobility, even when they were just as boring and stuck up as everyone wanted me to be. It’s only in the last few years when I was allowed to participate in the war effort that I was given any kind of social freedom. And even then, it was pretty limited.”

“So what you’re telling me,” Kodya said, a grin tugging at his lips, “is that Mr. Perfect doesn’t know how to make friends?”

Gyrus shot him a half-hearted glare, but nodded. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “It’s true. And I know that doesn’t excuse me being an ass to you, but I just felt I at least owed you an explanation for it.”

“Hmm.” Kodya tapped a talon thoughtfully on the table. “Well, for the time being I’m willing to forgive and forget. I haven’t exactly been Mr. Nice Guy either, since I didn’t really have a choice in this whole engagement deal. But, since we’re stuck with each other, I think I’ve got an idea that might help.”

“And what’s that?” Gyrus asked.

“I’m going to introduce you to some of my friends,” Kodya said with a smile. “We’re having a day of cards and drinking down at the local pub today, and you’re coming with me.”

Gyrus’s eyes widened, their violet depths sparkling in a way that made Kodya’s heart skip a beat.

“Do you really mean that?” Gyrus whispered, seeming awed.

“Yes,” Kodya replied. “But only if you can finish your homework in time.” He winked, sliding the page containing the passage he’d selected for Gyrus to translate closer to him.

Gyrus blushed slightly, his cheeks flushing a pretty pink, and nodded, quickly reaching for his quill pen.

Kodya’s breath caught in his chest. The sudden burst of emotion he sensed from Gyrus—partly masked though it was—was so warm he felt himself blushing a little as well.

Maybe this isn’t such a lost cause after all…

Kodya shook himself, tearing the memory into pieces and casting it aside. The feelings he’d sensed from Gyrus that day had been just another lie. Gyrus’s royal angelic gifts had enabled him to fool or block Kodya’s empathic powers more than once, and it had annoyed him to no end when he’d first discovered it, but he’d eventually grown used to the strange glitch in his senses and accepted it.

Until he’d learned what his complacency had cost him.

“This way,” Maria said, lifting her torch high as she indicated the rightmost of the two forking tunnels in front of them. “We’ll be above ground soon, and we’ll have to be much quieter once we leave the tunnels.”

“Right,” Kodya muttered, quickening his pace as he followed her. He didn’t want to be any closer to Gyrus—who was bringing up the rear with Nephthys—than he had to.

They walked for another ten minutes before the tunnel began to slope upwards, and fifteen minutes after that they reached the tunnel’s hidden exit, one that appeared to be sealed by a large boulder.

Why is it always stupid rocks? Kodya wondered morosely.

Thankfully, as soon as Maria pulled the camouflaged lever on the wall of the tunnel, the boulder rolled out of the way, allowing them access to the hot, albeit much fresher, air of Hell proper.

Relief washed over Kodya and he rolled his shoulders, stretching his wings a little as soon as he cleared the tunnel. As the biggest person in their ragtag group, he’d had to keep his body tucked in tight to avoid scraping himself along the rocky walls inside.

“We’re heading north,” Maria said, pointing towards a distant outcrop of rock to the left of them. “The Canyon of the Fallen is where we’ll camp tonight, and from there we’ll make our way into another one set of hidden tunnels that will take us to Yumeji’s hideout.”

Kodya bit back a groan. Not more caves! It was bad enough that they were having to travel during the day to avoid most of Hell’s nocturnal denizens.

Better this than letting Don get what he wants, he reminded himself. The thought had him squaring his shoulders. He was Kodya, Crown Prince of Hell, future ruler of this world. There was nothing that could stand in his way.

“Oof! Sorry!”

Kodya scowled.

Nothing, that was, except for the clumsy flightless angel who had just bumped into his back.

Shooting a glare over his shoulder at Gyrus, he stalked ahead, falling into step with Maria.

Gyrus’s heart sank as he watched Kodya moving away from him. He let the hand he’d stretched out fall, wrapping his arms around himself.

What in the world had happened to make Kodya so furious with him? It was beyond clear that his betrothed’s emotions extended to more than simple ire. Kodya seemed to outright loathe him. And on top of that, it wasn’t hard to tell that a great deal of time had passed between now and his last clear memory. Kodya, Nephthys and Maria looked at least ten years older, as did he, and the scowl lines around Kodya’s mouth were deep, telling Gyrus he’d been unhappy for much of that missing time.

What did I do to him? Surely this has to be my fault. There’s no way he would hold something against me that I wasn’t responsible for. So what was it?

“Is Kodya okay?” he murmured, glancing at Nephthys. She at least, would meet his eyes, although he had glimpsed the sorrow in them she tried to hide when she did. “The last few days are a little bit jumbled from my fever and my other wounds, but I remember he fought off some hellhounds protecting me on our way here. He’s not still hurt anywhere is he?”

Nephthys shook her head. “No,” she said. “I healed him up when he first arrived.”

“Oh,” Gyrus replied, shooting a glance at where Kodya was walking beside Maria. “That’s good.”

But it sure didn’t feel like it. He kept getting bits and pieces of the last few days back, and none of it seemed to make any sense. He remembered Kodya’s cold indifference, the look of disgust on his face when he’d first meet Gyrus’s eyes, and the way he’d forced Gyrus to walk even with all of his injuries. But he also remembered the concern on Kodya’s face when he’d collapsed, the careful way Kodya had carried him when he lost the strength to stand on his own, and the reluctant but gentle way Kodya had kept him warm when he’d been shivering with fever. Not to mention their rather passionate encounter in the regeneration pool…

Does he really hate me? The thought had tears welling in his eyes, but he stubbornly blinked them back, not wanting the others to see his truly pathetic state.

Kodya had been his first real friend—that much he remembered clearly. That feeling of belonging and completeness he’d never had anywhere else. And now it was gone, possibly forever.

It left him feeling utterly and completely helpless.

I just need to get my memories back, he thought, forcing himself to pick up his pace. Then everything will become clear. I hope…

“So are you going to be pissy for this entire trip?” Maria asked, glancing over at Kodya.

Kodya scowled. They’d been walking in silence for two hours now, and truthfully, he’d been enjoying the peace and quiet.

“And what’s it to you if I am?” he snapped.

Maria rolled her eyes. “Call me crazy,” she said, “but I remember a time when you actually used to smile—and that was long before you met Gyrus. Any chance of that Kodya coming back out to play? He was a lot more fun.”

“No,” Kodya growled. “And I wish everyone would stop bringing him up already—and looking at me like I’m made of glass and about to break at any moment!”

Maria sighed. “Kodya, you’re doing it to yourself,” she said frankly, adjusting the toothpick she was holding between her teeth.

When he gave her an incredulous look, she just sighed again and shook her head.

“You’re the one who keeps connecting everything back to your relationship with him,” she said. “And it isn’t hard for the rest of us to figure out where your mind’s gone because you suddenly start acting like a bear with a sore paw.” She snorted. “Either that or an angry goose. Either way, big guy, you need to figure out how to deal with whatever is going on inside your head. It’s not healthy—for you, or anyone within a ten-foot radius of you.”

“You think I haven’t tried to let it go!?” Kodya growled. “I’ve been trying to get over what he did for eleven years!”

“No,” Maria said, “you haven’t.” She shook her head. “Come on, man. I had eyes and ears inside the royal castle while we were keeping tabs on Don. Which means I know about your daily visits to Gyrus’s cell. You went to see him almost every day for nine years, Kodya. That doesn’t seem like the behavior of someone who’s trying to move on.”

Kodya felt as if he’d been struck.

She was right.

Damnit!

He clenched his fists, smoke curling up from the tips of his fingers as his rage began to spark. He turned sharply and strode away from Maria.

“Hey, where are you going!?” she cried.

“At least ten feet away!” Kodya snapped, lengthening his stride.

He needed to blow off some steam—before he really did become a danger to someone besides himself.

Maria dragged a hand down her face with a groan.

“Nice one, Maria,” she muttered to herself. “You tried to give him some advice and ended up pissing off the guy who could incinerate you with a thought if he wanted to.”

“I did try to warn you about that brashness of yours,” Nephthys said, coming up alongside her. “It always gets you into trouble.”

Maria smiled. “Yeah, well,” she murmured, leaning in to kiss Nephthys on the cheek. “Got me out of trouble plenty of times too.”

“Where’s Kodya?” Gyrus asked as he caught up to them.

“Blowing off steam,” Maria replied, jerking her head towards where whisps of smoke and flame could be seen from behind an outcrop of stone ahead of them.

“Hopefully he doesn’t blow off too much,” Nephthys murmured, eyeing the smoke with concern. “Otherwise someone might spot us.”

“I wouldn’t be too worried,” Maria said. “There’s always something on fire around here. As long as he doesn’t start anything major, I doubt anyone will so much as glance in this direction.”

“Maybe so,” Gyrus said, drawing both of their attention. “But I have a bad feeling about this. It feels like we’re being watched.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed and she quickly scanned the area. There wasn’t anything obvious that she could detect, even with her finely honed senses. Still, angels were incredibly sensitive to minor fluctuations in magical energy. It was best to be cautious.

“We’ll give Kodya another minute to cool off,” she said, glancing towards where the smoke was already beginning to dissipate. “Then we’re going to make double time to the canyon.”

“Maybe I can bolster everyone’s energy enough that we can avoid stopping to rest,” Nephthys suggested. “We don’t know how big of a head start Don might have on us, so the sooner we get to Yumeji’s, the better.”

Maria nodded. “Let’s make it to the canyon first, then we can evaluate our next move.”

Chapter Text

They ended up deciding to travel through the night after all, even though it put them at a greater risk of being seen. Nephthys was able to restore everyone’s stamina with her healing gifts, and thankfully, there was no sign of whatever Gyrus had felt earlier.

Still, he did his best to remain watchful as they walked. The Canyon of the Fallen was eerily beautiful, carved from pale white stone that was scored and gouged as if someone had gone at it with a giant spoon.

As an added bonus of their surroundings, he was able to temporarily remove the cloak hiding his battered wings. Even though they ached, it still felt good to be able to stretch them as much as he could, even if that was only a few inches.

A twinge of pain shot up from one of his wings and he winced silently.

Never going to fly again.

Those words echoed around in his head, leaving him almost as shaken as Kodya’s mysterious hatred for him.

Flying was an angel’s greatest joy. Feeling the warm sunlight of his home on his feathers and the incredible weightlessness as an updraft caught him and tossed him high into the sky… There was nothing like it. He’d been told that demons felt similarly, but then, so many of them had claws and tails and other appendages that enabled them to climb and swing and otherwise maneuver themselves. Angels had only their wings. Their main strength lay in their magic and weaponry—mind over matter, as he’d always been taught.

But there was no amount of manifestational idealism that was going to change the fact that he couldn’t move his wings enough to rustle a sheet of paper, let alone fly.

I guess my days of sneaking out to go trick-flying are over, he thought, a faint brush of memory stirring, one filled with nightly experiments in his early youth.

But he was the angel prince. Which meant that no matter how much the idea of losing his wings hurt him, he needed to press on, and do what was best for his people. And right now, that meant stopping this Don person from obtaining the Root and upending life as they knew it.

Kodya had been thinking hard about what Maria had said to him yesterday. In retrospect, it was embarrassing how childish he’d been behaving. He was a demon, and demons were prone to fits of extreme anger, jealousy, bitterness, and the like—but to throw a tantrum every time he was within visual range of Gyrus? Absolutely shameful.

He’d spent the last few hours of their journey concentrating on controlling his breathing. It was an old exercise, one he’d been taught as a child when he was first learning to control his fire, so it was easy for him to slip into the rhythm of it again now.

In for seven.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

Hold for seven.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

Out for seven.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

Repeat.

Breath of the Bellows, it was called, a pattern of airflow that was meant to stimulate and control fire. But this time, rather than the source of his magic, Kodya imagined his anger as the flame. It was real, it was inside him, and he needed to get control of it. So like a good blacksmith, he fanned his flames, feeding them the air they needed as he inhaled, tempered them as he held his breath, and cooled them as he exhaled, bit by bit forging himself an iron hammer of self control.

This isn’t about me. It isn’t about Gyrus, or our past together. This is about Don and what he plans to do to the people I’ve sworn to lead and protect. And I am not going to let him win.

“We’re almost there,” Maria announced, pointing towards another inconspicuous section of stone on the side of the canyon wall. “That’s the entrance to the passageways that lead to Yumeji’s hideout.”

Kodya simply nodded, not wanting to risk opening his mouth in case he said something else rude.

I owe both her and Nephthys an apology once this is all over.

But now wasn’t the time for that. So he followed Maria as she made her way over to the canyon wall and pressed several small stones, causing the door to the hidden passageway to slowly slid open.

She stepped inside, but Kodya paused, shooting a glance over his shoulder and sweeping it across the canyon.

“Something wrong?” Nephthys asked, noticing the direction of his gaze. Gyrus was watching him too, although the angel remained tactfully silent.

“Not exactly,” Kodya murmured, taking another pass over their surroundings. “Just had an odd feeling.”

Nephthys frowned. “Me too. It feels like someone is watching us, even though I haven’t been able to detect anyone nearby.”

“Then I guess we should hurry,” Kodya said, turning and ducking into the passage where Maria was waiting for them.

Gyrus and Nephthys followed suit and as soon as they were inside, the door ground shut again. The moment it did so, a series of soft yellow lights flared into existence, lighting the way down the passageway and off into the distance.

“Classy, right?” Maria said, poking one of the lights with a finger. It appeared to be nothing more than a small sphere hovering above a plain metal sconce. “I love their design,” she continued. “But Yumeji won’t share it, the stingy bastard.”

“And yet he’s going to help us unseal Gyrus’s memories?” That didn’t sound like the kind of thing a stingy bastard would do—not for free anyway.

“He owes us a favor,” Maria said. “Plus, this will be in his best interest too. If Don gets to the Root before us, everyone suffers, including Yumeji.”

“Fair enough,” Kodya murmured, following Maria as she headed off down the passageway.

They hadn’t been walking for more than a few minutes before they came to an arched doorway that was covered by two lengths of draped curtain.

“Oi, Yumeji!” Maria called, pulling aside one side of the curtain to peer through the archway. “You in here? It’s us!”

“Obviously,” came an irritated voice from within. “The door in the canyon wouldn’t have opened for you if I didn’t allow it to. Now, tell your friends to stop standing around and get in here already. I know why you’re here.”

Rolling her eyes, Maria glanced back at the rest of them and jerked her head, holding the curtain aside for Kodya. He stepped through and held it back for Nephthys, glancing around the room as he did so.

It appeared that they had entered some sort of large central chamber, one that had several other curtained archways branching off into what Kodya could only assume were more passageways that went deeper into the earth. The room itself was roughly circular, with unpolished stone walls and dark grey support beams, from which hung a variety of strangely familiar charms. There were a few pieces of furniture scattered throughout the large room, including a large round table with a single chair, and another char that was positioned on a rug that lay before a roaring hearth. A small kitchen area was set up near the hearth, with a stove that looked like it was heated by the same fire, and a few stone countertops with drawers recessed within.

And in the center of the room, his arms crossed and blue hair standing straight up in defiance of gravity, was an angel.

Kodya’s eyes narrowed and he spun to face to Nephtys.

“You didn’t mention your ‘friend’ was an angel,” he growled.

Suddenly those familiar charms made sense. They were the same kind that Gyrus had often worn in his hair or on his clothes during his stay at the castle—angelic charms of protection. Not that they’d ever actually done him any good.

Nephthys shrugged. “Would it have mattered?” she asked. “He’s the only one who can help us.”

Kodya felt some of his anger drain away. She had a point.

“Besides,” Nephthys said, “Yumeji turned his back on Heaven and the war a long time ago, which is why he’s living out here—and why he saved me and Maria when the base at Osta was attacked.”

“Pheh,” Yumeji scowled. “Don’t make me out to be some hero, Nephthys. I just stumbled across you two while I was out gathering ingredients. Couldn’t just let such an opportunity go to waste.”

