Gabriel opened his eyes and immediately wished that he was still unconscious. His head throbbed terribly, his body is a mess of aches, and the pillow in his arms kept wiggling. The demon turned his attention there with some confusion.

Xiang Yi glared up at him, his expression one of silent suffering.

Gabriel blinked a few times, trying to focus through the haze that had fallen over his eyes. His lashes brushed against Xiang Yi's cheek, making the man shiver.

"You did not need to knock me out to get me into bed," Gabriel said.

Xiang Yi twitched, visibly restraining himself from lashing out.

Gabriel smirked. He pulled Xiang Yi close and rolled on top of him, ignoring the man's grumbled protests and the sharp pain in his own chest. Xiang Yi smelled nice. Gabriel closed his eyes and turned his face into the man's neck, nosing at the collar of his robes until he reached skin. Slim fingers carded through Gabriel's hair after a moment of hesitation. Gabriel arched into the touch.

"Helcat," Xiang Yi murmured, "Never met another who fit the moniker better."

"I miss you," Gabriel said softly.

Xiang Yi stilled. Gabriel nudged against his hand with a plaintive whine. Xiang Yi resumed his careful petting, but his body remained tense.

"What happened?" Gabriel said.

"You do not remember?" Xiang Yi asked.

"I remember shouting at Rae," Gabriel said. "Did she finally decide to murder me for my insolence?"

"Rae did not touch you. You would have deserved it if she had, mind," Xiang Yi huffed.

Gabriel frowned in thought. He recalled his report on matters in Samodevia – the twin serpents, Beaufort Manor, Ira Hale and her unorthodox parentage. Rae had been less than forthcoming about her thoughts. Gabriel, already agitated, was not able to resist bringing up the matter with Dimitri. The conversation quickly devolved into shouting, despite Carmen and Xiang Yi's best efforts to keep Rae and Gabriel civil.

Then, there was an awful burst of pain, and the world bled to black.

"You fainted," Xiang Yi said.

Gabriel tried to smother himself in the soft silk of Xiang Yi's robes.

"Rae caught you before you hit the floor," Xiang Yi continued mercilessly, ignoring the demon's groan of shame.

"Why does my head feel as if it has been torn out and poorly reattached, then?" Gabriel grumbled.

Xiang Yi tugged at a tuft of red hair. "You will have to tell me. Rae carried you here – in perfect health, may I add. I came in a few hours ago and found you imitating a drowned corpse."

"So you decided to join me?" Gabriel asked, unable to resist needling the other man no matter the situation at hand.

Xiang Yi puffed out his cheeks in irritation. "I tried to pull the covers over you. You grabbed me and pulled me down. And did not wake up," the man snapped.

Gabriel's smile dimmed at the distress in Xiang Yi's voice. His state must have been frightening, to illicit such a response from the stoic man.

"You truly remember nothing?" Xiang Yi asked.

"I..." Gabriel frowned, "I believe I dreamed of something."

The demon focused inward, attempting to stitch the fragments of what he had assumed a particularly vivid nightmare into a coherent whole. A shock went through him, and pain so intense it doubled him over.

"Careful! You will reopen the wound!" Xiang Yi scolded. He helped Gabriel to a more comfortable position, then batted the demon's hands away so he could examine his chest.

"It has never healed," Gabriel said absently. His mind was far away – or rather, contemplating how far it had gone.

"You were with him," Xiang Yi guessed.

There was no accusation in his tone, no bitterness. Gabriel found it difficult to meet the man's eyes nonetheless.

"Yes," Gabriel said.

Xiang Yi frowned. "You have not bonded fully. You should not be able to share his pain to this extent."

"We have exchanged blood," Gabriel said, purposefully ignoring Xiang Yi's misconception regarding the cause of his collapse. Gabriel had not merely felt Dimitri's pain; he had been able to reach through the fledgling bond between them and shield Dimitri's mind, through a great distance and the many seals keeping Samodevia and Hel apart.

"That is hardly enough," Xiang Yi said, then added, "You should inform Rae."

"I would not dare waste the Queen's precious time with such unimportant matters," Gabriel said coldly.

Xiang Yi muttered something about stubborn demons, but did not press the issue. He would not break Gabriel's confidence. Not over a personal issue of no relevance to the Queen or the lands Below, at least.

That did not mean the man was done fretting, however. "Mari might be able to help. She has experience with soul bonds, however unorthodox."

Gabriel considered the suggestion, which spoke to his state of mind better than anything he could have expressed in words.

The matter of soul bonds was still largely a mystery. Not many demons discovered their Anima – the mortal creature who carried a demon's lost soul. Those who did would traditionally consume the soul without care for the fate of its host, perceiving the act as their right. Rae's partnership with Carmen was an oddity, and it gathered a lot of scorn among demon nobility.

Mari's response to discovering her Anima in a dark elf of the Sixth Kingdom was even stranger, in that the demoness took no action at all. In fact, had it not been for Master Sonn's interest in the matter of Anima and shared souls, the two would have likely remained as strangers. They were now friends, as Gabriel understood. It was more than he had once thought he would want with a mortal.

It was far less than what he wanted with Dimitri.

Gabriel lay on his side, facing Xiang Yi's worried face. Gabriel reached for the man and twisted a strand of silky black hair between his fingers. It slipped through his hands like water.

