Free Bound by Love by Pia Veleno Page A

momentarily glowed with the purple-black whorls of shadowfire before settling to his usual shade of violet.
    Eden nodded, his long, blue hair falling over his face as he turned a small box between his fingers. It fit in the palm of his hand and sported a bright red ribbon wrapped around a miniature candy cane. The tag read, "For my guiding light." Eden had little internal light since his Fall, but to the demon half-breed, Eden was a beacon in a world overrun with outcast demons and humans seeking their sick kind of life. Even Fallen, the angel was stronger than most Bel had met in his time on Earth's surface.
    As Eden carefully peeled shiny white paper from the tiny box, Bel inched closer, leaning against Eden's shoulder, his gaze fixed on the package in the angel's hands. "Open it," he whispered fervently.
    "I am." Eden smiled at his lover's glee.
    As the paper fell away from a leather-bound box with miniscule gold hinges, Bel sat up and snatched the box from Eden's fingers. He opened it, and then turned it so Eden could see. Even Bel's excitement didn't shine in his eyes as much as the slivers of brightly colored gems decorating a wide gold band displayed on a bed of the softest scrap of cloth he could find.
    Eden's mouth fell open. He worked his lips, but couldn't form the words.
    "I love you, Eden. We may not be able to do the human thing and get married, but I want you to wear my ring as the love of my life."
    "Bel… That's…" Eden gulped and licked his lips. "It is beautiful."
    "Marry me, my guiding light." Bel took the ring from the box and lifted Eden's hand, sliding the cold metal around the angel's finger. A perfect fit.
    "We can't."
    "I know, but it only matters to us. We'll know what it means even if the humans in this area don't understand two men in love."
    Eden stared at the ring. The gems glowed with a life of their own —not life, magic— in shades of red, blue, and green, twinkling like the lights on the tree beside them. "I mean, we can't. I can't accept this, Bel. I just… I'm sorry, I can't." He tugged the ring off and shoved it back in Bel's hand. When he met Eden's eyes, the pain sank into Bel's heart like a heated dagger. He didn't expect the angel to understand Hell's customs, but clearly, Eden thought Bel meant the ring as its original purpose and not—
    "Eden, wait. Let me explain."
    Eden stumbled to his feet. Fat tears watered his eyes. He stumbled out of the room and out of the house before Bel could clarify his intentions.

Chapter Two
     
    Three days later, when Eden returned home, his head hanging low, Bel had already taken down the tree and the lights. He couldn't stand the decorations alone.
    "I'm sorry," Bel said when Eden arrived at their door. The angel looked as if he'd been sleeping in the streets, dirty hair tangled around his thin face and his wings drooping at his sides, blue-tinted feathers twisted and loose and dusty.
    "It is I who should be sorry. I reacted poorly and I—"
    "No." Bel raised a hand, silencing Eden. "It is done. Forget it happened. Will you stay, my guiding light? Please tell me you have not returned only to gather your belongings."
    "I love you, Bel."
    "That's all I need to know." Bel threw his arms around the troubled angel and pulled him into the house. He clung to him as if Eden had answered that he'd leave. "I love you. I thought I'd lost you. I am happy with what we have together, Eden. It's good enough for me if it's good enough for you."
     
    * * * *
     
    Bel avoided talking about it for five days and suspected Eden had finally given up on the matter. Bel didn't want the angel to feel obligated to explain his reaction because the demon doubted he could handle reliving the rejection. A part of him knew he should tell Eden that the ring hadn't been meant as a demonic binding of souls, but instead a profession of his love for the angel, but the other part of Bel knew Eden's quick mind and refused to believe his lover didn't know exactly what Bel intended