Elias woke up to warm breath tickling his nose.
He opened one eye.
A pair of glowing red eyes stared back, inches from his face.
"AAHH—!"
He flailed backward, falling off the cot with a thump. His head hit the stone floor and stars danced in his vision. anwhile, the tiny horned nace—wrapped like a burrito in his spare blanket—blinked innocently down at him.
"You make weird noises," she said.
"You were hovering over my face like a curse!"
She tilted her head, horns glinting in the lamplight. "Wanted to see if you stopped breathing."
"...That's not reassuring."
"You didn't."
"Also not comforting!"
She crawled to the edge of the cot, small fingers gripping the mattress. "I was... scared. You were far."
"I was asleep! On the other side of the sa tiny room!"
She flinched slightly and looked down. "Didn't like it."
Elias sighed and rubbed the sore spot on his head. "Right. Separation anxiety. Of course."
The silence between them settled like dust—light and oddly peaceful. She didn't cry or throw a tantrum. She just... watched him.
Like he was the only steady thing in her entire world.
Stars help .
He climbed back up, reached for his waterskin, and caught a glimpse of his hand.
The mark.
Still there.
Still glowing faintly like a brand beneath the skin.
He turned his hand in the lamplight, eyes narrowing. Last night, he'd been too shocked to look closely. Now, though...
The rune was more complex than he first thought. A shifting array of symbols nested within the horned crown: a ring of sigils, all ancient.
He recognized one.
Elden script. Demon-kin magic. Soulbond class. Forbidden tier.
He swallowed.
"Alright," he said aloud, trying to steady his voice. "Let's figure out what you did to , little gremlin."
"I'm not a gremlin," she mumbled into the blanket.
"You bite, cling, and hiss. You're a gremlin."
She gave him a sleepy glare.
Later That Morning...
Elias sat cross-legged on the floor, an open to of ancient runic studies spread in front of him. Beside it lay a second, half-burned manual of demonology he "borrowed" from the restricted stacks back when he was still pretending to be a model student.
The girl—still naless—was chewing on the corner of a cushion and staring at his palm.
"See this mark?" he said, pointing at the rune on his hand. "This is called a Binding Crest. Very old. Very illegal. You cast it last night."
"I did?"
"You bit ."
She blinked. "I was hungry."
"That was my shoulder, not food!"
She shrugged. "Tasted nice."
Elias sighed.
He turned back to the to. "A blood pact like this links souls. You and , we're connected now. If you get hurt, I'll feel it. If I get too far, you'll panic. If one of us dies..." He stopped.
She stared at him blankly.
"...Well. Let's not test that."
She curled up beside him, her tail lazily flicking. "You're... warm."
"That's not relevant to the contract."
"You're mine now," she added with complete conviction, as if claiming a toy.
Elias deadpanned. "No. I'm your... temporary caretaker. Guardian. Maybe therapist."
She didn't respond. Just smiled, a little too smugly.
He turned the page of the demonology book—and stopped cold.
There, etched in old charcoal ink, was an illustration of a contract crest nearly identical to the one on his hand. The description below sent a chill down his spine.
"Mark of the Seventh Crown: Seal of Dominion. Used in the Ascension of the Demon Queen Revantra, forged through blood and soul during her final cycle of rebirth..."
He read the words three tis.
"...No way."
He turned to look at the girl curled up beside him.
She was now trying to fit her entire foot in her mouth.
"No. No, no, no. You can't be her. You're a child!"
She blinked innocently.
"Revantra was seven feet tall and burned down kingdoms. You're three feet and snacking on my socks!"
"I'm not a snack," she mumbled. "I'm Revantra."
Elias felt sothing cold crawl up his spine.
The book hadn't said "Demon Queen" as a title. It called her a fragnt of Revantra. That ant...
She wasn't reborn fully. Just partially. A sliver. A piece.
And she'd bonded to him.
He leaned back and covered his face with both hands. "I'm going to be executed."
Knock knock knock.
"Elias?" ca a familiar voice from the hallway. "Guild inspection. You in there?"
Elias bolted upright.
"Crap, crap, crap—hide!"
Revantra blinked. "Where?"
"Anywhere that isn't visible!"
She looked around, then stood, calmly walked over to the open dresser, and climbed inside.
He slamd it shut, turned to the door, and composed himself.
"Yes! I'm here! Coming!"
He opened the door to find Guild Officer Maren standing with a clipboard and her usual suspicion.
She sniffed.
"Slls like brimstone in here."
"I, uh, tripped over a potion vial. Burnt the floor."
She raised a brow. "You're not allowed to brew. Or cast. Or touch flammable materials unsupervised."
"Exactly. Which is why I shouldn't be blad."
Maren gave him a long look. "You're acting weird."
"I'm always weird."
She marked sothing on her clipboard. "I'll be back for an arcane sweep tomorrow. Any contraband will be reported."
Elias nodded quickly, sweat beading on his brow. "Wouldn't dream of breaking protocol."
She squinted at him one last ti before walking off.
He closed the door, turned, and opened the dresser.
Revantra was sitting inside, looking bored.
"Your Guild lady slls like soap."
"You were supposed to hide! Not... comnt on the hygiene of the enforcent division!"
"You told to not be visible."
He wanted to scream.
That night, Elias tried sleeping on the cot while she curled up on the floor in a nest of towels.
She didn't last ten minutes.
She crawled back up in silence, plopped beside him, and snuggled into his side.
He didn't stop her this ti.
"...You're warm," she whispered again.
"You said that already," he murmured.
"It's true again."
He looked down at her, studying her face in the moonlight. Soft. Scared. Strange. There was power there—but also... vulnerability.
He couldn't imagine how lonely she must feel. Fragnt of a demon queen. Lost. Confused. Bonded to the first idiot who stumbled into her prison.
He sighed.
"...Alright, kid. I'll keep you safe. For now. Until I figure this out."
Her tail curled around his waist.
"Forever?"
"No. Not forever."
She yawned. "Forever."
And Elias didn't have the heart to argue.
To be continued...
Reviews
All reviews (0)