I am Truth.

Or...

No, your god did punish you?" He lets it sit, then clicks his tongue and leans in closer.

"I believe your god gifted you Angelescu. That is why you were not punished. You did nothing wrong. You were only claiming what belonged to you in the first place.

If your god did not wish for you to have that seraph all to himself, wouldn't he have lived just like the rest? Unseen by your eyes? Perhaps he would have just been another subject, and you would not have cared."

He releases Aurelius' wrist.

"Why think so hard about it?

Aurelius's eyes dart instead, gaze flickering erratically between Sebastian's brows and nose, a clear sign of his unsettled thoughts. The hand that's freed goes instantly to push against the demon's chest while blood rushes to his face.

He can't decide whether he's more angry or humiliated. Small flickers of distress, like errant fires, try to travel across his bond with Klaus before he stamps them out viciously to keep their connection carefully calm. His partner has enough burdens to carry without him adding on more.

Klaus was his—was his—isn't, no, no—

"God," he pushes out, half speech and half prayer, "would want us,"

"to serve Him equally. An abomination like you—"

He has to stop, pathetically, to catch his breath; Aurelius gulps down air the next instant before spitting out between gnashed teeth: "—would never understand His grace."

Or is this what happened after, leaving Vanth less than whole when his partner isn't within arm's reach? Vanth speaks of sides, but as far as Aurelius is concerned, they had found a quiet truce. Attending their wedding was a token of acknowledgment, however grudgingly he gave it. Nothing else should have come between them after that.

And yet Sebastian induced him to make a terrible mistake, one that Klaus avenged at a grievous price to his heart.

"I did nothing to incite this," Aurelius retorts, before admitting, "I never got the chance."

"You lost yours when I was robbed of my choice."

When he learned that Klaus had killed Vanth as well as Sebastian in their last encounter, a heavy sense of inevitability had settled in his chest. It isn't that they had to come to heads—it was that Sebastian could never be content with peace.

Demons were always destined to doom those by their side.

"I told you I wanted to save you. You said you were better off with him, a creature who delights in ruining others. Did you not understand his nature from the start?"

It is the first time he's touching Vanth without his divinity in this backup city, so Aurelius holds firm, his stare relentless.

"He's ruining you just as he ruined us. He'll destroy that other mortal next, the prince foolish enough to cast aside his lot just to stay by your side."

His other hand pries off the one gripping his wrist, entwining their fingers instead.

the fade is cold and dark. it lacks colour, except for the same shade of green that is forever etched into his arm. this, perhaps, is the opposite feeling.

the inquisitor is not falling into the fade, or stumbling out of it. he is not hurt, not sickly, there is no burn in his left hand anymore, no nerves alight with pain. all there is is warmth. it fills his chest until he feels he could breathe forever, until he feels larger than life. intimate had been an appropriate thing to call it— he feels aurelius' power connecting to muscles beneath skin.

little others have ever reached that far with such gentleness. his breath stumbles.

it's meticulous work. he's not sure what he expected. certainly not that aurelius would create these wings feather by feather, connecting each with a detailed focus. there are a hundred eyes on the inquisitor at all times, and suddenly they're all here, in a single man.

he opens his eyes— he hadn't realized he'd closed them again. the light is near blinding to somebody unused to it. he doesn't think to try it yet, moving them with only his thoughts, but he shrugs his shoulders to feel it out, listening for the rustling of feathers.

his eyes are wide when he looks at aurelius, more yellow than green in the shining light.

' now?, ' he asks quietly.

Like the note of a song, the echo of a hymn.

"Yes," he breathes, expression softening to a smile. "How lovely."

"Well done."

It is as harmonious as he'd hoped—no, much better, since Iloren had trusted him the entire way. Even his eyes have taken on the divinus's own colors, miniature suns reflecting his own radiance back.

"I think you look quite beautiful with them," Aurelius adds honestly, and moves to take Iloren by the hand. "Come and look with me? There's a mirror in one of the rooms downstairs."

"You are correct. I do not know anything." Yet, he can wager a guess. At that, he grins.

He's right.

Aurelius's hands spasm in Sebastian's grip, never managing to reach their mark. Even when the hard surface of the wall digs into his shoulders a moment later, the angel only stares, a slow chill crawling up his spine.

Curiously, though, Aurelius’s words seemed to soften something in Adolin. His expression was still troubled, of course, but he let out another heavy sigh, trying to pull himself back together. Aurelius wasn’t a bad person. He was just storming difficult. “I’m not blind, Aurelius. And I’m not going to pretend Sebastian isn’t a chull-brain sometimes. But even he can change, if he wants to.”

The first step toward making a change was admitting how difficult it was - he remembered the conversation he’d had with Sebastian at the bar. And, storms, he wanted to believe that was true.

Stupid man.

How sweetly the fattened hen sings before it's set out for slaughter. How much worse for a bird who's already suffered a fatal fate once, and yet returns for more.

What was it with these demons? How could the people they hurt still come crawling back to them for more punishment when Aurelius gave them a more obvious alternative?

What was there to love about a demon who only offered pain with his promises? Keep his humanity, like hell.

"Do you think he'll let you make that choice?"

"The only reason he's kind to you is because you humans break too easily. You think he can change? Is that what he tells you? That he'll try for your sake? For Vanth's? Do you honestly think his words are worth trusting?"