Maria rolled her eyes, an affectionate half smile on her face. “Yeah, yeah,” she said, walking over to loop an arm around Yumeji’s shoulders. “You only saved us so that we’d owe you one.” She gave his gravity-defying hair an affectionate ruffle, leaping back a step as he took a half-hearted swipe at her. “And yet somehow we’re still friends even after we paid you back, and now you owe us one.”

“Which you’re here to collect on,” Yumeji said with a sigh, glancing at Gyrus. “So this is the queen’s brat, eh? Heard you were smart, kid. Apparently not smart enough not to lock most of your memory away when all you needed to do was hide one thing.”

Gyrus’s wings drooped and he took a half step back, and Kodya found himself wanting to put himself between the two of them. He ignored the urge, focusing in stead on what Yumeji had said.

“How do you know about the state of his memory?” he asked. “And for that matter, how did you know we were coming? Maria and Neph didn’t send any messages.”

Yumeji picked at something on one of his fingers before glancing up at Kodya.

“You’re not too bright either, are you, Mr. Demon King’s Heir?” he sneered. “Don’t know much about angels, that’s for sure.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’m a dreamwalker. I can enter anyone’s dreams at any time I want as long as I’m asleep too. Lucky for you guys, I’m almost always asleep.”

“He gave us a special charm that we can use when we want to contact him through the dreamscape,” Nephthys said. “I used it the night you and Gyrus first arrived to let him know that we would be coming.”

“And now here you are,” Yumeji said, spreading his arms wide. “Welcome to my humble home. Don’t make yourselves too comfortable though. You won’t be staying long.”

Kodya glanced at the single chair at the table and snorted. “Don’t worry,” he replied, “I don’t think there’s any risk of us getting comfortable.”

At that, Yumeji chuckled. “Maybe there’s some hope for you after all, kid,” he said. Then he turned to Gyrus. “All right, Your Highness. Come sit over here.”

Gyrus obeyed, but Kodya could sense the nerves emanating from him as he settled himself on the floor in front of Yumeji.

The older angel paced around him so that he was facing Gyrus’s back. Then he laid his hands on either side of Gyrus’s head and closed his eyes.

“All right,” he murmured. “Now, let’s begin.”

Chapter Text

Thirteen years ago…

Gyrus rolled his shoulders as he stepped out of the portal, materializing in what appeared to be the central courtyard of Hell’s royal castle. Traveling via portal always left him with a crick in his neck. But it was the most efficient way to cross the incredibly vast distance separating Hell’s center of power from Heaven’s.

He adjusted his hooded cloak and glanced around, noting that his attendants, Sylvia and Xinju, had stationed themselves to either side of him in a protective formation.

I sincerely doubt I’m in any danger here, he mused, stepping past them and making for where King Iro was waiting for him, his batlike wings folded and hands clasped behind his back. At least, not yet anyway. They would be fools to try to harm me without cause. And by the time they realize they have one, I’ll be long gone.

“Greetings, Your Majesty,” he said, bowing to Iro as he came to a stop before him.

“Welcome to Hell, Prince Gyrus,” Iro said, inclining his head. “I’m glad to see your journey was without incident.”

“It was,” Gyrus agreed politely. He made a show of looking around before turning to the king and asking, “Where is your heir, Your Majesty? I would have thought that he would be here to meet me when I arrived.”

Iro appeared unphased at the veiled insult. “Of course he will,” he replied. “He should be here any—” He glanced upwards as a shadow washed over them, and smiled. “Ah, there he is now.”

He lifted a hand and beckoned to the young demon who was gliding down towards them. The demon complied, landing smoothly and folding his wings before offering a low bow to his king.

As he straightened up, Gyrus took a moment to look him over. The Prince Kodya was tall and broad shouldered, with wild brown hair that was tied back in a short ponytail. A curious little blonde streak ran through it, a bright contrast to the pitch black of his nails and the two sets of curling horns that rose up from his temples. His eyes were a vivid blue, like the heart of a flame, nearly as intimidating as his large black leathery wings. Like most demons, he was bare-chested, clad in only a pair of tight leather trousers which hugged his athletic figure quite nicely.

Interesting…

So this was the man who he was supposed to marry. Gyrus had to admit, the big fellow was pretty impressive at a first glance, and certainly not as rough-looking as some of the other demons he’d met. He seemed quite graceful too, despite his size.

He’s certainly a fine specimen of demon, Gyrus thought, his eyes wandering over the honed muscles of Kodya’s biceps and the scars scattered across his torso. Looks like he can handle himself pretty well, too. I’ll have to be careful. Perhaps I’ll be able to observe some of his training regimen while I’m here. I’m sure it would prove useful for Heaven to know how Hell’s prince fights…

“Excellent timing, Kodya,” Iro said, drawing Gyrus out of his thoughts. “I was just saying that you would be here momentarily.”

“I am glad to be so reliable, Sire,” Kodya replied, walking up to stand beside Iro. “Now, where is he?”

Gyrus fought back a snicker. “Right in front of you, hotshot,” he replied, smirking as he reached up to pull back his hood.

Kodya stared at him for a moment, his sharp eyes raking over every inch of Gyrus’s face. He looked almost surprised.

“You’re Prince Gyrus?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“And you’re Prince Kodya,” Gyrus replied with a smug smile. “I’m so glad we’ve managed to establish the basics.”

Kodya bristled, and Gyrus had to fight back another snicker. Demons were so easy to rile.

“Watch it, angel face,” Kodya growled. “You’re not in Heaven anymore. This place is much more dangerous than you seem to think it is—as am I.”

Gyrus chuckled. “Well, aren’t you just a little ray of sunshine,” he quipped.

“Enough, you two,” Iro said with a sigh. “Drop the sarcasm and play nice, all right? There’s a lot riding on both of you here. It took almost three years for Amelia and I to come to this arrangement, and I won’t have you two tearing it apart before it’s even been signed.”

Kodya sobered immediately. “Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, dutifully bowing his head.

Gyrus did likewise, ditching his smug smile. He might enjoy riling his fiancé-to-be, but it wasn’t wise to antagonize the king. His mother had cautioned him about that extensively. Apparently King Iro had a dangerous temper. But as long as he kept the king happy, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Iro nodded, seeming pleased with their response, and motioned for them to follow as he turned and headed back towards the castle’s main doors.

As they walked, Gyrus took in their surroundings with a mixture of professional analysis and simple curiosity. Very few angels had ever set foot in the Demon King’s castle—and even fewer had done so without being bound in chains and swiftly executed. He needed to take careful note of everything he saw, from the décor to the layout. There was no telling what might prove useful to the war effort.

Of course, his mother would be joining them soon, too, having sent him on ahead as a show of ‘trust’. What the demons didn’t know was that this entire thing had been a setup from the beginning.

During the original armistice talks three years ago, when the proposition of this engagement had been brought up, his mother and Iro had flipped a coin to decide which party would be the one playing host to a prince. His mother had used Iro’s ability to manipulate probability against him, setting up terms that made it seem like whoever hosted would be in possession of a powerful bargaining chip. As such, the Demon King had been all too eager to accept her offer of a coinflip as the decision maker, believing that she was unaware of his gifts.

That fool walked right into the trap, Gyrus thought haughtily, his eyes on Iro’s back. He never thought he could lose by winning.

All that was left now was today’s summit, during which the finer points of the engagement would be agreed upon, and once that was done, he and Kodya would sign the contract, setting it in stone.

Or so they think. They’ve got no idea about the giant loophole they’re going to leave for us. One that will have me free to leave this place behind as soon as I’ve gathered enough information.

For now though, he needed to concentrate on the negotiations, and on keeping the demons just happy enough to make them think they were winning.

“You can’t be serious!” Iro snapped, slamming his fist down on the table. “A five-year engagement period is ridiculous! Most demons settle on a mate within a year of courtship, if that!”

“We will not be rushed into this just because your people are impatient about choosing partners,” Amelia said, steepling her fingers together.

“There’s no element of choice here,” Iro growled. “They already know who they will be bound to, so why bother with more delay than necessary!?”

“Because it’s tradition!” Gyrus replied angrily, his patience wearing thin. “And our traditions are important to us!”

They’d been arguing about one thing or another for nearly three hours while managing to make very little progress on the actual terms of the contract itself.

“Our traditions are important to us, too,” Kodya growled, glaring at him. “Yours don’t automatically supersede ours just because you’re going to be our guest. You arrogant, self-righteous angels have no respect at all for demon culture!”

“Culture?” Gyrus echoed, his anger flaring defensively. “Maybe a bacterial culture, because this place reeks of unwashed clothing and people.” He wrinkled his nose dramatically. “It’s a wonder that you even have running water in this backward little hole you call home.”

Kodya’s eyes blazed, blue fire sparking to light all over his body as he launched to his feet.

Iro caught him by the shoulder and shoved him firmly back down into his seat.

“I think we all need a breather,” the king hissed through clenched teeth, shooting Kodya a pointed look before turning to Amelia. “And I think you need to get a handle on your brat, Amelia. Before he singlehandedly reignites the war we’re here to end!”

Shame washed over Gyrus and he bit back a groan, sinking into his chair as Iro marched the still-smoldering Kodya out of the room.

What the hell did I just do!?

“Gyrus,” his mother said with a tired sigh. “I understand that this situation is stressful, but I expect better of you. And I know you’re capable of it.”

Gyrus bit his lip. “Yes, Mother,” he murmured. “I’m sorry. I let my temper get the best of me.”

“It’s hard when you’re young,” she said sympathetically, putting a hand on his shoulder. “But I know you know how important this is. Go take a flight and clear your head. We’ll reconvene in an hour—and this time, I expect that your head will be in the game.”

Dutifully, Gyrus nodded, rising from the table and making his way out of the room.

It seemed fate had decided to punish him for his outburst, because the moment he stepped outside the castle, he bumped straight into Kodya.

“Watch where you’re going, half-pint!” the demon prince snapped, shoving him away.

“You watch where you’re going!” Gyrus retorted, his anger rising to the surface again before he could stop it.

This man—this man was the one making his mission much harder than it should have been!

“Surprised you didn’t smell me coming,” Kodya growled. “Since us demons don’t know how to bathe and all. Then again, I’m sure you know what shit smells like better than I do, considering you’ve got a stick up your ass the size of a baseball bat!”

Gyrus’s lip curled in disgust. “Typical demon,” he said. “Crass and crude. Tell me, is your vulgarity natural, or do you take special lessons to refine it?”

Kodya scowled. “You know what,” he growled, smoke curling up from his clenched fists. “I’ve had just about enough of you. I’ve got half a mind to tell my king to call this whole thing off. I’m not sure I can tolerate another moment in your presence, let alone the rest of our lives!”

Gyrus fought to keep the sudden surge of panic off his face.

No, no, no! Shit! Why did I insult him even more!? I can’t let him stop this engagement! It will ruin everything! Quick, Gyrus, divert! Divert!

Propping a hand on his hip, he adopted a cocky stance. “Sounds to me like you’re just scared of a challenge,” he said, lifting his chin proudly. “Is the big bad demon prince afraid of a little angel like me?”

Kodya bristled, his lip curling in a snarl as his wings unfolded.

“I am not afraid of anything,” he growled, lifting a hand to prod Gyrus in the chest with a sharp claw. “Least of all you. I could snap you like a twig without so much as breaking a sweat!”

“Oh?” Gyrus mocked, arching an eyebrow. “Is that right? Well, then how about a little wager? If I can beat you in a race around the castle, you have to stop being so obstinate and convince your king to agree to some reasonable terms for the contract. If I lose, I’ll talk my mother into forgetting this whole endeavor and we’ll leave. Sound fair?”

“Perfectly,” Kodya replied through clenched teeth. “Because you won’t be winning.”

“We’ll see about that,” Gyrus said. He lifted a hand, using a touch of his magic to draw a line of golden light across the ground, one that rose up into a thin shimmering barrier. “Here’s our starting line. We do one lap around the castle and return to this point, whoever crosses the barrier first will be the winner.”

“We don’t have a judge,” Kodya said, his eyes narrowing. “How do I know you’re not trying to cheat me?”

Gyrus raised his hand, palm open. “I give you my word that I will not cheat,” he said. “As an added measure, I have enchanted the barrier to display a specific color depending on who crosses it first. White for me, and black for you.”

“And I have your word on that as well?” Kodya pressed.

Maybe he’s more than just a pretty face after all, Gyrus mused.

“Yes,” he replied. “I give you my word that I’ve enchanted the barrier exactly as I said, nothing more, nothing less. Are we agreed on the rules and the terms?”

“We are,” Kodya replied. “Now, let’s get on with this. I’m eager to have you gone, fancy pants.”

Gyrus rolled his eyes, forcing himself to play it cool regardless of how hard his heart was pounding.

If I lose this, it will destroy any chance of this mission succeeding. Everything Mother has been trying to accomplish for the last several decades will go to waste. I can’t afford for that to happen. My people’s lives are on the line.

He and Kodya crouched down on the starting line, spreading their wings in preparation.

Guess that means I’ll just have to win!

“Ready,” he said.

“Set,” Kodya said.

“GO!” they both shouted, launching themselves into the sky at the same instant.

Gyrus beat his wings hard, fighting to keep pace but careful not to overtake Kodya—not just yet at any rate. The demon doubtless knew the castle’s layout better than he did, which meant that he would also know the most efficient way to navigate around it. And if Gyrus stayed right on his heels, he could conserve energy and avoid the risk of falling behind due to a secret shortcut or more effective routing.

Kodya banked sharply right, following the outward curve of one of the castle’s four main towers, then darted down, swooping through a back alley and skirting over the top of an open courtyard. And all the while Gyrus stayed right on his heels.

Kodya glanced over his shoulder as he took another turn, scowling as he saw how close Gyrus was to him.

“Find your own air, featherhead!” he shouted. “Stop hogging mine!”

Gyrus merely smirked, keeping pace with him as they cleared another tower. Two more to go.

By now, some of the castle’s inhabitants had taken note of what was happening, doubtless thinking that perhaps they were under attack. They gathered in groups out on the terraces and in the windows, watching and whispering as the two of them sped by.

Gyrus had to hand it to Kodya, the demon was certainly no slouch when it came to flying. The way he gracefully avoided the various flagpoles and archways was impressive. And he was fast, too. It was taking all of Gyrus’s concentration to keep up with him as they passed the third tower and arrowed towards the fourth.

Gyrus could see the glow of the finish line up ahead, the distance between it and them dwindling rapidly as they started to come around the curve of the final tower. It was time to pull out all the stops.

Digging deep, Gyrus put on a final burst of speed, pushing himself to his limit as they neared the apex of the curve. Kodya’s weight left him pulling away from the wall slightly, just enough that Gyrus was able to glide in beneath him, saving just a half second of time as he shot past Kodya and crashed through the barrier in a blast of white light.

He flared his wings, rapidly dumping speed as he tumbled to the ground, landing in a rather unceremonious heap. A heartbeat later, Kodya joined him, skidding across the courtyard in a cloud of dust before coming to a stop and toppling onto his back, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Well,” Gyrus panted, pushing himself up onto his elbows as he glanced over at Kodya. “It looks…like I’ll be sticking…around after all…doesn’t it, Sunshine?”

Kodya muttered a curse under his breath and let his head drop back to the packed earth beneath him.

Get used to it, Gyrus thought, smiling to himself. Because this is definitely not the last defeat you’ll suffer at my hands.

Eight months later…

Gyrus smiled as he stretched his wings, feeling the now-familiar warm breeze that blew over the top of Hell’s castle.

It still amazed him that he’d actually managed to make it this far. The negotiations had been harrowing enough, but thankfully, Kodya had held up his end of their deal, and between the two of them, they’d managed to convince King Iro to agree to a two-year engagement period, which gave Gyrus plenty of time to gather intelligence and escape before the demons even realized they’d been duped.

