Of all the beings that existed in this literal gods-forsaken world, the one that just had to walk into Xiran’s prison was a fucking angel.

Even dead, the gods still delighted in fucking with him.

The angel in question stopped short as soon as he caught sight of Xiran. His snow white wings folded around him as he landed silently on the flood of the cave. Nearly everything  about him was pure white – his skin, his hair, even the pristine robe that draped over his muscular body. Only his eyes were a bright blue. He stared at him, all nine of his eyes blinking in confusion. “You are… a demon.”

“Did the horns give it away?” Xiran rolled his four eyes and sat back on his heels. It was as far as he could move with the chains holding his arms in the air. “Feel free to leave now.”

“But there is a human smell coming from this cave.” The angel eyed Xiran suspiciously for a moment. Then his gaze swept up Xiran’s naked body, finally coming to a stop at the chains. “Those have been Blessed?”

“You’re quite the observant one, aren’t you?” Xiran sighed deeply. Given his predicament, starting shit with an angel wasn’t the smartest idea. But given that he’d been lured and trapped by a fucking human of all things, he started questioning his intelligence a long time ago.

“Where would humans even acquire Blessed chains? And of such a length.” The angel stepped closer, tentative at first, but his curiosity overrode his suspicions. “Surely they did not receive them from another angel.”

“Who knows?” Xiran shared the same thought. But given how things had become with the outer realms… “The better question would be, why the fuck do they still work?”

The angel flinched, and Xiran almost felt bad for bringing up his dead creators.

“That is indeed intriguing.”

Xiran scoffed. “Look. As you can see, there are no humans who need saving here. So if you’re done with your little excursion, could you kindly fu– leave? Please?”

The angel looked down at him, his pure white hair cascading over his shoulder as he tilted his head. “You wish to remain here?”

Xiran jerked, the movement rattling the chains. For a moment, he only stared at the angel. “What?”

The angel stepped around him, his pure white wings brushing against Xiran’s bare thigh. Xiran bit the inside of his lip to stop the shudder that ran up his spine at the brief touch. “What are you doing?”

“It would be little trouble to release you.”

Xiran turned to look back at the angel. “For what?”

“I do not understand.”

“What do you want?” Xiran looked away, mentally screaming at the idea of being indebted to an angel. Even another demon would have been preferable. At least then he would have some idea what to expect. But what would an angel even ask for? It’s not like he had ever been one. He had been born in the Underworld, not turned like the Forebears. He took a deep breath. “Nothing’s free. So unless you name a price and I agree to it, don’t touch these fucking chains.”

The angel fell silent behind him long enough that Xiran glanced back to see if he was still there. The being looked down at him, his blue eyes blinking in a discordant rhythm. Xiran looked away, wary of becoming entranced by them.

“How long have you been here?”

“Two months.” Xiran looked towards the entrance of the cave. “At least, as far as I can tell. I kind of lost count at some point.”

“No.” The angel stepped back into his view. “I mean, how long have you been in this world?”

Xiran frowned. “I came in the sixties. What’s it to you?”

The angel frowned. “My name is Iriel.”

“I didn’t ask.” Xiran looked away, sinking back on his heels again. A fresh gush of blood poured from his knees, slicking the stone beneath him. “Why are you still here?”

“Despite what you are, I can not bring myself to leave you here in such a state.”

“Then name a price.” Xiran closed his eyes, cursing himself for even considering this. “Or fuck off.”

“What are they like?”

Xiran let out an exasperated groan. “Gods, could you stop with the cryptic questions? What are who like? The gods? Demons? The fucking Hari Krishnas?”

Iriel frowned down at him, the eye in the center of his forehead squinting angrily. “The humans who have imprisoned you.”

Xiran sighed. “Bored little assholes. Nothing special. They caught a demon and keep asking it to kill their enemies. As if they couldn’t do it themselves.”

“And you refused?” Iriel tilted his head again, his hair shining in the light from above. “Is that why they have kept you here?”

“Yep.” Xiran didn’t feel like explaining himself. Especially not to an angel.”

“Are you not lonely?”

“I prefer the quiet.”

“You could easily have killed them.”

Xiran’s gaze snapped up to Iriel’s face. “Did you really just say that?”

“I only mean that you are a demon. You have the strength, surely.” Iriel slowly scanned Xiran’s body again. “How did they manage to divest you of your clothing?”

“They didn’t. I was naked when they found me.”

“Why?”

“Because I was bathing in the lake.”

“Why?”

“What are you, a fucking five-year-old?” Xiran squeezed his eyes shut and took several deep breaths. When he was mostly sure that he could keep his voice steady, he spoke slowly. “Are you going to name your price or not?”

Iriel stepped closer, his head falling back as he looked up towards the hole in the ceiling of the cave. “I find myself envious of them.”

Xiran frowned. “Again, could you be more specific? Or are you saying you, too, want to capture and imprison a demon?”

“No, nothing of the sort.” Iriel looked down at him, a small smile on his lips. “I mean, I am envious of humans. They are free to find solace and comfort in each other, unaware of all of those lonely beings hiding among them.”

“If you’re hiding, why did you come into a cave because it smelled like humans?”

Iriel sighed. “A moment of weakness.”

Xiran cocked his head. “You thought you were going to find a human here and… what?”

Iriel looked away. “I am not sure. I did not think it through.”

A thought slithered into Xiran’s mind. He nibbled on his lip ring, looking up at Iriel. After a moment, he took a deep breath and spoke before he could stop himself. “Fuck me.”

Iriel went so still that Xiran couldn’t tell if he was even still breathing. Finally, the angel turned around and met Xiran’s gaze. “Are you asking me to… have sex with you?”

“Well, I didn’t ask, exactly,” Xiran said, suddenly embarrassed. “But it seems like you want to get laid, and I want to get out of here. So why not?”

“That is not what I meant when I said–”

“Isn’t it?” Xiran arched an eyebrow. “You came to a cave in the middle of nowhere looking for a human because you were lonely. What else were you going to do, have some tea and chat about the weather?”

“I would not touch a human in that way.” Iriel glared down at him. “It is forbidden. As is coupling with a demon.”

“Oh, please. The gods are dead.” Xiran didn’t miss the pain that shot through Iriel’s expression, but he said it so bluntly on purpose. He never would have imagined wanting to have sex with an angel, but if it got him out of the chains without being in debt, then he would gladly let the angel play with him for a bit. “No one is going to punish you for coupling with me. And at least I can handle it. You’d probably break a human – if not physically, then definitely mentally.”

Iriel stared at him, his nine eyes unblinking. “Sex is not solace.”

Xiran chuckled. “Then you haven’t had good sex.”

Silence fell between them. Xiran racked his brain, trying to come up with another way to convince the angel to accept his proposal.

“And how do I know that you will keep your end of the bargain?”