When Ivan awoke the next morning, it was to sunshine in his eyes and a soft, steady warmth pulsing like blood through his veins. The demon shivered at the rapturous sensation; a gentle touch landed on his horn.

"You okay, big guy?"

Ivan opened his eyes to meet Alfred's concerned gaze. The angel was propped up against the pillows next to Ivan. He must have been up for a while: Alfred's hair was carefully brushed and he was wearing the military uniform that Ivan had gotten for him years ago, the one that he had not worn since the Nightmare Basilisk case. Although the jacket looked a little tight across the shoulders, the uniform still fit Alfred well. Ivan drank in the sight.

Odd. Ivan hadn't noticed Alfred leave the bed at all. Ivan usually woke up whenever the angel so much as twitched in his sleep. Was Ivan more tired than he thought after the events of yesterday? His hand crept to his chest, where the heat that flowed like molten honey originated. The chill in his bones, that persistent specter of winter—when was the last time that it had felt so faint? The shards of ice that seemed to coat his heart year-round since he was a child, too, seemed to have their edges dulled by the pleasant warmth of the summer sun.

Ivan shivered again. Alfred was a miracle, and Alfred was his—

Slim fingers grazed his cheek. "The bond isn't hurting you, is it? Taking in all that Light magic was probably a shock to your system…"

"I am fine, dorogoy." Sitting up, Ivan smiled at his consort. "I feel better than I have in years." Besides the warmth, the Dark general could feel the thrum of fresh energy through his body, bright and invigorating.

Alfred returned the smile a little hesitantly. "That's good," he murmured. "There's always a bit of a risk. The research on what happens when a halo is given away has been inconclusive, at best. The sample size is so small…" Alfred mumbled to himself for a few seconds, looking distracted, before he refocused his attention on Ivan. "You're meeting with the officers again today, right? And I can come?"

"Da, we will be finalizing the plans for the campaign. I cannot guarantee anything, but I will lend you my full support."

Alfred nodded. "Good enough. Can you take off my bracelets?"

The demon raised an eyebrow as he slid the enchanted bands off. "Is there a particular reason you want them off, lapochka?" Alfred generally preferred that they stayed on.

"I can give my glamour more of a boost with my magic," the golden blond explained as he preened his feathers. "It used to help, sometimes, when I was giving the troops their commands. Gave me a bit more authority."

Hm, that was interesting. Ivan hadn't known that Alfred could magnify his glamour, but it made sense that his charisma was linked to his power. Back during the war, on the tundra, there were times—

A sudden thought crossed Ivan's mind.

"How does Compelling work, Fredka? You mentioned it yesterday, but I'm not sure…"

"Oh, it's really simple. Just say my name, and what you Compel me to do. Here, try it." Alfred tucked his wings closed.

Ivan set the bracelets on the nightstand. "Alfred F. Jones, I Compel you to give me a kiss."

The halo-ring on Ivan's right hand glowed briefly—a wave of warmth surged within him—and Alfred leaned forward to press his lips against Ivan's. The kiss was light and sweet and tasted of cardamom and apricots, and a lingering haze of pleasure settled over the demon.

Ivan sighed, smitten, as Alfred drew back with a giggle.

"Just Alfred is fine," the angel chirruped. "And you didn't have to Compel me for me to do that." He looked at Ivan from beneath his long lashes. "Don't Compel me too often, though, 'kay? It's a drain on my magic, and I get tired easily."

"Of course, solnyshko." Ivan affectionately ruffled his consort's hair, and Alfred gave an indignant squawk.

"Ivan! I spent so long brushing it, you're messing it up!"

Chuckling, Ivan got up from the bed for his morning ablutions. "You have enough time to get ready before Toris arrives with breakfast. We will leave for the meeting after we eat."


"The stronghold is designed to be impenetrable, and the city is self-sustaining, so the angels won't surrender even if you lay siege to it for decades. There's a secret tunnel that only General Williams and I know about, though, and I can use it to get inside…"

Ivan's attention slipped from his consort's words as another cardamom-and-apricot-scented wave buffeted him. Perched in the chair next to Ivan's, Alfred didn't seem to notice as the demons around the table collectively shuddered.

Ivan now understood how Alfred was able to maintain such impressive command over his troops: the angel's glamour was really, really strong. After Ivan gave the Compel—the halo-ring flickered to acknowledge the order—Alfred had straightened up and, almost mechanically, started to explain the strategy. The delicious scent of summer fruit immediately wafted through the room, and Alfred began to shine faintly with Divine magic.

It hurt Ivan's eyes to even stare at the angel for long—the glamour was so powerful—and Alfred looked so beautiful and assured, so confident and mesmerizing as he spoke, that Ivan's pants were tightening uncomfortably.

Frankly, it was all very distracting. Ivan had only been able to catch one sentence out of every ten that came out of Alfred's mouth.

The platinum blond surreptitiously crossed his legs under the table.