He’d already uncovered a number of useful communiques from Hell’s intelligence department, and thanks to a recent alliance between him and Hell’s spymaster Don, he had even more juicy tidbits to funnel right up to Heaven, encoded within the letters and magical transmissions he sent home.

Lately though, it had been a little tricky to find the right time to send his secret missives, since he and Kodya had been spending more and more time together. It turned out that teaching each other their people’s old languages was a great method for bonding, and Gyrus had to admit that he’d found himself slowly warming up to Kodya as time went on. He’d almost consider them friends now, if not for the unusual circumstances.

Speaking of Kodya…

He turned around, sensing the demon’s approach as Kodya climbed the last few stairs to the top of the tower where Gyrus had been enjoying the breeze.

“You ready?” Kodya asked.

“I’ve been ready for ages,” Gyrus teased, making an exasperated face. “It’s rude of you to keep your intended waiting, you know.”

Kodya rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled playfully. “Can it already. Come on, we’re burning moonlight.”

Spreading his wings, he walked to the edge of the tower and smoothly stepped off, dropping into a glide before he caught a thermal and rose higher, flapping to maintain his altitude. Gyrus quickly followed him, matching his speed and heading.

Truthfully, he was very excited about this particular outing. It was the first time he’d been outside the castle without a squad of guards accompanying him. Iro might have a temper, but the king was no fool. He knew that if anything happened to Gyrus under his watch, Heaven would make him and his people answer for it, and as such, he’d taken great care to ensure that Gyrus was well-protected—and well-surveilled. Getting around the demons assigned to watch him for any suspicious behaviors had been a fun little challenge, but one Gyrus had conquered easily.

Still, he was glad to be free of the entourage, if only for a little while. This excursion had been Kodya’s idea, since Gyrus hadn’t gotten to see much of Hell in the time since his arrival. So today, Kodya was taking him sightseeing.  It was a welcome break from the endlessly dull meetings, and from his exhausting search for information about the Root—the very core of Hell itself.

As part of their deal, Don had provided him a variety of interesting texts on the history of Hell, and thanks to Kodya’s lessons, Gyrus had actually been able to read them. He’d started searching for the Root after coming across a few interesting passages in one of those texts, ones that had reminded him of a similar book he’d once read in Heaven’s archives. Having a nearly photographic memory certainly came in handy at times like these, and he’d been able to start piecing together the clues scattered throughout the literature of both Heaven and Hell.

If he could manage to locate the Root, it would be a massive tactical advantage for his people. And if he couldn’t…well, at least it was an entertaining way to pass the time while he gathered other, more useful information.

As they cleared the area surrounding the castle and its town, Kodya angled himself a little closer to Gyrus, pointing out interesting locations as they passed by. A dormant volcano here, a canyon or lava pit there, along with a few other towns and villages scattered across the dark landscape. They stopped to land at a handful of the sits, but for the most part, Gyrus was content to simply observe from the air. Some of Hell’s terrain was treacherous, and he had no intention of landing on something that might want to eat him.

“We’re almost to Lake Apollyon,” Kodya called out, pointing up ahead at a wide ribbon of lava that wound its way across the dark landscape. “It’s just at the mouth of this river.”

Gyrus’s eyes traced along some of the odd rock formations along the river’s path, noting the loops and arches with interest. Sure, he tried to stay out of trouble on foot. But in the air, his speed and maneuverability were unmatched. Which made this far too tempting of an opportunity to pass up.

“Race you to the lake!” he called, putting on a burst of speed.

“Hey! Not fair!” Kodya called. “You’ve got a head start!”

But Gyrus just grinned. He could feel Kodya picking up speed behind him, so he dove towards the lava, twisting into a tight spiral as he flung himself through one of the narrow archways that arced out over the molten stone. He flared his wings as he cleared the arch, rolling onto his back in midair and shooting Kodya a cocky grin.

“Show off!” Kodya called, laughing as he tried to catch up.

But Gyrus wasn’t about to let him. Spinning back around, he veered towards another set of arches, this one three in a row with a narrow overhang to finish it off.

“Gyrus, slow down!” Kodya called, but Gyrus ignored him.

I’m not going to let you catch me that easily!

He flapped his wings, riding the thermals from the surface of the lava as he made for the arches. Tucking in his wings he rolled into a ball, clearing one, then two, then all three arches before straightening out just in time to land his feet on the bottom of the overhang and push off, putting on a burst of speed that was just enough to save him from crashing right into the lava.

“Hah!” he crowed, turning to look back at Kodya. “Beat that, hotshot!”

But Kodya didn’t seem annoyed. Instead he looked alarmed.

“Gyrus! Look out!” he cried, pointing ahead of them.

Gyrus glanced up, spotting the massive rockslide that was headed right for him down one of the slopes to his left. Panic shot through him. He was moving too fast—he wouldn’t be able to doge in time!

He closed his eyes, bracing himself for what would doubtless be an agonizing blow from the boulders, followed by a deadly plunge into the scalding lava below. Instead, something soft but heavy struck him, wrapping itself around him as they plummeted out of the air. They landed hard, rolling across a plane of rough volcanic rock and sending up a plume of dust before eventually coming to a halt.

After a few moments, Gyrus dared to pry his eyes open. To his amazement, he found himself in one piece, staring at the hard planes of Kodya’s bare chest. Carefully, the demon unfolded his wings and sat up, still holding Gyrus close.

“Are—are you hurt?” Kodya asked, coughing as the dust began to settle around them. His eyes scanned Gyrus’s body, looking for any signs of injury.

But Gyrus could only stare at him, awestruck.

He…he saved me. Just like that, with no hesitation whatsoever.

His eyes fell on a line of crimson blood that was trickling down Kodya’s face. Its source was a shallow cut across Kodya’s cheekbone, and Gyrus’s heart clenched.

“You’re bleeding,” he whispered.

Kodya blinked, looking surprised, then noticed the blood running down his cheek and quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand.

“That’s nothing,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ve cut myself worse shaving.”

“No,” Gyrus said, guilt welling up within him. “it’s not nothing. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt at all if I’d been paying attention. Here, let me help.” He pushed himself up on Kodya’s chest and reached out, cupping Kodya’s wounded cheek. He channeled some of his magic into his fingers, a warm golden light seeping out from them and into Kodya’s skin, washing away the cut as if it had never been, along with the half dozen other small wounds the demon had accumulated on his back and wings.

Kodya’s eyes widened slightly as he felt the effect of the magic.

“Handy,” he murmured. “Didn’t know you could do that.”

“I’m not a true healer,” Gyrus replied, offering Kodya a small smile, “but there’s very little that my magic can’t do.”

Kodya chuckled. “Always so arrogant,” he murmured teasingly, a smile tugging at his lips.

Gyrus’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of that smile. It stirred something deep inside of him, something that had a strange fluttering sensation settling into his stomach. And it was then that he realized that his hand was still on Kodya’s cheek.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?” Kodya asked softly, his eyes shimmering slightly as they held Gyrus’s. “You look a little shaky.”

Gyrus swallowed hard, his eyes darting towards Kodya’s lips as he realized how close they were. The urge to close the distance between them rose up inside of him like a wave, and before he knew what he was doing, he was scooting forward, crossing those scant few inches separating them to press his lips to Kodya’s.

What am I doing!? he screamed at himself. He’s going to think I’ve totally lost it!

But to his shock, Kodya didn’t immediately pull away or shout at him. Instead, the demon’s hand came up and cupped his cheek too, drawing him in closer as Kodya returned his kiss.

Gyrus’s eyes fluttered closed, his body relaxing against Kodya’s as the demon’s lips moved against his. God, Kodya tasted incredible—warm and spicy with the faintest hint of sweetness. It was everything he could have ever wanted in a first kiss. But even the best things had to come to an end eventually, and Gyrus withdrew slowly as he felt Kodya begin to pull back.

“Well,” Kodya murmured as they parted, “that was certainly…unexpected.”

Gyrus blushed, but couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his lips.

“Yeah,” he agreed, reaching out to twirl a strand of Kodya’s hair around his finger. “But I think you liked it.”

Kodya snorted, grinning. “Yeah?” he pressed, arching an eyebrow haughtily. “And so what if I did?”

“If that were the case,” Gyrus replied, his eyes half-lidded, “I’d have to kiss you again.”

“Ha!” Kodya replied, his fingers lifting to sift through Gyrus’s hair. “You know nothing about kissing, angel face. Here, let me show you how it’s done.”

Gyrus was all too happy to comply, allowing Kodya to tilt his head as the demon leaned forward and captured his lips once more.

Nearly an hour later, after Kodya had properly educated him on the finer points of kissing, they lay together, side by side, looking out across the slowly flowing lava of Lake Apollyon—which it turned out they had crashed on the shores of.

Gyrus sighed contentedly, savoring the feeling of Kodya lazily playing with his hair.

Who would have ever guessed that this would happen? he mused, watching a chunk of stone slowly melting as the surrounding lava lapped at it. Suddenly, he sobered, a new thought crossing his mind.

I could have gotten him killed today.

And although it troubled him to admit, the thought of anything bad happening to Kodya no longer sat well with him.

But my mission… What am I supposed to do? I can’t just abandon my people… But my being here is keeping them safe too. So maybe…maybe there’s another way. I need to do some research.

 “We should probably be getting back,” he announced, pushing himself upright.

Kodya grunted and stretched. “Yeah,” he agreed. “We probably should. Don’t want them to notice we’re missing. Otherwise I’ll have old man Iro breathing down my neck about being ‘irresponsible with our valuable guest’.”

Gyrus simply couldn’t resist as he glanced over his shoulder at Kodya and said teasingly, “Oh? And does making out with your ‘valuable guest’ count as being ‘irresponsible’?”

Kodya rolled his eyes, tossing Gyrus’s shirt back towards him from where it had been discarded earlier.

“We’re betrothed, fancy pants,” he said, getting to his feet. “Pretty sure this is exactly what we should be doing. Just consider it practice for my husbandly duties.” The toothy grin he shot Gyrus’s way had Gyrus blushing as he quickly donned his shirt.

“Race you back to the castle,” he said, shaking out his feathers.

“Ha!” Kodya scoffed, spreading his leathery wings. “You’ll be eating my dust!”

Gyrus grinned. “Right back at you, hotshot,” he murmured, darting forward to press a kiss to Kodya’s lips before taking a running leap into the air.

“Hey!” Kodya called out from behind him. “Not fair! Why do you always have to cheat!?”

Gyrus just laughed, flapping his wings harder as he heard the sound of Kodya flying after him.

Yes. There has to be another way. Because I don’t want whatever this is between us to end.

One year later…

“Oh come on!” Gyrus whined, watching as Kodya reached for the card in his left hand. “Not that one!”

Kodya snorted. “Nice try, gorgeous. But you’re not going to reverse psychology me. I can read your emotions, remember?”

“You can try to read my emotions,” Gyrus replied, batting his lashes coyly. “But I’ve gotten pretty good at masking them. Guess we’ll just have to see if you’re good enough to call my bluff.”

Kodya’s eyes narrowed. “Challenge accepted,” he said. His eyes flicked between the two cards in Gyrus’s hands, a faint crease appearing between his brows. His hand hovered over the card in Gyrus’s right hand, then switched to his left, before finally settling on the rightmost card. Kodya caught hold of the card and yanked it out of Gyrus’s grasp, letting out a cry of victory as he saw that it matched the single card in his hand.

“Ha!” he crowed, grinning as he tossed the last pair down onto the bed in front of them. “I win!”

Gyrus groaned, flopping back on the bed with a melodramatic sigh.

“Damnit,” he muttered. “I really though the triple bluff would get you.”

“You can’t fool me, angel face,” Kodya said, leaning forward over him. He braced himself on his arms and lowered his head until there were only inches left between them. “I know you too well.”

“Maybe you do,” Gyrus replied, reaching up to twirl a strand of Kodya’s hair around his finger. Guilt rose up within him, even as he forced a smile.

He knew he needed to come clean and tell Kodya the truth about everything. But he didn’t want to risk doing so until he knew he had his mother’s cooperation, which she had stubbornly refused to give. His last communication to her had been an ultimatum: either she agreed to endorse his marriage to Kodya legitimately and scrap her plans for a surprise attack, or he would go to King Iro and expose their entire plan to him. He’d given her until tomorrow to give him her answer, and he had no doubt that they were debating it hotly in the council chambers right now.

But whatever happened, he was going to tell Kodya the truth. He just had to wait until his fiancé wouldn’t be in danger to do it.

“You’ve always got that pretty head of yours in the clouds,” Kodya murmured, chuckling softly. “Let’s see if I can bring you back down here for a while—before I send you someplace better that is.”

Mischief and desire sparkled in his vivid blue eyes and he leaned down to capture Gyrus’s lips in a steamy kiss. Gyrus was all too happy to reciprocate, sighing into the kiss as he looped his arms around Kodya’s neck.

Kodya’s hand slipped beneath his shirt, and Gyrus moaned softly, arching his back into the touch—when suddenly there came a knock at the door.

They broke apart and Kodya groaned.

“What in the world could it be at this hour?” he grumbled. “It’s the middle of the afternoon!”

Again came the knock, more insistent this time.

“Guess you’d better go answer it,” Gyrus sighed, releasing Kodya as the demon reluctantly got to his feet.

He opened the door, revealing the petite figure of a messenger.

“Apologies for disturbing you so late, Your Highness,” she said, bowing low. “But the king requests your presence at once. It is a matter of urgency.”

Kodya frowned but nodded and dismissed the messenger.

“I hope it’s nothing bad,” Gyrus murmured, getting to his feet. A knot of worry formed in his gut.

What if Iro found out about me? No—it can’t be that. Otherwise they wouldn’t have sent a messenger. They’d have sent the royal guards.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it won’t take long,” Kodya said, pausing to readjust the leather tie that bound his hair. “Iro doesn’t like to beat around the bush.”

He caught Gyrus’s hand and pulled him in for a brief kiss, smiling as he withdrew and made for the door.

 “I’ll fill you in when I get back,” he promised before heading out into the hallway.

Gyrus sighed, sinking back down onto the bed once he was gone. He still had that knot of worry in his gut, which meant he wasn’t going to be able to relax.

That only leaves one course of action: reading.

Humming softly to himself, he headed to the library, intending to lose himself in his stack of books for a while.

He’d been doing a lot of reading thanks to Kodya’s teaching, and had found that he thoroughly enjoyed demon literature, especially some of the older texts. They had a certain style and charm that he found himself drawn to.

Not unlike my fiancé, he mused, settling himself down in a comfortable chair and picking up the volume of poetry he’d been currently working his way through.

I just wish I didn’t have to keep so many secrets from him.

There was something else he’d been keeping secret, too—and from more than just Kodya. The Root. After almost two years of searching, he’d been able to finally pinpoint its location. Not that it did him any good at this point, seeing as he no longer wanted to see Hell annihilated. But he hadn’t been able to stop himself from seeking it out. The challenge had been too tempting. No being in either realm had ever been able to solve the mystery of the Root, and he’d wanted to be the first.

Well, he’d succeeded all right, and he almost wished that he hadn’t. It felt wrong—like having a loaded weapon in his pocket, one that could go off at any moment and harm those closest to him.

But I won’t let it. I won’t let this information fall into the wrong hands.

Content with that, he put his worries aside and set about delving into the next entry in the poetry collection.

Roughly an hour later, a disturbance in the hallway caught Gyrus’s attention. It sounded like several demons were in deep conversation, combined with many pairs of moving feet.

I wonder if Kodya’s meeting is finished, he wondered. Guess I should go find out.

He closed his book and set it back on the table, making his way back to Kodya’s bedroom. On the way, he passed a dozen or so demons from Iro’s court, all of them trading strange looks and talking in hushed voices. Several even glanced at him as he passed by, their eyes narrowing.

He frowned. The meeting must be over then. But what happened to make them all look so unsettled?

It didn’t take him long to reach Kodya’s room, and he knocked before pushing open the door.

“Kodya?” he called out. “Are you in here?”

