The first thing I took note of when I woke was the silence.
The silence was the heavy and watchful kind of quiet that pressed against one's skin like a warning.
The chamber was dim, with the only source of light being the flame burning low in a black iron sconce. Shadows clung to the walls, stretching rather unnaturally, shifting as though they were living beings.
But I wasn't alone.
I sat up rather quickly, dizziness washing over me. The silk sheets slid down my arms, unfamiliar and cool. This wasn't my room—if I even had one yet.
A figure stood near the window.
Tall. Still. Watching the storm outside as lightning split the sky.
Kael Draven.
"You're awake," he said without looking at me.
My heart kicked violently against my ribs.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough."
"That doesn't answer my question."
He glanced over his shoulder, silver eyes glowing faintly in the dark. "You screamed in your sleep."
I frowned. "I didn't—"
The memory hit me like a sharp blade.
Fire. Chains. Shadows closing around my throat.
I swallowed hard. "I didn't scream."
"You did," he replied simply.
I pushed the covers aside and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. My bare feet touched the cold stone floor, grounding me once again.
"Why am I here?"
Kael turned fully now, his expression unreadable as usual. "Because the curse surged while you were asleep."
I froze. "What?"
He crossed the room in slow, measured steps. Each one made the air feel heavier.
"You were burning with magic. The mark was glowing through your skin. If I hadn't brought you to my chambers, the palace wards would have reacted."
"Reacted how?"
"Violently."
My fingers curled into the fabric of the nightdress I had no memory of putting on. "So you brought me here."
"Yes."
"And you stayed."
"Yes."
Something twisted uncomfortably in my chest. "You could have left."
"I could not," he said quietly.
The bond stirred at his words—warm, insistent, binding.
I hated that my body reacted before my mind did. It made my blood boil.
Kael stopped an arm's length away. "You need to understand something," he said. "The curse is no longer dormant. It's learning you."
"Learning me?" I echoed.
"It adapts," he said. "Feeds on emotion. Fear. Anger. Desire."
My breath hitched. "That's convenient."
His gaze sharpened. "That's dangerous."
Lightning flashed, illuminating the sharp contours of his face. For a moment, he looked less like a king and more like a weapon forged from darkness.
"What happens if it finishes learning?" I asked.
Kael didn't answer immediately.
And that scared me more than any lie.
"It will demand payment," he said finally.
"Payment for what?"
"For keeping you alive."
The silence that followed was deafening.
I stood. "You should have let me die."
His eyes darkened instantly. "Do not say that lightly."
"Why?" I demanded. "Because the curse won't allow it? Or because you don't want to lose what you own?"
The shadows surged.
They curled around his feet, crept up the walls, the temperature dropping sharply.
"I do not own you," Kael said, voice alarmingly low. "But I will not allow you to die."
I laughed bitterly. "You make it sound noble."
He stepped closer. Too close. "It is not me being noble," he said. "It is me doing what's necessary."
The bond flared—pain and heat colliding in my chest. I gasped, staggering back.
Kael caught me instantly, his hands firm on my arms. "Breathe," he commanded.
"You're fighting it again."
"Get—off—me," I hissed, though my fingers betrayed me by clutching his sleeves like it were their last lifeline.
"You are afraid," he said.
"No," I snapped. "I'm angry."
His grip tightened just enough to ground me. "Anger feeds it too."
The pain eased slowly, leaving me shaking.
I hated how safe and secure I felt in his hold.
Kael released me reluctantly. "You cannot keep resisting blindly," he said. "You need to learn to control it."
"And you plan on teaching me?" I scoffed.
"What—how to be a monster?"
His jaw clenched. "Wrong. How to survive."
I turned away, pacing. "Everyone looks at me like I'm already dead. Or worse—like I'm dangerous."
"You are dangerous," Kael said calmly.
I spun. "Excuse me?"
"You are bound to a curse that has destroyed kingdoms," he continued. "Your emotions trigger magic you don't understand. And yet—" His gaze softened, just slightly. "—you still think like a regular mortal."
I didn't know whether that was an insult or a compliment.
A knock sounded at the door.
Kael straightened instantly. "Enter."
A servant stepped inside, head bowed. "Your Majesty. The council requests your presence."
Kael's eyes flicked to me. "Tell them I am currently unavailable."
The servant hesitated. "They insist it concerns… her."
My stomach dropped.
Kael smiled faintly. It wasn't reassuring. "Of course it does."
The servant fled.
"You're not going," I said.
Kael raised a brow. "That was not a question."
"They're planning something," I pressed.
"You know they are."
"Yes."
"And you're just going to walk into it?"
He stepped closer again, his voice dropping. "This court does not move unless I allow it. And anyone who plots against you—" His fingers brushed the bond unconsciously. "—signs their own death contract."
I shivered. "You enjoy this too much."
He didn't deny it.
Kael turned toward the door, then paused. "You will remain here."
"No."
He looked back slowly.
"I'm not your prisoner," I said firmly. "If they're talking about me, I should be there."
"That is precisely why you will not be there."
"Kael—"
"That is an order," he snapped.
The shadows seemed to retreat at his voice.
I met his glare, heart pounding. "You don't get to decide everything."
"I do," he said softly. "That is the cost of belonging to this crown."
The words hit harder than they should have.
Belonging.
He opened the door, then hesitated. "Lock the wards," he told the shadows. "Nothing enters. Nothing leaves."
The door shut behind him with a heavy thud that screamed finality.
I stood alone in the dim chamber, the storm raging outside, the bond humming beneath my skin.
I pressed a hand to my chest, breathing slowly.
If this was the cost of survival—
Then I needed to decide something very quickly.
Whether I would let the devil protect me.
Or whether I would learn how to stand beside him on my own—
And become something just as dangerous and feared.