"Thank you, General Consort Jones," an officer on the opposite end of the table cut in as Alfred enthusiastically delved into descriptions of the booby traps he had invented to protect the stronghold. "It is very helpful to know all this, especially the information about the, ah, flesh-eating robotic rabbits. It is not that we doubt the reliability of your intel," the demon nodded to the halo-ring on Ivan's hand, "but the stakes are tremendously high. Truth be told, we are not completely certain of how your… arrangement with General Braginsky works. Before we commit to your plan, we would require a more tangible proof of your loyalty to our side." The officer's voice grew rough; he cleared his throat. "We might be convinced if you submitted to us in your current state, fully cognizant and magic unfettered…"

"What?" The temperature in the room abruptly dropped as Ivan reached for the pipe inside his coat. He was going to be a few officers short before the hour was up, and the king would be displeased, but Ivan could not remain passive at the sheer audacity of these bastards, to demand his consort—

"Ivan, stop." Alfred's hand was on his arm, preventing him from drawing out the metal pipe.

"Am I hearing right? If I let y'all fuck me, you'll follow my plan?" The angel's tone was skeptical. "And you won't hurt General Williams?"

"Er, I would not put it so bluntly—"

"Yes or no."

"…Yes." The officer's face was expressionless.

"Alfred," Ivan seethed. "You cannot honestly be entertaining this ridiculous request."

Alfred leaned close until his mouth was against the demon's ear. "I have to save Mattie. Master, please. I want to."

Ivan reluctantly relinquished his hold on the pipe when he saw tears well up.

"Fine," the Dark general spat. He turned to the other demons in the room with murder in his eyes. "Alfred will submit to you. He will be in the barracks at seven. Do not mark him. You may have him for two hours. You are dismissed."

Smirking, the officer who had brought up the idea departed. The other demons followed, murmuring amongst themselves.

When the last officer left, Ivan slumped in his chair, drained. "I do not like this, Alfred."

"I know, Vanya. I don't like it either," Alfred admitted. "But they won't listen to me, and I need their cooperation for this to work. Besides," the former Light general forced a smile, "it's nothing I haven't done before."

The room got colder, at that.


Ivan made another futile attempt to absorb the contents of the paragraph, his twentieth so far, and at last set down the book with a sigh. Almost two hours, and Ivan had only gotten through five pages. It was useless; the only thing he could think about was Alfred. Allowing his consort to be ravished by other demons—what had Ivan been thinking? It was unequivocally the dumbest thing Ivan had ever done, and every iota of his being was regretting it.

Were the officers being gentle with Alfred? Was Alfred okay? Was Alfred thinking of Ivan?

Ivan gnawed at the inside of his cheek, upset. He didn't think that Alfred would assent to the officers' ridiculous request. His twin brother must mean a lot to Alfred, for the angel to sacrifice so much.

Did Alfred's brother realize how fortunate he was? How precious and rare Alfred's love was? Surely, he must.

It was silly, to wonder if Alfred would ever treat Ivan so dearly. The vain hope nevertheless flitted across Ivan's mind. To have Alfred one day display such concern over Ivan, to be so loved…

The golden blond was guarded; his trust did not come easily. In the time that Ivan had known him, Alfred had only shown true vulnerability a handful of times, and most of them were related to the current situation with his brother. Otherwise, Alfred hid behind enticing, easy smiles and pretty words.

Although he rarely opened up, Alfred was friendly towards everyone. Alfred did not know the effect he had on people. It was like he never noticed the way that people looked at him, didn't cared about the interest and longing and desire in the gazes directed at him. In the human world, he exuded charm and charisma effortlessly, liberally—

But…

Was Alfred really so oblivious?

Uncertainty uncoiled in the pit of Ivan's stomach, viper-like. Ivan wanted to believe that Alfred, sweet Alfred, was so gullible and naïve, but there was no way, with all that he had been through in Francis' palace, that his consort was actually so clueless. Alfred had been trained as a pleasure slave. Before he entered Ivan's care, Alfred had slept with scores of demons.

Ivan would not hold it over Alfred. Alfred hadn't been given a choice, hadn't been willing, Ivan knew. Alfred hadn't even known that he had a choice, at first, when he became Ivan's. His consort had made so much progress over the past two years; hearing Alfred articulate his consent never failed to ignite a spark of pride in the demon.

That was, until a few hours ago.

Had Alfred intentionally amplified his glamour, knowing the effect that it would have on the officers, on Ivan? Had he wanted to fornicate with the officers?

Frost began to form on the arm of the settee.

The angel never showed a sign of being anything but faithful to Ivan. He didn't reciprocate the

flirtatious advances of humans on his dates with Ivan; didn't even acknowledge them.

But that was when Ivan was there. What did Alfred do in the human world when Ivan wasn't?

A layer of ice had coated the fabric of the settee. Ivan leaned against the back. The thin sound of cracking ice filled the room.

Alfred wouldn't… Would he? Would Alfred invite a secret lover into their apartment when Ivan was not around? Share another's bed?

Ivan's grasp tightened on the arm of the settee. A fine dusting of ice floated to the floor.

Alfred wouldn't. Last evening, as Ivan made love to his consort, the ring on his right hand had

been glowing, emanating a steady warmth.

It was cold and dull on his finger, now. That had to mean something, right?

Biting his lip, Ivan stood up and headed to the bathroom. Alfred would probably appreciate a bath after his ordeal.

He was enough for Alfred, he had to be—

On the velvet, the ice beaded into droplets of cool water.