No answer came, but as he stepped into the room, he found Kodya standing in front of the table by the window, staring down at a set of papers on the table.

Gyrus stiffened, his internal alarm bells ringing. Something was terribly wrong. He could see the tension in his fiancé’s shoulders, and there was a strange and deadly energy permeating the room.

“Gyrus,” Kodya said softly. “What is this?”

“What is what?” Gyrus asked, confused but wary.

“This,” Kodya repeated, turning to him and holding up the papers from the table. “This right here. Would you care to explain to me what these are?”

Gyrus reached out and took the papers, scanning them quickly. He felt the blood drain from his face as he realized what he was looking at.

These were some of the secret letters he’d sent home over a year ago, ones that contained the intelligence he’d gathered. The message was written in code, but it was clearly his handwriting and the drawings and schematics contained within spoke for themselves.

“Where did you get these?” he whispered, dreading the answer.

“They were here when I got back from the meeting,” Kodya growled. “Now, I want an explanation for this!”

Gyrus opened and closed his mouth, his mind going absolutely and completely blank.

This was the worst-case scenario.

He had no backup. No failsafe. No way out of this situation.

“Nothing to say for yourself!?” Kodya hissed, and the look of pure anguish in his eyes stabbed Gyrus straight through the heart. “Of all people, I never thought it would be you. How could you!?” He clenched his fists, smoke curling up from them. “All this time. All this time—you were a fucking SPY!?”

No, no, no! This can’t be happening! Not like this!

“Kodya, it’s not like that,” he said, taking a step forward, one hand outstretched towards his lover. “Please, just let me—”

“NEPHTHYS IS DEAD!” Kodya bellowed, white-blue fire igniting across his entire body, setting some of the nearby furniture alight. “SHE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU! BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DID!”

Gyrus’s heart stuttered. “What!?” he cried. “Nephthys is dead!?”

Kodya’s eyes were more white than blue now, the flames on his body licking hungrily at the air as he strode forward.

“Her base was just wiped out!” he snarled, grabbing Gyrus by the throat and shoving him up against the nearest wall. “By an army of angels! Ones that you fed information to!”

“N-no!” Gyrus choked out, gasping for breath and wincing at the burn of his skin where Kodya’s flames were touching it. “I-I swear, I didn’t have—anything to do with that!”

“SAVE IT!” Kodya roared, squeezing his neck so tightly that Gyrus’s vision began to go black. “I don’t want to hear any more lies from you, you filthy, deceitful scum!” He could just barely make out the tears rolling down Kodya’s cheeks, evaporating instantly as they touched the fire. “I—I took you into my home, into my heart! And you…all this time…” He gritted his teeth. “All this time I was bedding a traitor!”

Gyrus opened his mouth, desperately trying to suck in enough air to speak. He needed to tell Kodya that he was wrong, that he’d changed his mind!

“It’s a sad truth,” said a new, slimy voice. And Gyrus spotted Don waltzing into the room, hands clasped behind his back. “But at least you were able to uncover his plot before it was too late. I’m sure the king will be pleased, Your Highness. Well done.”

“I don’t want credit for this shitshow,” Kodya growled, releasing Gyrus abruptly.

Gyrus’s knees buckled and he collapsed, coughing and wheezing as he fought for air.

“Just get him out of my sight,” Kodya said, turning his back on Gyrus. 

“As you wish, Your Highness,” Don said, bowing low. At his signal, a pair of guards swept into the room, quickly clapping a set of heavy manacles around his wrists and ankles. A third metal band closed around his neck and Gyrus stiffened, sensing a wave of unfamiliar magic flowing into him.

He opened his mouth, trying to beg Kodya to at least hear him out. But no sound left his mouth. Confused, he tried again, dread sinking in as he realized what was happening. The collar around his neck was enchanted to keep him from speaking even a single word.

No. NO! Kodya!

He tried to struggle as the guards caught him by the arms and began to haul him away, but he was struck hard over the head, making the world spin and tilt around him.

“Foolish angel,” he heard Don murmur. “You should have stayed where you belonged.”

But Gyrus couldn’t respond. All he could do was dangle there as they dragged him away, consciousness flickering in and out like a dying candle.

Somewhere, off in the distance, was the sound of a heartbreaking roar, followed by the acrid smell of smoke...

Gyrus came to with a start as a bucket of cold water was emptied over his head. Sputtering, he shot upright, wincing as his aching body protested. What he saw when his vision cleared was not pleasant.

King Iro sat before him, rage etched into every fiber of his body.

“I should have never trusted you or your rotten mother,” he growled. “You have the nerve to look down on us as lesser beings, while all the while you’re the ones dealing in thievery and lies!”

“You can hardly be blamed for this, Sire,” Don said from his place to Iro’s left. “You acted in good faith, trying to protect your people by putting an end to the bloodshed. Heaven took advantage of the mercy you showed them.”

“A mistake I won’t make again,” Iro spat. He turned to Don. “How could he have betrayed us!? The oath he swore to and signed was binding! I saw to that!”

“It appears we were out maneuvered by Queen Amelia,” Don replied. “Apparently, under angelic law, no angel can sign a marriage or engagement contract until they are at least twenty years of age. Prince Gyrus was only eighteen at the time of the signing ceremony. As such, the agreement that we negotiated with Amelia for her son’s engagement is null and void. All an underage angel can do in such circumstances is agree to a future engagement, not fully participate in a present one.”

“Meaning that you were never actually engaged to Kodya,” Iro growled, leveling his furious indigo gaze at Gyrus.

Gyrus flinched, his eyes turning to Kodya, who sat beside Iro on a smaller throne, as he begged silently for his lover to help him.

That proved to be a mistake.

Kodya’s face was a mask of pure fury, his eyes burning like dying stars. His fingers were clenched so tightly on the arms of his black throne that the stone was actually cracking under the pressure.

I’m sorry! Gyrus cried silently, tears forming in his eyes. He struggled against the enchanted collar, trying desperately to voice the words that rang out in his heart. I never meant to hurt you, Kodya! I was trying to stop this from happening! My mother was wrong about all this! I couldn’t turn my back on you—I love you!

“Throw this stinking traitor in the dungeons,” Iro growled, glancing at Don. “And see that he learns the error of his ways. Heaven won’t be getting their prince back anytime soon. But make sure he doesn’t die. That would be a kindness he doesn’t deserve.”

“It would be my pleasure, Your Majesty,” Don said with that silky poisonous voice of his. He dipped into a half-bow towards Iro before rising and snapping his fingers. The guards behind Gyrus marched forward and seized his shoulders, hauling him to his feet and dragging him back towards the doors as Don followed close behind.

Gyrus struggled against the guards’ grip, locking eyes with Kodya once more from across the room.

No! NO! Please—just let me explain! he begged silently, fighting the silencing magic with all his strength. Kodya—Kodya! It isn’t true! Don is lying! I wasn’t the one who told them about the base! It was him! He’s working against you! I swear!

The guards had reached the door to the throne room, and Gyrus dug deep, reaching for the last of his magic. Even if his fate was sealed, he had to warn Kodya and Iro about what Don was planning. He couldn’t let Kodya get hurt!

With a final burst of his magic, he shattered the silencing spell and sucked in a deep breath.

“Kodya!” he cried. “Kodya, listen! Don is—Mmph!”

His voice was cut off as Don promptly removed and shoved one of his gloves into his mouth, gagging him.

“Hush now,” the spymaster said, his eyes flashing dangerously. “I think you’ve caused enough damage already. Wouldn’t you agree, Prince Kodya?”

Gyrus’s gaze darted back to Kodya, pleading with him to do something, anything! But the demon just closed his eyes and looked away.

“Take him away,” Kodya whispered without looking up. “And put him somewhere where I’ll never have to see his face again.”

“You heard the prince,” Don said, victory gleaming in his malevolent orange eyes. “Your time is up, angel. And you’re going to pay for what you’ve done. I’ll make sure of that.”

But Gyrus didn’t acknowledge his words. He was too busy staring at Kodya as tears rolled down his cheeks, a sense of despair sweeping through him.

I’ve ruined us both, he thought, body going limp as he surrendered. And maybe our kingdoms along with us.

Head bowed low, he allowed the guards to drag him out of the throne room and off towards the dungeons.

Gyrus’s eyes shot open with a sharp inhalation and he yanked himself away from Yumeji.

He remembered now. He remembered everything.

Oh god. What have I done!?

His chest felt heavy and his throat tightened.

“Kodya,” he whispered, his heart aching as he locked eyes with the demon prince.

Recognition flared in Kodya’s eyes—he could tell that Yumeji had succeeded. With a growl, Kodya turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, pushing past Nephthys, Knox, and Maria.

“Kodya, wait!” Gyrus cried, stumbling to his feet as he made to follow him. He needed to talk to Kodya, to explain to him what had happened that day, everything he’d never gotten a chance to—

A hand caught his wrist and he turned, seeing that Maria was holding him firmly.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” the blue-haired demon murmured. “He doesn’t look like he’s in the mood for company.”

Gyrus’s heart sank. “I only wanted to…” tell him the truth.

“There will be time for the two of you to sort out your problems later,” Nephthys said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Right now, we all have more pressing matters to deal with.”

“Right,” Gyrus murmured, shaking himself. “The Root. You said Don knows where it is?”

Nephthys nodded.

Gyrus took a deep breath, marshalling himself and setting his roiling emotions aside.

“Then we need to get moving.”

Chapter Text

Kodya’s anger was blazing, a towering inferno that threatened to shatter the fragile walls he’d erected around it.

So much for all of his practiced breathing and self-control.

Why!? Why did he have to look at me like that!? He pulled at his hair, muttering curses under his breath. Like he was guilty! Guilty for worming his way into my heart and then destroying it! He doesn’t have the right to feel guilty for what he did!

He placed his palms on the cold stone, claws digging into it with a cracking sound.

I’m trying so hard to let it go, but I just can’t! Damnit! Maria and Neph were both right! I’ve been living in the past for over a decade! But how can I let it go and move forward when a constant reminder of everything I loved and lost is right there in front of me, looking at me with those sad pathetic puppy dog eyes!?

“Hey, demon boy.”

“WHAT!?” Kodya roared, spinning around to find Yumeji standing in the tunnel before him.

The ex-angel crossed his arms, looking distinctly unimpressed.

“Geez, you’re a rude one,” he said. “Sorry to interrupt your meltdown or whatever, but your friends asked me to tell you that they’ve got the location of the Root and are ready to leave whenever you are.”

Kodya took a deep, shaky breath, and nodded.

“Right,” he muttered. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Yumeji replied, flapping a hand dismissively. “Just do me a favor and get out here quickly. And stop clawing up my walls while you’re at it!”

Kodya just rolled his eyes and brushed past the angel, heading back towards the main room of the base.

“It’s not far now,” Gyrus said, pointing ahead of them as the group paused to catch their breaths.

The entrance to the Root was—unsurprisingly—hidden in one of the most dangerous places in all of Hell: the Field of Flames. It was an area of highly unstable volcanic terrain, complete with unpredictable thermals currents that would just as easily launch an airborne being into the razor-sharp stalactites above as it would send them plummeting into the ulurite-bearing lava below. The infernal mineral was a deadly poison to demons and to angels, and the fumes from the lava alone had been known to wipe out towns if the winds shifted and blew it into populated areas.

This was why their group had opted to traverse the area mainly on foot, hopping from barely-stable outcrop to barely-stable outcrop and wearing the protective masks that Gyrus had been able to cobble together from some of the old angelic gear Yumeji had had lying around.

At least I’m not slowing us down with my lack of flight, he thought, leaping across the small gap between two juts of stone. The impact of his landing jarred his wings and he hissed as pain lanced through him. Not much anyway.

 Pain was nothing new to him, not after his years of daily torture, but being fully—or at least nearly fully—healed for the first time in over a decade had made him hyperaware of the places that still hurt.

But this is what I deserve.

That truth had become apparent to him from the moment he regained his memories. Every lash and beating and broken bone he’d suffered in Hell’s dungeons was the punishment he rightly deserved for his betrayal.

I found the one person in this existence that truly understood me and loved me, and I stabbed him in the back. I don’t blame him if he never wants to look at me again once this is all over.

He took a steadying breath, forcing himself to focus.

But until this is all over, I need to keep my mind on the task at hand. I can’t let Don destroy the demons, or the angels. I can worry about the long-term ramifications of my actions later.

He paused then, scanning the landscape ahead of them for the next safest foothold.

“Ugh, no wonder no one’s ever found the Root ’til now,” Maria muttered, wrinkling her nose as she peered over the edge of the outcrop they were currently standing on. “This place sucks.”

Gyrus had to agree. The lava here had a slightly purplish hue thanks to the ulurite, making it unnerving to look at, and even with the protective masks, he could detect the faintest whiff of the deadly mineral. It was not a pleasant smell.

“How much further in is it, Gyrus?” Nephthys asked, squinting through the shimmering heat that rose up from the lava.

“Not too much more,” he replied. They’d already made good progress thanks to the map he’d been able to draw from memory. “It’s near the center, so we should be able to reach it within another hour. Luckily, I’m not seeing any signs that anyone’s already been here, so it looks like we might just be beating Don to the punch.” He frowned, glancing over his shoulder at Nephthys and Maria. “I take it you two have a plan to stop Don once we get there?”

“Sure do,” Maria replied, jerking her thumb at Kodya, who was staring off into the distance and had been silent since they left Yumeji’s. “Our dear prince is going to remind us all how he earned that title in the first place.”

Kodya glanced towards them and grunted noncommittally.

“I’m confident that between the four of us, we can take down Don and anyone he brings with him,” Nephthys continued, drawing Gyrus’s attention away from his ex-lover. “My intuition told me that wherever this confrontation would take place, we’re the only ones who need to be there to stop him, which is why I counted on just you and Kodya as backup.”

Gyrus bit his lip. “I’m not sure what help I’m going to be other than navigating,” he admitted. “With my wings the way they are, I’d probably be more of a liability than anything once the fighting starts.”

Maria raised an eyebrow. “You still got all that heavenly magic, right?”

Gyrus nodded. His time in the regeneration pool with Kodya had restored the well of power that his imprisonment had sapped dry.

“Then you can fight,” Maria said, patting him on the shoulder. “So wings or not, don’t count yourself out just yet.”

Gyrus took a breath and nodded. She was right. He might be flightless and a little fragile, but he was still the crown prince of the angels. No one except his mother could hold a candle to the magic he wielded. And it was time he made Don pay for all the pain he’d caused.

Both to me, and to Kodya.

“The next stable spot is over here,” he said, pointing towards an oblong outcropping of stone that jutted up out of the lava several meters away. A scattering of foot-sized chunks lay between it and them. “We’ll have to take turns crossing, so make sure you step exactly where I do.”

Breathing. Breathing. Focus on your breathing.

Over and over Kodya repeated the mantra in his head as they picked their way across the toxic landscape. So far, he was managing to keep a lid on his temper, but he had to admit that it was harder than ever now that Gyrus had his memories back.

It had been irritating to have Gyrus look at him with those wide, innocent and trusting eyes, knowing that he was ignorant of all the pain he’d caused. But knowing that Gyrus was aware of the damage he’d caused and was still walking around, carrying on conversations like it was normal? It was like daggers in his chest whenever he thought about it.

But he ignored those daggers, pushing away all thoughts of the past, no matter how hard they tried to grab hold of him.

They reached the edge of an outcrop, one that was separated from the next ledge by a few feet of purple lava. Gyrus took a moment to size up the distance, then cleared the gap with a careful jump, landing with only a little awkwardness.

His wings must hurt a lot, Kodya thought, a faint thread of sympathy tugging at his heart as he sensed the angel’s pain. But he pushed that aside, too.

Maria and Nephthys cleared the gap easily as well, and the three of them squeezed as far back onto the narrow ledge as they could to give him room to land. He lined himself up, and pushed off.

