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hallucination, Eden stood, clinging to an end table for support. His dagger still rested in the center of the floor where he'd marked his long ritual of prayer. He wondered what day it was and if what he'd seen had been a vision meant to warn him from continued prayer, or relieve him from it. He shook his head. It didn't matter how long he had to remain motionless, he'd continue the vigil for his lover.
    Dropping to his hands and knees, Eden crawled to the dagger and knelt before it. He folded his hands in prayer and bowed his forehead to the floor. With his face averted, he smelled the shadowfire before he saw it. Turning his head to one side, he gasped and then rolled away. He grabbed his dagger as he moved, holding it out between his body and the portal as he swayed onto his feet and fought the urge to black out with the sudden change in elevation. Not again—
     
     
    —Beliaz stepped through the portal in full demon form. He would not be surprised if he ended up back at his father's throne room, or worse, at a deeper, more sinister level of Hell. He braced for anything as the shadowfire consumed him and carried him through to his destination.
    Exhausted, his body refused to cooperate though his will remained strong with thoughts of his lover. Beliaz stumbled out of the portal and spread his wings to break his fall. Black wings with blacker veins snaking and weaving through their translucent skin wrapped around his body, shielding him as he tumbled.
    He heard the warlike scream and kept his wings wound tight until he felt the dagger sink through the joint of his right wing and into his chest. When the dagger disappeared, so did his strength. "Eden…" He barely heard the name falling from his lips as unknown hands peeled his wings back like a layer of an overripe onion.
    " Eden? " Bel blinked and reached for the angel. T oo skinny , sunken and starved, but still his angel, Eden ' s brave face hovered over Bel ' s, full of fear and hatred, but it was him. He ' d recognize the love of his life after centuries away. " My g uiding l ight, " he whispered.
    The angel batted away his hand and stood over him. "What did you do with Bel?" he demanded. "I'll torture it out of you if I have to, you son of a bitch."
    "My mom wasn't—" Oh, right, Eden had not seen his full demon form since the fateful night Bel yanked him from the sky. Occasionally during fights, or sex, he would partially shift, but he'd always retained some control. Not once had he subjected Eden to the full impact of his father's genes since the night they'd first met. "It's me, Eden. Remember me?" He tried to shift, but he couldn't summon the energy required to force his body into its human form.
    Eden raised the blade over his head, hatred burning in his eyes, vicious and alluring like the blue flame of a gas stove. "I will not entertain such nonsense from a demon!"
    "Remember, you've seen me like this." Bel pushed with his will and searched his body for any little bit of energy to fuel a change. "Remember the night we met. You saw me when we fought. When you hit me with that light. When…"
    His face burned. He hoped it was enough. He hurt too much and he couldn't tell the pain of shifting from the exhaustion and wounds inflicted by Kimi-Ari and his father's grunts.
    "Please… Eden…" He raised a clawed hand, still razor sharp, wishing to touch his angel one more time before his pleas failed.
    "Oh shit! Bel!" The dagger clattered to the floor and Eden threw his arms around the fallen demon. "I'm so sorry, Bel. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh, Bel, I swore I'd never hurt you." He knelt beside the demon and pressed his cheek to the palm of Bel's dangerous claws.
    "What's with your mouth?" Bel groaned. He touched Eden. His angel. His love. So real.
    Eden pressed his small, thin fingers to the wound he'd caused. Even as gentle as Eden could be, Bel hissed in pain, his eyes swirling with shadowfire as they rolled back in his head.
    "Don't. Just…" Each word pained Bel to