"Mari hates me," he sighed.

Xiang Yi bore the attention silently for some time. Gabriel made an unhappy noise when the man finally shuffled away, and was shushed in return.

"I need to retrieve something from the nightstand. Let me up," Xiang Yi bid.

Gabriel let the man go reluctantly, and sat up himself. Xiang Yi's eyes dipped down the demon's chest briefly before snapping to Gabriel's face. His pale cheeks flushed ruddy red.

"Why must you always be naked," the man said.

"Is that a complaint? Mind you, it would be the first in this vein. Although..." the demon leered, "I was in no state to take off my clothing. Perhaps you would like to confess something, most honorable Adviser?"

Xiang Yi should be growing redder, temper flaring with embarrassed anger at the crude teasing. Gabriel was thus surprised when the man smirked at him instead.

"Oh, no. You regained consciousness long enough to strip. In front of Rae. While, I hear, muttering about dust bunnies."

Gabriel winced internally. Rae would not let him live through this with his dignity intact. He let his head drop back against the pillows with a sigh, resigning himself to colorful teasing. "Dust bunnies are a bane."

"And nudity helps, how?" Xiang Yi asked.

"Less places for them to hide."

Xiang Yi's expression suggested that he had too much to say and nothing to say at the same time, and would Gabriel not like to go visit the Healers and get his head checked out, just in case? Gabriel laughed quietly.

Xiang Yi's face softened. "Here."

The adviser placed a scroll on Gabriel's lap. He pulled the covers up over Gabriel's stomach first, shooting the demon a weak glare. Gabriel smiled serenely.

"What is this?" he asked.

"A present from Mari," Xiang Yi said.

Gabriel arched a brow. "If it is another grammar lesson, I will be returning her a pile of ash."

"That is precisely what she requests you do," Xiang Yi said calmly. "After you memorize the contents."

Gabriel unrolled the scroll. His eyes flit over lines of runes inked by Mari's own hand with increasing fervor.

"This," he began, voice a croak.

"Mari does not hate you," Xiang Yi told him. "You will find us all rather fond of you, and invested in your happiness."

Xiang Yi slipped out of the bed. He paused at the bedroom door, his eyes on Gabriel worried but resolute.

"Be careful," the man said.

Gabriel watched Xiang Yi leave. Words of gratitude and love stuck in his throat, unsaid.

His fingers traced a careful path over the scroll and the words that held his key to the Lands Above.

To Dimitri.

***

Lord Richard Greoff was growing increasingly irate.

The man shifted in place. The Zero standing guard in front of Simon Whitead's office turned empty eyes his way, scrutinizing him as she would a potential threat. Lord Greoff held his tongue with some difficulty. Sharp words would not get Simon there faster. Insults were certainly wasted on Zero. The training Simon's pet troops underwent produced excellent results. Unfortunately, it also made Zero soldiers about as personable as cows.

The hallway was empty and had been so for the past half-hour. Lord Greoff's impatience was steadily being tempered by curiosity. Simon had retired to his office directly after dinner, excusing himself from their long-standing engagement of chess and wine to tend to pressing paperwork. Lord Greoff smirked. He was starting to suspect paperwork was code for another, much more pleasant pastime. An intimate partner would do Simon much good, he thought. The man had been too stiff around the neck as of late.

The Zero soldier went from utter stillness to swift motion with such fluidity that it took Lord Greoff a moment before he even realized the woman was no longer at his side. His eyes caught on the object of the Zero's focus. The lacquered box he held almost slipped from his hands.

"Michiko? Tell me the blood is not yours!" Lord Greoff exclaimed.

Lady Kiku looked startled. Dark eyes darted from Lord Greoff to the door of Lord Whitead's office. She held her blood-crusted hands cupped in front of her chest, as if in a prayer.

"Richard. I- I am unharmed. This is," Lady Kuku glanced at her hands, paling further. "Is Simon not in?" she asked instead.

Lord Georff drew closer, pulled forward by the uncertainty in his friend's voice. "He is not. I have been waiting nearly an hour now."

"I see." Lady Kiku wavered for a moment. Her eyes dipped to the box in Lord Greoff's arms. "Is that Sabine's gift?"

"Yes. I want to leave it in her office as a surprise, so I need the spare key from Simon," Lord Greoff said.

Lady Kiku smiled wanly. "It is unlike you to avoid recognition for your efforts."

Lord Greoff cleared his throat, attempting to hide his fluster. "She will know it is from me. It has been a long trip home. I am sure she would prefer to relax in privacy her first night back."

"You are kinder than you let on," Lady Kiku teased. Lord Greoff was relieved to find that her voice had lost its wooden quality.

"Has the prisoner been giving you trouble?" Lord Greoff asked, and watched Lady Kiku's face deaden anew.

"Not more than usual," Lady Kiku dismissed. Her eyes slipped away. "I believe I will retire. Good night, Richard."

"Good night to you, as well. Or what is left of it."

Lady Kiku nodded, expression distant. Lord Greoff watched her walk away. His lips pulled down into a frown. He resolved to discuss the fate of team 2-7 with Sabina once she arrived. The matter should be brought to her attention, as a member of the Court. Lord Greoff suspected that she would take particular interest in the case.

Sabina MacLean's connection to Elsendorf ran deep, after all.