But he misjudged the distance, having tried to hold back to avoid crashing into his companions, and landed right on the brittle edge of the lip. There was a sharp crack as the thin stone gave way and for a brief moment, time seemed to slow. He met Nephthys’s eyes, seeing her horror as she saw him begin to fall and reached for him along with Maria. But they weren’t fast enough.

He tumbled towards the poisonous lava, squeezing his eyes shut as he braced himself for the horrible searing pain and death.

But nothing happened.

He opened his eyes, finding himself suspended in a bubble of familiar golden light. Then slowly, he began to float back up, where he was able to see Gyrus, with his hands outstretched, a look of intense concentration on his face as he lifted Kodya to safety with his magic.

Kodya’s feet touched solid ground and the bubble evaporated, leaving Gyrus to drop to his knees, panting for breath.

“Easy there,” Maria said, kneeling beside him and rubbing his back. “That was some quick thinking, Gyrus.”

Gyrus nodded, then looked up at him. “A-are you okay?” he gasped. “I wasn’t sure I was fast enough—I’m so out of practice…”

Kodya stared at him for a moment. “I’m fine,” he muttered, looking away. “Let’s just keep moving.”

“Right,” Gyrus said, pushing himself back to his feet. “It’s just a little bit further.”

Another fifteen or so minutes of awkward climbing, sliding and jumping later, they arrived at a large jut of stone near the center of the Field of Flames. The structure was riddled with pockmarks, where sections of the rock had melted or given way, but to Kodya’s surprise, nothing about it seemed out of the ordinary. He’d been expecting some sort of secret doorway or hidden cave to reveal itself as they drew closer, but there was nothing. Not even a hole that went back than a meter at most.

“We’re here,” Gyrus announced, striding confidently towards the massive rock.

“You can’t mean this is it,” Maria said, echoing Kodya’s sentiments.

But Gyrus nodded, smiling at them over his shoulder.

“This is it all right,” he confirmed. “There’s no doubt about it.”

“Maybe he’s finally lost it,” Maria muttered. “Eleven years in a dungeon’s must’ve done something to his head.”

“I assure you, I’m quite sane,” Gyrus replied, rolling his eyes. “It’s simple matter of perspective.”

Then, to Kodya’s amazement, Gyrus stepped forward, passing clean through the surface of the rock and disappearing beyond.

Nephthys and Maria traded looks of amazement, then quickly followed him, passing through the rock as well.

Well, Kodya thought, I suppose I’ve got no choice.

He approached the rock, sticking out his hand and watching curiously as it slipped through what should have been solid rock. A faint ripple of familiar magic raced up his arm and his eyes widened.

That feels a lot like angel magic. But what’s it doing here?

Not wanting the others to get too far ahead of him, he pushed through the magical curtain and stepped inside, revealing a passageway that plunged deeper into the rock.

Ahead of him, Gyrus stood waiting with Nephthys and Maria, their protective masks piled on the floor beside them as they peered at something on the wall of the tunnel that was just barely illuminated by the golden orb of light Gyrus had conjured.

“Kody,” Nephthys whispered, glancing over at him. “You need to see this.”

Wary, Kodya dropped his mask with the rest and called a flame to his palm, lifting it to increase the illumination as he joined them.

What he saw took his breath away.

Caved along the walls of the tunnel were ancient pictograms which showed several figures bowing in what appeared to be worship to a strange pillar of light. But that wasn’t what had surprised Kodya. No, it was the fact that the figures…were both demons and angels.

“The Root,” Maria whispered reverently, tracing her fingers over the carving of the light. Kodya recognized it too, from the drawings he’d seen in some of Hell’s history books.

“But why are there angels worshiping the core of Hell?” he murmured, frowning.

“Because it’s not the core of Hell,” Gyrus whispered, his eyes widening. “At least, not yet. Look.”

He lifted a hand, pointing to another pictogram drawn directly below the first. It showed the light being split into two pieces, each condensing into a sphere and landing in the hands of an angel and a demon respectively. The panel beside it showed that same angel taking flight into the clouds while the demon descended into a dark tunnel filled with the glow of molten stone.

Kodya’s eyes widened. Is this…the birth of Heaven and Hell?

“There are carvings just like this in Heaven’s Sol Sanctuary,” Gyrus said, reverently placing a hand on the stone. “A sanctuary that’s shrouded by magic that definitely has more than a little trace of demon in it. Only, the carvings there are incomplete. This first image with both angels and demons is missing—probably destroyed. All that we have are the ones showing angels holding a sphere of light and taking it up into the sky.”

“So Heaven and Hell were founded by the same power,” Nephthys murmured. “Fascinating…”

“It makes a lot of sense,” Maria said, crossing her arms. “There’s way too many similarities in our bodies and our magic. We probably originated from a common ancestor, but evolved to be too different to coexist over time.”

Gyrus nodded. “That would seem to be a logical conclusion. In Heaven, we were always taught that angels existed first and that demons were somehow an offshoot of corrupted angels, and as such it was our ‘duty’ to eradicate them.” He shook his head. “I always thought it was strange that there were no records that showed anything about that—just war documents and strategic assessments that go back millennia. And here’s proof that those teachings were just propaganda to fuel the war effort.”

“It’s similar down here,” Maria said, exchanging a look with Nephthys. “We were taught that Heaven cast us down into the belly of the world because they hated us and craved power and dominion over the world for themselves. Each demon child is raised on the idea that they should fight to avenge the wrongs done against their ancestors.”

“And all along it was for nothing,” Kodya murmured. “From the look of these carvings, our people separated themselves intentionally—peacefully, even—and all we’ve done with that is to breed hate and fear of each other.”

“Which is exactly what Don is going to continue if he’s allowed to seize control of the Root,” Gyrus said, nodding. “I’m not sensing anyone up ahead, so I suggest we keep going and figure out some way to secure the Root before Don arrives. I’m sure he can’t be far behind us.”

Maria and Nephthys nodded, following Gyrus as he turned and headed deeper into the tunnel.

After a few minutes of walking, they came to the entrance of what appeared to be a large cavern. And at the center of that cavern was a pillar of beautiful rainbow light, inside of which hovered a pale glowing sphere.

“We made it!” Maria exclaimed, stepping forward into the cave. “I honestly didn’t think we’d beat Don here—or that this would even be real! Amazing!”

The rest of them followed her, and Kodya couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the beautiful shimmering light. It was beyond a doubt the real Root of Hell. Its power sang through the air, but with it came a strange sense of peace that washed over him.

“It’s…beautiful,” he murmured, transfixed.

“I couldn’t agree more,” said a new voice from behind them. “And thanks to you fools, it’s about to belong to me.”

Chapter Text

Kodya bristled, spinning around and baring his teeth as Don sauntered into the cavern.

“You!” he hissed, his temper sparking dangerously.

“Me,” Don agreed, spreading his hands wide, a cocky smile on his face. His eyes fell on Maria and his smile widened. “And hello to you, Maria. It’s been far too long, hasn’t it?”

“Not long enough!” Maria growled, leveling the crossbow that had appeared in her hands.

Don sighed, shaking his head. “It breaks my heart to see you so angry at me. We used to be so close—hand in glove!”

“Yeah, and it was an ugly-ass, stinking glove,” Maria snapped.

“I never could get you to abandon your crass language,” Don said, his lip curling in mild disgust. “But then, I suppose that’s what happens when you keep the company of trash.” His eyes swept over Nephthys, Gyrus and Kodya. “Trash that’s far too stupid to notice that it’s being tracked—much less realize what’s actually going on.”

“What are you talking about?” Kodya demanded.

Don snorted. “You still haven’t put it together, have you? Did you really think that you managed to just waltz in, break a prisoner out of the dungeons under my watch, and make a clean getaway?” He shook his head, chuckling. “I’m afraid, Kodya, that you are nowhere near stealthy enough to evade my notice. No, I let you escape, and I directed the patrols away from your path so that you would make your little rendezvous with your friends.”

Nephthys sucked in a sharp breath. “This was a setup,” she whispered, eyes wide.

“Of course it was,” Don replied. “One of the easiest I’ve ever come up with.”

Kodya scowled. “You never really had the Root’s location, did you!?” he growled. “You set this all in motion because you couldn’t get the information out of Gyrus on your own!”

Don grinned. “Very good, Kodya. You’re finally catching up. But I should really be thanking you—all of you—for making this so incredibly easy. You all did exactly as I knew you would—and of course, Kodya’s little temper tantrum made it even easier to locate you once you left their little hideout. All I had to do was follow the smoke.”

Kodya’s blood ran cold. He’d known his anger might come back to bite him someday, but he hadn’t expected it to be the ruin of his entire kingdom.

“Don’t try to blame Kodya for this!” Gyrus snapped, surprising Kodya as the angel stepped forward. “You’re the one who masterminded it all! I’m sure you knew where Yumeji’s hideout was already. After all, you must have figured out that only another angel could undo the seal on my memories, and who better than an angel who was already allied with Nephthys and Maria?”

Don heaved a sigh, rolling his eyes. “Angels,” he muttered disdainfully. “They always have to have the last word—don’t they, Kodya?”

Kodya bared his teeth, unwilling to rise to the bait.

“None of that matters right now,” Maria said, stepping forward. “What does matter is that you came here all alone, Don. And none of us are going to let you leave here alive after all the shit you’ve put us through.”

“Oh amiga,” Don clucked his tongue, his orange eyes taking on an ominous light. “What makes you think I came alone?”

A strange charm hanging from his belt began to glow and suddenly the shadows around them began to writhe, rising up and taking on corporeal form. Beady red eyes turned towards Kodya and his companions; razor claws curled, and tiny, imp-like wings stretched and spread.

“Shit,” Maria cursed, summoning a second crossbow. “Where the hell did he get a shadow artifact!?”

“I don’t think we have time to worry about that, dear,” Nephthys said, unfurling her wings and summoning a mace.

Beside her, Gyrus readied himself, his hands sparkling with heavenly light. But Kodya barely paid him any attention. His eyes were locked on Don.

“You three focus on defending the Root,” he said. “Don’t let any of them get past you—there’s not telling what kind of damage they could do if they reach it.” He rolled his shoulders, his fist igniting in a swirl of sapphire flames. “Don is mine.”

Without waiting for a response, he charged forward, clearing a path through the shadow creatures with a blast of fire as he made straight for Don.

“Ahh, how kind of you to give me your undivided attention,” Don said, twirling a pair of daggers he had drawn from his belt.

Kodya dodged the first swipe of those blades, twisting to the side as he wound up a punch aimed straight for Don’s head, which Don quickly ducked.

Kodya was confident that he could handle the spymaster on his own, and while Don’s possession of a shadow artifact was troubling, the ancient magic did have its limits. The shadow creatures it controlled were only able to be summoned in a place where shadows already existed, meaning they were weak to direct light of any kind. On top of that, the creatures were bound to Don’s conscious will, which meant he had to concentrate to direct them. Given those conditions, Nephthys and the others should be able to fight the creatures off while he used Don’s split attention to his advantage.

Kodya smiled, sending another burst of fire at Don that singed the ends of the svelte man’s mustache as he dodged. Furious, Don struck back at him, stabbing both daggers towards his chest. Kodya caught Don’s wrists against his forearms, and the two of them wound up locked together in a struggle as Don fought to press the blades forward, towards Kodya.

“You’re being incredibly short sighted about all of this, Kodya,” Don said. “We’re here, in front of the Root itself, and all you care about is petty revenge on me? And for what!? Exposing your lover as the liar he was!? For the destruction of one little base in the name of destroying Heaven and ensuring our people will be safe once and for all!?”

“You’re not fooling anyone, Don!” Kodya snarled. “We both know this isn’t about destroying Heaven, or about protecting our people! You’re only in this for your own selfish desire for power! And I’m not going to let you succeed!”

“I see,” Don replied. “And then of course, you’re going to simply turn your back on the Root and walk away from it like a coward!”

“That’s right!” Kodya grunted. “Because that power is too great for any one person to have!”

“Then why don’t we share it?” Don suggested, his eyes gleaming darkly. “Think about all that we could accomplish with the limitless power of the Root if we worked together.”

Kodya stared at him in disbelief. “You can’t be serious,” he said.

“Oh, but I am,” Don replied. “Join me, Kodya, and together we could rule Hell and conquer Heaven! Just imagine what we could do! Anything we wanted could be ours! Anything at all!” His eyes darted towards where Gyrus was fighting off the shadow creatures with Nephthys and Maria, and a twisted smirk curled his lips. “You could make him your pet, have him groveling and serving you on his knees every day for the rest of his miserable life, and that would just be the start!”

Kodya bared his teeth. “You’re sick,” he spat.

Don just laughed. “Come now, amigo. You can’t tell me you aren’t at least a little bit tempted. It would be the perfect revenge!”

“No,” Kodya growled, shoving back against him harder. “It wouldn’t.”

With one final heave, he managed to toss Don off of him, but the spymaster leapt agilely into the air, landing and sticking to the wall above Kodya.

He shook his head, clucking his tongue disapprovingly.

“It really is a shame, Kodya,” he said. “I’d have thought that by now you’d have learned how to cut your losses and take advantage of the opportunities in front of you. Sadly, it seems you’re stuck in your ways. And it’s going to be the death of you.”

He vaulted off the wall, daggers raised and Kodya braced himself, raising talons alit with blue fire. Don’s first blade was easily deflected as they closed, but the spymaster flared his wings abruptly, changing his momentum and swinging around to slice a deep cut across Kodya’s side with his second blade.

Kodya roared, sweeping a blazing foot up and out and connecting with Don’s shoulder, sending him skidding back across the ground. The smell of scorched flesh hit the air and Kodya grinned, savoring his small victory before they launched themselves at each other again.

This time, Kodya came away with several more cuts, and although he had burned Don a few times, he knew he was in much worse shape that his opponent.  

“I should have done this years ago,” Don said, taking another swipe at him. “I never thought a few days of emotional turmoil would be enough to make you this weak, Kodya!”

“Shut the hell up!” Kodya snapped, grabbing Don’s wrist and turning up the heat on his flames. “I’ve had enough of people giving me shit this week!”

Don howled, and Kodya felt a surge of satisfaction.

“Look out!”

Kodya tensed at the sudden cry, glancing around for the danger, but suddenly he found himself halfway across the cave in a burst of emerald light, staring at where Gyrus had appeared in his place. The angel turned, incinerating one of the shadow creatures that had been creeping up behind Kodya with a blast of white light while he blocked Don’s daggers with a glowing heavenly shield.

“Oh, so the little bridie has come out to play,” Don mocked, bearing down on Gyrus as the angel struggled to keep his feet. “Good—now I finally get to give you the death you deserve!”

Shit!

Kodya took off at a sprint, plowing through the hoard of shadow creatures as he raced towards Gyrus. The angel’s body was too weak from over a decade in captivity to be able to put up any real fight against Don! The idiot was going to get himself killed!

Gyrus’s knees buckled, the light from his shield flickering, and Kodya’s heart lurched.   He tried to move faster, but the shadow creatures flung themselves at him, weighing him down and stopping him in his tracks as he struggled to rid himself of them, his fire flickering and dying as their sheer numbers smothered it.

Damnit! I’m not going to reach them in time!

The glimmer of victory was in Don’s eyes, sweat beading Gyrus’s forehead as he sought to hold on. Then there was another flash of emerald light and suddenly Gyrus was behind Don, sending the spymaster stumbling forward unceremoniously.

“So you’ve still got some tricks left,” Don hissed, righting himself and turning back to face Gyrus, whose chest was heaving. “But I wonder, little prince, just how long will your meager strength hold out?”

“Long enough!” Gyrus shouted, conjuring a blast of heavenly magic which forced Don to dodge.

The spymaster leapt into the air, evading the successive blasts that Gyrus fired at him and looping and diving as he made his way closer to Gyrus.

Kodya gritted his teeth, digging deep for strength as he tore through the creatures that were clawing and biting at him.

He could see how pale Gyrus looked, the way the angel’s limbs were trembling. Don was just toying with him now, lazily avoiding the magical projectiles Gyrus kept summoning even as they sapped his strength.