Aurelius takes hold of Adolin's other wrist too, dragging it away from the wound he so fruitlessly tries to hide.

It's almost as if Sebastian had just read Aurelius' mind in knowing what he really wanted to say. His words overlapped with Aurelius'. "Come, now. You and I both know that is how it is supposed to be." He paused, head tilting, that same smile on his lips.

"I did not lie to you. I only spoke the truth. Think about it, Angel." Now, Sebastian pushes back, standing tall and towering over Aurelius with a smirk.

"How many years have you lived? Compared to your beloved Seraph? How many of his kind have you met? Yet, out of all of them, Angelescu was sent your way. Am I wrong?"

But having lived through part of those beliefs himself, they sing to his heart like a siren's song. Coaxing. Beckoning.

And it isn't as if Sebastian is wholly wrong. Why else would his Father have denounced Anghelescu from Heaven, only to fall at Aurelius's hand years later when he objected to that rule? He'd paved the way for Anghelescu's return with his own hands, even going so far as killing anyone who tried (dared) to take the seraph's place—

"Stop. A test, you—"

"What do you know? All you do is talk and talk, you abhorrent thing."

"So I stayed anyway. Plus at the time if I really broke out and went back to my own gals I think they would've killed me. Or tortured me enough that I felt like I wanted to be killed."

Whichever came first. Though neither was really a good option in the long run...

"You speak of such things so lightly," he mumbles.

"But it couldn't have been comfortable, being tormented like that."

He turns his head a bit to stare up at the ceiling next. The lights up there are plain and unforgiving.

He'd be damned if anything were to happen to him again.

I love you. I love you.

"Whatever is the matter, Aurelius Vane-Tempest?" It's only natural that once Aurelius regained himself, he'd come searching for Sebastian. The Demonlord made himself known for that very reason. To see the look on Aurelius' face, and it certainly has not disappointed!

"I do not see anything that I did wrong," he goads, with a light chuckle. This would warrant Aurelius' anger, probably. Or at least ignite it, because now he's slammed against the wall. Sebastian's chuckle turns into an amused laugh.

"Ah, perhaps you did not like the gift I gave you? I had thought you, most of all, would be happy to have Angelescu alllllll to yourself. Did you not enjoy any of it?

Worse than falling victim to a demon was falling prey to your own desires.

Of course he'd enjoyed it, and the thought is sickening enough that Aureilus slams Sebastian into the wall a second time.

"Shut up."

"You lied to me, just as you've always done. I'll burn your tongue off if you utter that name again. He's—" His voice stutters.

He's mine

“Aurelius, stop” - he demanded, his eyes lifting from his wrist to the angel’s eyes, serious and unwavering. “Can we talk like civilized people?”

Once again, he tried to pull free of his grip, a heavy sigh escaping him. Storming man and his storming habit of assuming everything about everyone, all the time.

“Actually, I think about your words a lot” - he began, trying to gain some ground there. But then Aurelius’s eyes settled on his neck, and Adolin immediately felt exposed, knowing very, very well that he understood what it meant. The laugh made something inside him twist, and without thinking, Adolin raised his free hand to cover the bite mark.

What was it about temptation that lured humans astray every time, even with full knowledge of their folly?

"Narrow-minded," he finds himself parroting back the accusation, breaths shallow. "You say I'm narrow-minded."

"Have you considered how you're just naïve?"

His grip on Adolin doesn't waver—ironically, it feels like the only thing keeping him anchored to the human when the rest of prince's heart and mind has already turned. It's painfully reminescent of Vanth's goodbye before he chose the demon too, and Aurelius's soul rankles with the injustice of them both.

Yes, they could choose as they like. He wasn't so petty as to force them otherwise, but couldn't he object to their choices, even a little bit?

"If he's betrayed you as many times as he's lied to me—" he breaks off, laughing again. "The nature of a demon will never change."

It all happened so quickly, and yet instinct made him expect Maya to appear in his hands. Only to realize, first, that she wasn’t there. And second, that the person who had so rudely grabbed his scarf was none other than Aurelius.

“What in the raging winds? That was a gift, Aure—” - he began to complain, only to be cut off when Aurelius caught him by the wrist.

If the gesture itself hadn’t been enough, the angel’s tone made it perfectly clear that he was not pleased. With a sigh, Adolin made no attempt to pull away, but neither did he seem intimidated as he spoke.

“It’s a pleasure to see you too.”

Apparently, being welcomed by Aurelius would always be quite an event.

Still, though Adolin initially felt inclined to tease him about the situation, he decided not to dodge the other man’s question.

It's Sebastian again.

Instead of letting go, Aurelius's grip on Adolin tightens before he pulls the other towards himself. He almost moves to purify the human before realizing that he can't, and the ring of flames that shows up in place of holy power encircles the man's wrist, licking at his skin without actually burning anything.

He can control that much, at least.

"Why would you—" he begins before trying again, "How could you even entertain the thought of—"

"Do my words mean nothing to you?"

Was truth so easily cast away in this world? He'd warned Adolin against Sebastian, and the man went prancing into his clutches anyways—albeit for Vanth's sake.

"You let him get this close to you, just to keep ahold of Vanth?" His eyes skim the other for marks, finally alighting on the all-too-obvious injury on the prince's neck.