“Is that really the best you’ve got?” Don mocked, deflecting one of Gyrus’s faltering attacks right back at him.

Gyrus threw himself to the side just in time to dodge the blast, going down in a sprawl across the cavern floor.

In a flash, Don swooped in, delivering a kick to Gyrus’s stomach that launched him up and into the rocky cave wall. The angel let out a cry as he struck the stone and went limp, but before he could drop to the ground, Don was in front of him, one hand around his throat, the other lifting a dagger that was poised to stab him through the heart.

“It seems you’re out of magic,” Don said, his fingers tightening around Gyrus’s throat. “And out of time.”

“Sorry,” Gyrus rasped, smirking as he forced his eyes open. “But I’ve done what I meant to do.”

“And what’s that?” Don scoffed. “Get yourself killed?”

“No,” Gyrus replied. “Gotten your mind off Kodya.”

Don’s eyes widened, but it was already too late.

Kodya lunged forward, having just broken free of the last of the shadow creatures as their hold on him weakened, and grabbed Don by the back of the neck. He tore him away from Gyrus, and the angel dropped to the ground as Kodya lifted Don into the air, hand viced around the spymaster’s throat.

“Game over, Don,” he growled, his eyes glowing as his inner fire flared. “You lose.”

He let loose, unleashing the torrent of emotions that had been building inside of him for eleven long years. All the endless days of pain and heartache, the doubts and self-loathing, the bitterness, the anger, and the loneliness—all if it. He unleashed it all, funneling it straight into his magic, which ignited in a great burst.

Don screamed, sapphire flames engulfing his body with a rush. He thrashed and flailed, struggling against Kodya’s grip. But Kodya would not yield. He held firm until his flames had consumed Don completely, leaving the spymaster little more than a charred hunk of meat that Kodya finally allowed to drop to the ground, where it crumbled into pieces along with the shadow charm.

With a cacophony of shrieks, the shadow creatures dissolved, allowing Nephthys and Maria to finally lower their weapons.

“Well,” Maria said, grinning lopsidedly as she sat down hard. “I guess that takes care of that.”

Drained, Kodya couldn’t do more than nod.

It was finally over.

His people were finally safe.

“Are you all right, Gyrus?” Nephthys asked, making her way over to where the angel was still slumped against the wall.

“I’m okay,” Gyrus replied, wincing. “He just hit my wings kind of hard when he slammed me into the wall. I’m waiting for the pain to die down.” He glanced over at Kodya. “You were amazing, Kodya,” he said, unabashed adoration on his face. “I had no idea your fire had gotten so powerful.”

Too tired to be irritable, Kodya grunted in acknowledgement. “You weren’t entirely useless either,” he admitted grudgingly.

Gyrus gave him a small smile and Kodya rolled his eyes.

“Don’t get too excited,” he muttered. “I haven’t forgiven you or anything.”

“Yeah,” Gyrus said softly. “I figured as much.”

“Let me get you all patched up a little,” Nephthys said, laying a glowing hand on Gyrus’s arm. “Then we can get out of this place, and figure out what our next move should be.”

That’s right, Kodya thought. We didn’t have any plans for what to do once we stopped Don. Obviously, I need to get back to the castle and report everything to Iro, but what do we do with Gyrus?

Nephthys made her way over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, and he sighed in relief as the ache of his wounds faded away.

I’ll worry about Gyrus later, he decided, murmuring a quiet thank-you to Nephthys before she moved on to Maria. For now, I just want to get out of this hole.

“All right,” Maria said, getting to her feet and rolling her shoulders. “Let’s blow this pop stand!”

Kodya was all too happy to oblige.

As they reached the mouth of the tunnel, he paused, casting a backward glance at the shimmering light of the Root.

It is tempting, but I know that no one should have that kind of power. Not even me. Such things are best left for the contents of myths and legends.

Mind made up, he turned and followed the others out of the cavern.

Chapter Text

They took their time making their way back out of the Field of Flames, and when at last they left the eerie purple lava and poisonous air behind, Gyrus breathed a sigh of relief.

He was glad everything had worked out for the best, despite how rough their journey had been.

I guess all that’s left now is for them to figure out what happens to me…

His eyes fell on Kodya, who was walking ahead of him, chatting casually with Nephthys.

What will he decide?

His throat felt tight as he considered the possibilities. In spite of how everything had turned out between them, the truth was that he still loved Kodya. He’d never stopped, even all those years in the dungeon with most of his memory locked away.

He’s still everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner… And he’s going to walk right out of my life again. That is, if he doesn’t decide to throw me to the wolves instead…

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the beating of a pair of feathered wings.

“Maria!” called out a new voice.

They all looked up, finding a white-haired angel winging his way towards them.

Maria frowned. “Knox? What are you doing here?” she asked as the angel alit in front of them. “You shouldn’t be in Hell—it’s too dangerous. What if someone saw you?”

Knox shook his head. “I am afraid that is no longer of any consequence,” he replied. “I have bad news.”

“Who is this?” Kodya asked, eyeing Knox suspiciously.

“This is Knox,” Maria said. “He’s my ‘source’ in Heaven.”

“So you’re a spy?” Gyrus asked. He didn’t miss the irony of that question—and neither did Kodya, judging by the look the demon shot him.

Knox shook his head. “No, not precisely, Your Highness. I am an operative of the divine intelligence network, and Maria and I have an alliance of sorts. An equal exchange of information relevant to dangers that threaten both sides.”

“And if you’re meeting us here,” Maria said, an uneasy look crossing her face, “that means that something is very, very wrong.”

Knox nodded. “As I said, I have bad news. Armageddon is upon us.”

“What do you mean?” Gyrus pressed, his heart skipping a beat. Armageddon was the prophesied final battle between Heaven and Hell. There had been several possible Armageddons over the centuries, but none approaching the level of true destruction promised by the great seer, Masiosare.

 “It has begun, Your Highness,” Knox said, his red eyes somber. “An all-out slaughter on both sides. Earth is being razed as we speak, and pockets of the fighting have begun to spill over into both our realms as well.”

“My visions,” Nephthys murmured. “I thought they were just about Don’s plans for the Root. Oh no…”

“How did this happen?” Kodya growled, stepping forward. “Something must have sparked it all off!”

Knox’s eyes flicked to Kodya. “It was you,” he replied calmly.

“Me?!” Kodya exclaimed.

Knox nodded. “Yes. You are Prince Kodya of the demons, correct? Well, it appears that your king believes that you were kidnapped by Heaven. Rumors of your abduction began to circulate over the last few days, and many of your people were furious at the thought that my people might have done such a thing. It didn’t take long for someone on the front lines to make a mistake, and the rest is history.”

“Those fucking idiots!” Kodya groaned, clapping a hand to his forehead. “I should have known they’d get the wrong idea and do something this stupid!”

“Kodya, it’s not your fault,” Gyrus said. “You’re not the only one responsible for this mess.”

Knox turned towards him. “You are right, Your Highness. You are also to blame.”

Gyrus blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Heaven’s soldiers have been looking for an opportunity to avenge your alleged death for over a decade,” Knox said. “It would seem that both of your people are quite eager to fight for their princes.”

“Well, do you have any ideas on how we might go about stopping them!?” Kodya growled.

Knox shook his head. “Sadly, I am at a loss. Which is why I came to ask for Maria’s help.”

Maria bit her lip, folding her arms. “I’m not sure I’ve got any clue about how to stop this either,” she said. “Neph? Any flashes of intuition?”

Nephthys’s brow wrinkled. “Only that we’ll need both Kodya and Gyrus to do so, which seems to be self-evident.”

Suddenly, an idea struck Gyrus so hard that he almost took a step back. The perfect solution to both his problems was staring him right in the face!

“I know what we need to do,” he said, turning to face Kodya. “I know how we can put an end to the bloodshed for good! We need to form another contract!”

Kodya snorted. “Yeah, because the last one turned out so well,” he snapped. “What kind of pact do you want this time? Do you want my soul? My undying allegiance?”

Gyrus squared his shoulders and met Kodya’s gaze steadily. “Marry me.”

Silence descended upon the group as every muscle in Kodya’s body went rigid.

“Excuse me?” Kodya hissed through clenched teeth.

“Gyrus…” Nephthys groaned.

“I’m serious,” Gyrus said, refusing to back down. “Our marriage would be enough to shock both sides into a temporary ceasefire. It would save thousands of lives in the short term, and give us time to talk our rulers down and put a stop to the violence forever!”

“That’s it?” Kodya said, clenching his fists. “That’s why you want to marry me? Just for the sake of ending the war!?”

“Our people are dying, Kodya!” Gyrus pressed. “What other reason do I need!?”

He knew he was pushing it a little, but Kodya had seemed softer towards him since their battle with Don. So maybe, just maybe they could—

“No,” Kodya growled, his eyes flashing dangerously blue-white.

Gyrus gaped at him. “What do you mean ‘no’!?” he demanded. “We don’t have any other options!”

“I SAID NO!” Kodya bellowed, wings unfurling and flaring out behind him. “I WILL NOT MARRY YOU!” Flames ignited at his fingertips and he clenched his fists, smothering them, though smoke still curled up from his palms. “If that’s truly how you feel, maybe it would have been better if I’d let Don finish me off!” he snapped. “At least then I wouldn’t have to put up with any more of your bullshit!”

And with that, he stormed off, leaving Gyrus and the others staring after him.

Once Kodya vanished from sight behind an outcropping of rock, all eyes turned back to Gyrus. He swallowed hard. Of all the reasons he’d imagined Kodya objecting, this hadn’t been one of them. He wasn’t even sure what Kodya had objected to. He wasn’t lying. It was true that a marriage between them could help save both their people from destruction. Why couldn’t Kodya see that?

Hopelessly confused, he looked at Nephthys, silently begging her to help him.

Nephthys sighed. “Gyrus, come take a walk with me. There are some things we clearly need to talk about.”

Wary but hopeful, Gyrus nodded and followed her as she rose and walk in the direction opposite of where Kodya had gone. Nephthys led him to the bank of a molten river, well out of earshot from the Knox and maria, then she stopped and turned to face him.

“I’m going to start with the obvious,” she said. “You’re an idiot, and you just wounded Kodya very deeply.”

“But I—”

“Hush,” Nephthys said, holding up a hand to silence him. “Right now you’re going to listen, not talk. You wanted my help, and this is how you get it.”

She paused for a moment, as if waiting to see if he would object. When he remained silent, she continued.

 “Kodya’s heart is broken, Gyrus,” she said. “When he found out you were a spy, it absolutely crushed him, heart and soul. He spent years in a daze, barely taking care of himself or paying any attention to what was going on around him. He loved you more than he’s ever loved anyone, and you stabbed him in the back. I know there were extenuating circumstances regarding how he found out, but the truth is that you came to Hell with the intention of deceiving him, and you succeeded.”

She took a deep breath, her expression softening. “Gyrus, he still loves you. Even after everything. Once he recovered from the shock of your betrayal, there wasn’t a single day that he didn’t go to visit you in the dungeons.” She sighed. “If you asked him, I’m sure he’d say that it was because he wanted to see you suffer for what you did to him, but I don’t have to be an empath to know that isn’t true. He couldn’t bear to be without you, Gyrus, no matter how angry he was. And I know you feel the same. Even after your memories were sealed, the first thing you remembered was him and your love for him—because it was too strong to be completely locked away.” She shook her head. “And now you come to him, your memories restored of your time together, and you tell him the only reason you want to marry him is for politics?”

Gyrus’s heart sank. He understood now what Nephthys was getting at. He’d driven a stake into Kodya’s heart with his words.

“I didn’t think—” he took a shaky breath, glancing away. “I didn’t think I deserved to ask him to marry me for anything more than that. Not after everything I’d put him through. And I really do believe that this is the best—maybe the only—way to stop the fighting.” He sighed. “What I felt for him was never a lie, but I don’t know how to convince him of that…”

“Tell me, Gyrus,” Nephthys said, “if you were in this position with someone other than Kodya—a total stranger, for instance—would you have asked them to marry you? Wouldn’t a treaty or a simple alliance have been enough?”

Gyrus shook his head. If it had been anyone other than Kodya, he wouldn’t have even thought to bring up marriage as a solution.

“Then I suggest you go find him,” Nephthys said. “And tell him exactly why that is. That should be all the convincing he needs.”

Chapter Text

“Why the hell are you following me!?” Kodya growled, spinning around to face Gyrus.

Gyrus swallowed hard. He’d caught up with Kodya quite a ways from camp—it hadn’t been too hard to follow the trail of scorched footprints the demon had left behind. He was just glad Kodya hadn’t decided to take flight or else he’d never have been able to find him.

“We need to talk,” he said, forcing a courage he certainly didn’t feel.

“Talk?” Kodya repeated, more smoke curling up from his clenched fists. “You want to talk? Now? Really!?”

Hesitantly, Gyrus nodded.

Kodya’s lip curled. “Too bad!” he snapped. “I’m tired of talking! Now, go away before I really lose my temper and reduce you to cinders!”

He turned, making to storm off, but Gyrus knew he couldn’t just give up.

“Kodya, wait!” he cried, reaching out to grasp Kodya’s arm. “Please, if you’ll just—”

“NO!” Kodya snarled, yanking his arm out of Gyrus’s grasp. “DON’T TOUCH ME! DON’T TALK TO ME! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY!”

“Too bad!” Gyrus shouted, instinctively flaring his wings even as sharp pain arced along his nerves. He grimaced, doing his best to ignore it. “Because I’m not going to leave you be until you hear me out!” He clenched his fists. “I need to tell you what really happened that day!”

“You mean the day I discovered that you had betrayed me!?” Kodya demanded, his eyes sparking with dangerous blue fire. “That you had lied to me and wormed your way out of your oath!?”

“Yes!” Gyrus cried. “Because you’re right, I did betray you! I lied to you and twisted the oath we swore to each other! But there’s more to the story than that! I’m not trying to ask for your forgiveness, I just want you to know the whole truth! That’s all!”

“Fine,” Kodya growled, crossing his arms. “Speak. But make it quick. I don’t have much patience left after dealing with you for the past week.”

Heart hammering, Gyrus nodded, taking a deep breath before he began.

“I originally came to Hell under the guise of being your betrothed,” he said. “That’s true. My mother and her advisors concocted the scheme in order to win the war. They figured that if I could gain access to enough information, it would give us the upper hand and allow us to make a first strike that could end things once and for all—or at least give us enough of an edge to turn the resulting war in our favor.”

He clenched his fists again.

“I didn’t agree to the plan because I hated you or the other demons. I did it because my people were dying. Thousands of them, every day, and I could do nothing to stop it. Every other time Heaven and Hell had tried to negotiate peace, it had eventually fallen apart for one reason or another, so I figured that it wouldn’t be any different this time. I thought I would be in and out within a few months, maybe a year, once relations were inevitably broken off.” He swallowed hard, forcing himself to meet Kodya’s gaze. “What I wasn’t counting on was falling in love with you.”

He could sense Kodya’s anger rising and held up a hand.

“I don’t care if you believe me or not,” he said. “But it’s true. I fell in love with you, Kodya. Which is why I decided to change the plan. I stopped supplying Heaven with information, and instead I urged my mother to actually pursue peace with King Iro. She and her advisors weren’t keen on the idea, so I gave them an ultimatum. Either they would agree to genuine peace, or I would side with you and expose the entire plot to both you and the king. That’s when Don got involved. He’d been working as an additional informant for Heaven not long after I came to Hell. He helped me get access to information that I needed—including for my research on the Root—and once I refused to be a spy any longer, he decided to seize the opportunity and expose me for his own benefit.” He let out a mirthless chuckle. “I know you won’t believe me when I tell you this, but the day that he left those letters for you to find was the day before I was going to come clean and tell you everything. I was just waiting to hear my mother’s decision so I knew where all the pieces stood.”

Kodya snorted. “Really? That’s your explanation?” he asked. “It’s awfully convenient that your story hinges on a bunch of messages and communications that you have no way of producing at the moment—if they even exist at all.”

“Look!” Gyrus growled. “I told you I wasn’t asking for forgiveness! And as much as I want you to believe me, all I wanted was a chance to tell you what really happened! You changed my mind, Kodya, about everything! I know you hate me, but no matter what happens, I still love you!” He swallowed hard, staring up into Koday’s hard blue eyes. “I still love you,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around himself. “Which was why I was stupid enough to ask you to marry me earlier.” He shook his head, looking away. “I don’t deserve you, but some selfish part of me still can’t bear to be without you…”

There was a long moment of silence, then.

“Are you done?” Kodya growled softly.

Swallowing thickly, Gyrus nodded, fighting back the tears that welled in his eyes as he waited for Kodya to rip him to pieces—either verbally or physically. He deserved it, after all.

“Good, because if you weren’t, I was going to have to do this.”

Gyrus’s eyes shot wide as Kodya’s lips crashed down against his. In spite of his surprise, he found himself quickly melting against Kodya, a soft groan escaping him. It felt like a lifetime since Kodya had kissed him last, and he didn’t want it to stop anytime soon.

Unfortunately, the need to breathe forced them apart and Gyrus looked up at Kodya in astonishment.

“W-wait, you believe me?” he panted.

Kodya sighed, drawing back slightly. “It’s not like I had much of a choice,” he replied. “Empath—remember? I can tell when someone is lying, or when they’re telling the truth, or when they’re baring their very soul to the person they love with all their heart.”

He cupped Gyrus’s cheek, his claws gently tucking a strand of hair back behind Gyrus’s ear.

“I won’t pretend that I’m not still hurt,” he murmured, “You did betray me, after all, and I’ve lived with that pain for eleven long years, so I can’t just let that go overnight. But, I also can’t hold on to all of my anger after everything I’ve learned in the last few days. I blamed you for Nephthys’s death—she’s still alive, and Don’s the one who sold out the base at Osta. I thought you never really loved me, that I was just a means to an end—you’ve shown me that wasn’t the truth. I told myself I hated you—but from the moment I held you in my arms again, some part of me knew that wasn’t true either.” He sighed, stroking Gyrus’s cheek tenderly as his eyes softened. “I couldn’t let you go, Gyrus, even when my heart was completely shattered, and for over a decade, I couldn’t understand why. But now I do. Because I knew, deep down, that what we had was real—for both of us. And I couldn’t give that up.”

“Kodya,” Gyrus whispered, tears welling in his eyes, “I am so sorry for all of the pain I’ve put you through, and I swear to you, with all my heart, that I will never betray you again. Please,” he swallowed hard, “please give me another chance.”

Kodya chuckled. “Such a greedy request,” he teased, grinning. “Maybe you did pick up some things from all your time among us nefarious demons after all.”

Gyrus opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly Kodya ducked, sliding one arm beneath his backside and lifting him up to press his back against the rough outcrop of stone beside them.

“K-Kodya,” Gyrus protested, confused. But Kodya shook his head.

“I’m not forgiving you—not just yet,” he said. “For that, we need time and to talk more about everything that’s happened. But,” he smiled, warmth creeping back into his expression, “I will agree to give you another chance, Gyrus. Because I want to forgive you. I want that time and conversation, and I want you back in my life, where you belong.”

Gyrus felt himself melting all over again as he gazed up into those sparkling blue eyes.

“I don’t deserve this,” he whispered, looping his arms around Kodya’s neck. “But I’m going to spend the rest of my life working to change that.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Kodya murmured, swooping in to claim his lips in another kiss.

His lips trailed downwards, working their way across Gyrus’s chin and down along his jaw towards the column of his throat. Gyrus moaned, the heat of arousal flaring in his veins as Kodya continued to work his way downwards.

He felt the flick of Kodya’s tongue across the juncture of his neck and shoulder, the skin surprisingly sensitive as Kodya laved over it.

“K-Kodya,” he gasped, wiggling, “that tickles,”

“Just hold still for a moment,” Kodya murmured. “This will sting a little.”

Gyrus tensed. “Wh-what are you doing?”

Kodya paused. “You were the one who said you wanted me to marry you.” Gyrus could feel him grinning against his neck. “Something about ending an eternal war and stopping Armageddon? So that’s exactly what I’m doing.” He snorted. “Thought that was pretty obvious, considering those vows we exchanged a minute ago.”

Gyrus’s cheeks burned. A mating mark. Kodya was going to give him a mating mark. But that meant…

“H-here!?” he squeaked, the reality of their situation settling in. “You want to do it here!?”

“We don’t exactly have the luxury of a private room or a bed right now,” Kodya replied, amusement twinkling in his eyes as he lifted his head to look down Gyrus. “Besides, you had no problem with me fucking you back in the regeneration spring.”

Gyrus’s blush deepened. He supposed that was true. And they didn’t have many other options right now… And he really did want Kodya to marry him…

“A-all right,” he murmured, looping his arms around Kodya’s neck and drawing the demon in closer. “If you’re sure you want this, then do it. Make me yours, Kodya.”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” Kodya replied, leaning in to kiss him softly.

He pulled back, once more returning to the juncture of Gyrus’s neck and shoulder and lapping at it with his tongue to moisten the skin.

“Ready?”

Gyrus nodded, closing his eyes and tilting his head out of the way.

“Hey, Gyrus.”

He cracked his eyes open, finding Kodya looking up at him with a half-smile on his face.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Gyrus blushed, opening his mouth to return the sentiment, but he was cut of as Kodya struck, his fangs piercing Gyrus’s soft flesh and sinking into it with ease. Gyrus gasped, a whirlwind of sensation flooding him as Kodya’s magic began to seep into him, mingling with his own.

In a way, it was almost like a serpent injecting venom into its prey, but this venom was anything but harmful. As Kodya sucked at his throat, drawing Gyrus’s blood into his body, it wove them together, binding them in a way that nothing but their own will could separate.

Of course, Gyrus knew all of this from the extensive discussions he and Kodya had had eleven years ago surrounding the details of their marriage, but what none of those conversations or the texts he’d read on the subject had prepared him for was how incredible it felt.

He could actually feel Kodya’s consciousness, his very essence, brushing up against his as pieces of them began to intertwine. The intimacy of it had his cock twitching eagerly, reminding him that this was a two-step process. In order for their bond to fully solidify, sex was a must. It was the physical equivalent to the spiritual exchange they were already undergoing.

“Fuck,” Kodya groaned, pulling his fangs free and licking his lips. “You taste incredible…”

“Show me,” Gyrus murmured, capturing Kodya’s face and lifting the demon’s head up so that he could kiss him.

Kodya wasted no time in slipping his tongue into Gyrus’s mouth, the faint coppery tang of blood barely detectable beneath the wild surge of magic that swept through Gyrus’s senses.

He’s right! he thought, stifling a giggle. I do taste good! We taste good!

He wound his fingers into Kodya’s hair, fumbling with the leather tie that held back the demon’s wild locks. After he a few tries, he managed to undo it and quickly tossed it aside, allowing Kodya’s hair to tumble over his shoulders, secreting them in their own private world that smelled wonderfully of his beloved demon prince.

Kodya let out a pleased hum, his fingers slipping beneath Gyrus’s shirt and hiking it up. His fingers brushed Gyrus’s nipples and Gyrus gasped, arching his back instinctively as a shock of pleasure jolted through him.

“Still so easy to rile,” Kodya teased, grinning ruthlessly as he pinched Gyrus’s nipples, rolling the tender buds between his fingertips.

Gyrus whimpered, the heat within him spiking sharply. Combined with the magic that was flooding through his veins, and the fact that he’d been aching for Kodya’s touch for days, he could feel his arousal spiraling rapidly out of control.

“K-Kodya,” he begged. “Please! I-I can’t—”

“Sure you can,” Kodya purred. “And you will.” Releasing one of Gyrus’s nipples, he slipped a hand into Gyrus’s trousers, caressing his already weeping cock.

Gyrus gasped, his willpower rapidly crumbling as Kodya began to stroke him. He opened his eyes—which he hadn’t even realized he’d closed—gazing up at Kodya as his lover loomed over him. He was so beautiful it almost broke Gyrus’s heart.

I nearly lost him forever. But I won’t let this second chance go to waste. From now on, I will give him everything I have.

“You’re thinking too much,” Kodya murmured, seeming amused. “Clearly, I’m not doing a good enough job. But I know how to fix that.”

He withdrew his hand from Gyrus’s trousers and set him on his feet. In a flash, Gyrus’s pants hit the ground, his shirt rapidly joining them as Kodya scooped him up and pressed him flush against the wall once more.

“Mmm,” the demon purred, running his hands along Gyrus’s bare hips. “Much better. Now, on to more important matters…”

He brought two of his fingers to Gyrus’s lips and tapped them.

“Open,” he commanded, sending heated shivers down Gyrus’s spine.

He obeyed, parting his lips and welcoming Kodya’s fingers into his mouth. He lapped at them, ensuring they were properly coated in saliva before Kodya withdrew them.

“Very good,” Kodya murmured. “Now, here’s your reward.”

His hand slipped between them, easily finding Gyrus’s tight entrance and prodding at it gently. Gyrus braced himself, feeling the slight burn as Kodya pressed inside of him. But it was well worth it to have Kodya’s body joined with his again, even in this small way.

Kodya took his time, carefully working his finger in and out as Gyrus felt his body begin to relax. His eyes drifted closed again, feeling the pleasant blush that swept across his skin as Kodya’s caresses fed his growing arousal. He groaned as a second finger joined the first, and suddenly both of them pressed against a spot that had Gyrus’s back arching once more, pleasure crackling along his nerves.

“Kodya!” he gasped. “Oh yes! There—right there!”

“I know what I’m doing,” Kodya chided, curling his fingers up to brush against the same spot.

Gyrus certainly couldn’t disagree, not when that spot had him gasping and holding on tightly as Kodya worked him higher and higher, using one hip to brace Gyrus so that his other hand could return to pumping his cock.

Gyrus felt dizzy. His chest was heaving, arousal running thick and hot in his veins until he felt as if his entire body pulsed in time with his hammering heart. He was close—so close now!

“I see I have your full attention,” Kodya chuckled, increasing the speed of his hand. “Good. Now, for once, do as you’re told, and come for me.”

Gyrus was powerless to do anything but as Kodya squeezed his cock tightly and pressed against his sweet spot in the same instant. A ragged cry escaped him as release, bright and beautiful, arced through him like a breaking wave, crashing over him and leaving him fighting for breath as he tumbled on and on.

Slowly, his head began to clear as Kodya eased him down.

“So you can listen to directions after all,” Kodya teased, pressing a kiss to his sweaty brow as he gently wiped away the mess Gyrus had made of himself.

Gyrus nodded, still at a loss for words.

“Mmm.” Kodya stroked his cheek. “You seem tired. Perhaps we should get on with the main event and finish this up.”

“No!” Gyrus protested, shaking himself. “Not yet! There’s something I need to do first!”

He squirmed his way out of Kodya’s grasp, dropping to his knees and reaching for the buckle of Kodya’s belt.

“Hold on,” Kodya said, catching his hands as he undid the buckle. “You don’t have to do that—it’s not required for the ritual.”

“Maybe not,” Gyrus replied, meeting his gaze with determination. “But I want this marriage to start off on the right foot—with things equal between us. Which means whatever you give to me, I will return to you.”

A mixture of emotions crossed Kodya’s face, followed by a soft smile.

“All right,” he murmured, releasing Gyrus’s hands. “Give me all you’ve got.”

“Always,” Gyrus replied with a wink, sliding Kodya’s leather trousers down his legs and revealing the thick length of his cock.

He felt himself salivating at the sight. It was even more beautiful than he remembered.

Eagerly, he wrapped his hands around the base and brought the tip to his lips, lapping at the bead of precum that was gathered there. Salt and a flavor that was simply and uniquely Kodya burst across his tongue, and his lover let out a hiss as Gyrus began to lick him, flicking his tongue over the ridges and planes of Kodya's cock.

That’s it, Gyrus thought, taking Kodya into his mouth. Let me love you like you deserve.

“Gyrus,” Kodya moaned, rocking his hips gently. “God, don’t stop…!”

Gyrus didn’t intend to. Instead he widened his jaw, taking Kodya deeper into his mouth as he continued to work the demon’s cock with his lips and tongue. Then he began to bob his head, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Kodya’s powerful muscles bunched, his hand coming down to tangle in Gyrus’s long hair as he moaned encouragingly.

Spurred by Kodya’s obvious pleasure, Gyrus increased his pace, working his tongue into the mix. In response, Kodya’s fingers tightened in his hair, anchoring him in place as Kodya groaned and began to thrust into Gyrus’s mouth.

Yes! Gyrus thought, the embers of his own arousal sparking back to life at the delicious slide of Kodya’s cock in and out of his mouth. Yes, that’s it!

He braced himself, then angled his head, taking Kodya down into his throat. He swallowed, constricting the muscles there and Kodya let out a cry, pulling back partway as his release overtook him.

Salt and more of that decadent Kodya essence filled Gyrus’s mouth, and he swallowed it eagerly, easing Kodya down with gentle licks and strokes.

Groaning, Kodya pulled himself free. He looked down at Gyrus, his blue eyes blazing blue-white—only this time it wasn’t anger that Gyrus saw in those eyes. No, it was passion. The kind that threatened to sweep him off his feet and carry him off into the sunset.

“No more waiting,” Kodya rumbled. “It’s time to finish what should have been done eleven years ago.”

A moment later, Gyrus found himself pinned up against the rock face once more, Kodya bracing him with one arm as he used the other to maneuver his cock into position. Ducking to kiss Gyrus, Kodya thrust forward at the same time, his cock stretching Gyrus wide as it edged its way inside.

Gyrus clutched at Kodya’s shoulders, his fingers digging into Kodya’s skin as he tilted his hips, allowing Kodya to slide home. Both of them let out a groan as he bottomed out and Gyrus sucked in a gasp as the mark on his neck throbbed, sending a delightful shiver down his spine.

“Are you all right?” Kodya asked, lifting his head. He searched Gyrus’s face with a look of concern. “Did I hurt you?”

Gyrus shook his head, biting his lip as the heat within his core started to build, his desire and arousal skyrocketing.

“No,” he choked out. “But I won’t be held responsible for what happens if you don’t start fucking me properly!”

Kodya’s eyes blazed, and he seized Gyrus’s hips, pulling back before slamming forward once again. Gyrus cried out, tossing his head back as the sensation rocked him. He could feel every glorious inch of Kodya seated inside him, every brush of his lover’s powerful body against his. Their lips tangled in a kiss, and with every thrust, Gyrus spiraled higher, a sensation of weightlessness taking hold of him.

Kodya nipped at his ear, not missing a beat as he continued to drive them skyward together.

“My mate,” he growled, his hands vising on Gyrus’s hips. “You are mine—no one else’s!”

Gyrus could only nod feverishly, gazing at Kodya through half-lidded eyes.

How incredible his lover was! How strong and brave! Gone was the rough, carefree youth Gyrus had once known. In his place was a powerful man, a warrior hardened by pain and tempered by his dedication to his people. This was a man who would do anything for those that he loved, a man who would be a great king someday.

And he’s my husband. He’s really my husband—at long last!

The thought made Gyrus want to weep tears of joy, and he clung tightly to Kodya, release looming like a brightly dawning sun before him.

Kodya was nearing his limit too—Gyrus could sense it from the trembles wracking his limbs—and he put on a final burst of speed, his hips slamming forward, the sound of skin on skin loud in the silence around them.

Gyrus screamed, a full-body cry that shook him to his core as his mating mark flared, sending him tumbling over the edge into oblivion. He could feel Kodya falling with him, the two of them mingling for one glorious moment into a single being, one that was sent tumbling by waves of pleasure as their release took them.

Slowly, piece by piece, Gyrus came back to himself in Kodya’s arms. The smell of blood roused him, and it was through hazy eyes that he saw that he’d left deep claw marks on Kodya’s shoulders from where he’d dug his nails in.

“Heh,” Kodya chuckled tiredly as he noticed the cuts. “It looks like you marked me too.”

Gyrus smiled up at him dazedly, stretching up to kiss him.

They traded soft kisses then, as their gradually pleasure began to ebb. When at last their breathing had slowed, Kodya withdrew from his body, gently setting Gyrus back down onto the ground.

Gyrus’s legs wobbled, his knees buckling, but thankfully, Kodya caught him.

“Still just like a fledgling,” he murmured, amusement sparkling in his eyes.

Gyrus blushed and ducked his head. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t be,” Kodya replied, cupping Gyrus’s cheek tenderly. “There’s nothing wrong with being fucked so thoroughly that you can’t walk.” He grinned. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

Gyrus blushed harder, then let out a squeak as Kodya scooped him up into his arms.

“Come, my little bird,” the demon said, rubbing his nose against Gyrus’s affectionately. “I’ll carry you until your strength returns.”

At that, Gyrus laughed. “All right,” he said, resting his head on Kodya’s chest. “I suppose I’ll allow it.” He snapped his fingers, returning both of their clothing to it’s pre-mating state.

“Aww,” Kodya whined. “Did you have to do that? I was enjoying carrying you around naked.”

Gyrus giggled. “Yeah? Well, something tells me that our friends wouldn’t appreciate it nearly as much. Although they’d probably get a good laugh out of you marching back into camp with your pants around your ankles.”

“Fine,” Kodya said with a roll of his eyes. “You may have a point.”

Without further ado, he set off in the direction they’d come, his long legs quickly eating up the distance between them and their companions. By the time they returned, Gyrus was feeling strong enough to stand, and Kodya reluctantly let him walk the last few minutes, although the demon kept very close by, their fingers interlaced.

Maria was the first to spot them approaching, and got to her feet to greet them.

“Finally! What took you two so—oh!” she blinked, taking in their disheveled state and the half-healed bite marks on the side of Gyrus’s neck. “Well, I take it you two sorted out your differences?”

Gyrus smiled sheepishly, ducking his head.

“We did,” Kodya replied calmly, resting a comforting hand on the small of Gyrus’s back. “Which just leaves us one last mess to untangle.”

Nephthys grinned. “Well, that’s a delightfully simple way to look at it.”

“Hopefully, your recent fornication will provide you an opportunity to end the eternal bloodshed between Heaven and Hell,” Knox said, his red eyes unblinking. “I wish you the best of luck.” He offered them a double thumbs-up and Kodya rolled his eyes.

“Thanks. I’m sure that will make all the difference.”

Chapter Text

Fire and lighting flashed against the clouds; trumpets and war-cries rang out, and heavy footfalls shook the land, the odor of scorched flesh filling the air as the armies of Heaven and Hell tore each other apart in all corners of the Earth.

Above where the two armies met each other, floating high up in the sky, King Iro and Queen Amelia were locked in a deadly battle.

“Where is Kodya!?” Iro cried, shoving back against Amelia as their swords locked. “What have you done with him!?”

Amelia scowled at him. “How should I know what’s happened to that fool!?” she spat. “But with any luck, he’s dead and rotting at the bottom of some stinking pit, just like my son!”

“Your son was a filthy spy!” Iro roared. “He deserved what he got!”

“And your heir was a gullible idiot!” Amelia hissed. “He probably went and got himself killed out of sheer stupidity!”

Fury crackled between the two of them and they sprang back, Amelia lifting her sword to fling a barrage of golden arrows towards Iro. Iro’s eyes flashed a vibrant indigo and he flickered in and out of existence, controlling his personal timeline with ease.

The moment Amelia’s attack ended and Iro rematerialized, she was behind him in a flash of emerald light, swinging her blade at his neck. He shifted backwards, returning to his position from earlier in their duel and launching a blast of crackling energy at her, which she just barely managed to doge with another quick teleportation.

Panting, they squared off again, readying their swords before lunging at each other once more.

“This is awful,” Gyrus whispered, his eyes wide as he took in the terrible scene before them. They had just arrived from one of the portals that led to Earth, and already they had had to fight their way through a wave of both angels and demons who each mistook members of their group for the enemy.

“No shit,” Kodya grunted in agreement, sending the angel who had flung herself at him flying with one well-placed kick. “We gotta stop this—fast!”

Gyrus nodded, closing his eyes as he reached out with his senses for his mother. He could sense her battling with King Iro, and it seemed to be a dead heat so far. That was good.

“I’ve got their location,” he said, pointing skyward to the west of them.

“Good,” Kodya said, catching an incoming arrow that was aimed at his chest and casually tossing it away. “Neph—are you guys okay here?”

Nephthys nodded, looking up from where she was healing a cut on Knox’s arm as Maria laid down covering fire. “We’ll hold down the fort. You two do what you have to to stop this.”

“All right,” Kodya said, turning to Gyrus. “Let’s get going.”

He ducked and Gyrus braced himself as Kodya scooped him into his arms, taking a running start before leaping into the air and spreading his wings. A few powerful beats had them soaring upwards, leaving behind the earthbound combatants as they climbed into the smoky sky.

Kodya bobbed and wove as they flew, skillfully avoiding those engaged in aerial duels, and for a brief moment Gyrus closed his eyes, savoring the rush of the wind against his face. It had been too long since he’d last experienced the sensation of flight. And although he never would again—at least, not under his own power—a smile still tugged at his lips.

I may have lost my wings. But I won Kodya back. And that’s what matters the most.

Putting aside those thoughts for now, he opened his eyes again, focusing on where he could spot his mother and Iro up coming into view ahead.

“Mother!” he cried as Kodya drew level with the monarchs. “Stop!”

Amelia drew back, her gold-tipped wings flaring as her eyes widened.

“Gyrus!?” she exclaimed. “You’re alive!”

Iro looked equally shocked. “Kodya!? I thought you’d been kidnapped! You never arrived at Ragan’s outpost with your troops! What the hell are you doing here!? And with that bastard no less!”

“There is much to discuss, Sire,” Kodya replied. “And it is a conversation I believe we should all have firmly on the ground.”

Iro shot a distrustful look at Amelia. “I’m not going anywhere with her,” he growled, lifting his sword towards the angel queen.

Amelia’s icy eyes narrowed. “Likewise,” she spat, raising her blade.

“Enough!” Gyrus snapped, catching the attention of both monarchs. “I didn’t come all this way just for you two to behave like children! You’re the rulers of Heaven and Hell—act like it!”

Amelia and Iro traded shocked looks, and Gyrus could tell he’d startled them out of some of their anger.

“Just hear us out,” he said, more softly this time. “Please. I promise it will change your feelings about this war.”

Reluctant but curious, both monarchs lowered their swords and followed them as they glided towards a small patch of land that was free from any of the fighting.

We need to end this as fast as we can, Gyrus thought, grimacing as he watched several more bodies fall. But they’re going to want answers before they agree to stop the violence…

They landed, and Gyrus winced as Kodya set him down, his wings spasming slightly at the motion.

Amelia alit beside him, her face a mask of sorrow as she noticed his pain.

“What have they done to you, my dear?” she whispered, stretching out a hand towards his obviously ruined wings. Her sorrow quickly morphed into rage and she shot a furious glare at Iro and Kodya.

“Nothing I didn’t deserve,” Gyrus replied, catching her outstretched hand and squeezing it with both of his. “I did betray them after all, Mother. I knew the risks of doing so, and this was the price I paid for that mistake.”

Amelia’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Mistake?” she echoed. “The only mistake was mine for sending you on such a dangerous mission in the first place.”

Gyrus shook his head. “No,” he said. “The mistake was mine for agreeing to a mission that was based on lies and deception rather than actual peace.”

“So you admit to betraying us!” Iro snarled, stepping forward. “All those years in the dungeons and you refused to say a word on the subject!”

“How could he have when his memory was sealed away?” Kodya countered.

Iro snorted. “An easy excuse. And not one I’d expect you to believe, Kodya. Surely I taught you better than that.”

“It’s true, Sire,” Kodya said, unphased by the king’s rebuttal. “Gyrus locked his own memory away in order to protect us—from Don.”

Iro’s brows drew tight in a frown. “What’s Don got to do with any of this? And while we’re at it, where is he? I sent him to find you days ago.”

“He’s dead,” Kodya replied calmly. “By my hand.”

Gyrus had to give his husband credit—Kodya certainly knew how to make a dramatic statement.

Iro’s eyes were wide as saucers. “By your hand!?” he echoed, stunned.

“It’s true,” Gyrus said, drawing Iro’s attention. “Kodya killed him to protect you and the rest of your people. Don was after the Root. I had…information about it that he thought would help him find it.”

He and Kodya had both agreed not to tell either monarch that they had actually discovered the Root’s whereabouts, much less been to it, and with Knox’s help, Gyrus had been able to seal the location away within all of their minds. As much as he hated having gaps in his memory again, he knew this secret was too dangerous to run the risk of sharing—at least for now. And neither side was ready to learn about their shared past just yet.

Continuing his story, he said, “That’s why Don arranged to expose me as a spy and set things up so that you would want to keep me alive. So he could torture me for that information. Which he was unable to get because I had sealed it away.”

“Suffice it to say that he tried and failed to set us up again,” Kodya said, crossing his arms. “Which brings us to our present circumstance.”

“And, hearing all that,” Amelia said, her eyes flashing dangerously as she glared at Kodya, “you just expect me to stand here and make peace with you? After you tortured my son for eleven years and permanently crippled him!?”

“Mother, stop!” Gyrus pleaded. “We hurt them and they hurt us—no one is more to blame than anyone else! Which means we need to end this war before more people end up dying in the name of pointless revenge!”

“Oh, I assure you, Gyrus,” Amelia said, lightning crackling along her blade as she advanced towards Kodya, “my revenge will not be pointless at all! I’ll ensure he pays for everything that you’ve endured at his hands!”

Gyrus scowled, throwing an arm out protectively in front of Kodya as he leapt between them,

“That is my husband you’re talking about!” he hissed. “Tread carefully!”

“Husband!?” Amelia and Iro cried in unison, absolutely flabbergasted.

“What in the world are you talking about, Gyrus!?” Amelia sputtered. “The engagement was—”

“—A farce,” Kodya finished for her. “Yes, we’re all very well aware of that. However, Gyrus made a genuine proposal to me just a few hours ago. One which I accepted. He is now my husband—my mate—in full truth. See for yourselves.”

Gyrus unwound the ragged scarf he’d tied around his neck, revealing the marks Kodya had placed there only hours before, which had healed themselves into a clearly visible scar, just like the marks he’d left on Kodya’s shoulders. This was also something they’d agreed to keep private—at least until it was tactically advantageous to reveal it.

Iro swore, rounding on Kodya.

“Are you completely insane!?” he demanded. “Why the hell would you willingly mate with a man who betrayed you!? Who betrayed all of us!”

Kodya’s eyes softened as he looked at Gyrus. “Because I love him,” he said simply.

“You both can’t be serious,” Amelia whispered, the blood draining from her face. “If you’ve formed a marriage bond, then…”

“Gyrus will feel any injury that befalls me,” Kodya said, gently placing his hands on Gyrus’s shoulders. “And I will feel any pain he experiences—even that from the lasting wounds he sustained under torture. So you see, Amelia, I’m already paying what is due for the suffering I allowed him to endure.”

Gyrus swallowed hard. Truthfully, in the heat of the moment, he’d forgotten about that element of the bond. Once his mind had cleared on their journey to Earth, he’d felt so guilty for dooming Kodya to a life filled with an echo of the constant ache in his bones. But Kodya had sensed his guilt, and had assured him that he’d known that was how it would be and had made his decision in spite of that.

“We’ve made our choice about what kind of future we want to build,” Gyrus said, lifting his head proudly as he met the eyes of both his mother and Iro. “So, Your Majesties, it’s time you make yours. What’s it going to be?”

Chapter Text

Five years later…

Gyrus closed his eyes, smiling as he felt the warm sunlight playing across his skin. A gentle breeze stirred his close-cropped emerald hair and he breathed deep, soaking in the quiet and natural serenity that was his and Kodya’s home on Earth.

Following the long-overdue—and this time genuine—armistice talks, things in both realms had settled into an uneasy peace. It had taken a few years to fully dismantle the war effort on both sides, and there were still voices of protest from angels and demons alike, but most of the populace was simply relieved to finally be done fighting.

Gyrus and Kodya had headed up many of the peace initiatives that they had insisted upon including in the final treaty his mother and King Iro had eventually signed. Many of those included revisions to the education systems of both Heaven and Hell and hosting joint cultural events so that their people could begin to get to know each other on friendly terms.

Of course, not all of those efforts had turned out well, and there had been more than one building that had been struck by lightning or set on fire due to fraying tempers in the process—but it was working.

Bit by bit, angels and demons were starting to follow in the footsteps of their princes, learning to accept the mistakes of the past and move together towards a brighter future.

Gyrus opened his eyes, allowing his gaze to roam across the rolling hills and meadows that he could see from the terrace Kodya had built for him in their two-story wood and stone house.

He absolutely adored the terrace. It was his favorite place in their home, and he spent hours out on it every day, either sitting in one of the lounge chairs or leaning on the railing like he was now. Kodya had designed it specifically to catch the breeze that came in off the nearby forest, in part because it helped them get fresh air to the rest of the house when all the windows were open, but also because the feeling of the wind in Gyrus’s hair and through his feathers reminded him of flying.

The thought always filled him with bittersweet feelings. He missed flying terribly, and the frequent aches and pains—sometimes bad enough that they left him incapacitated for days at a time—were an unpleasant reminder of his time in the dungeons under Don’s brutal thumb. But he had come to accept life as an earthbound angel. It was part of who he was now, and he still believed that losing his wings had been worth everything he’d gained in the end. Thankfully, he still had his teleportation magic, so he was hardly without transportation—and Kodya often took him flying when they had spare time.

Speaking of whom…

A pair of warm arms came around his waist, gently drawing him back against a familiar broad chest.

“Hey, angel face,” Kodya murmured affectionately, leaning forward to press a kiss to his hair.

“Hello, Sunshine,” Gyrus replied, tipping his head back to look up at Kodya. “What brought you home so early? I thought you were meeting with Maria and Knox today.”

“I was,” Kodya said. “But I was able to wrap things up faster than I expected.”

“Mmm.” Gyrus relaxed against Kodya’s chest, drinking in the comforting feeling of his husband’s arms around him. “Liar.”

Kodya chuckled. “All right,” he admitted. “Maybe I fibbed a little bit.” He lifted his hands and gently began to rub Gyrus’s shoulders. “I could feel that you were hurting, so I ended my meeting a little early.”

Gyrus frowned. His wings hadn’t been particularly sore today, nor had any of his other old wounds.

“Not that kind of hurt,” Kodya murmured gently. “This kind.” He pressed a hand over Gyrus’s heart. “You were longing for the sky.”

“You’re right,” Gyrus admitted with a sigh. “I was.”

“Well,” Kodya said, bending down to scoop him up into his arms, “I don’t have any more meetings scheduled for today, and neither do you. So,” he grinned down at Gyrus, “shall we go for a little joyride?”

Gyrus’s heart soared and he nodded eagerly, wrapping his arms around Kodya’s neck and stretching up to give him a quick kiss as the demon stepped up onto the railing and leapt skyward, his leathery wings propelling them up with a powerful downward stroke.

As they climbed higher into the sky, towards the bright and shining sun, Gyrus laid his head on Kodya’s chest, feeling the cool wind chasing his sorrows and troubles away as it blew across his skin.

This life he had built with Kodya was more precious to him than anything. Their journey may have begun with lies and suffering, but all it had taken to turn their tragedy into a happy ending had been a little bit of trust—and a lot of love.

And that was how Gyrus intended to keep things. Because that was what they both deserved.