CHAPTER TEN
THE DEMON KING WHO WAITED FOR HER
by C.G.
The night Linah decided to leave, the air around her felt different — heavier, restless, alive.
She stood alone in her room, the city lights flickering through the window like distant stars that no longer felt close enough. Her heart ached with a longing she could not explain, a pain that lived deep in her bones, older than this life.
She lifted her wrist and stared at the bracelet.
It pulsed softly against her skin.
"I don't know where you are," she whispered, her voice breaking, "but I am coming."
As her fingers closed around the charm, images flooded her mind — flashes she had never lived yet somehow remembered.
A forest. Firelight. A man kneeling before her, calling her his wife.
Blood soaking the earth. Her scream as darkness swallowed her life.
Linah gasped, falling to her knees.
"I was married," she breathed. "I was killed…"
Tears streamed down her face, but they did not weaken her. They hardened her resolve.
"You are my soulmate," she said to the unseen man bound to her spirit. "And I won't lose you again."
The bracelet grew warm.
Far away, beneath stone and chains, Mako's chest tightened painfully.
The Woman from Beneath
The wind inside Linah's room shifted.
The lamps flickered.
Then the shadows thickened — folding into a shape that stepped forward as if the darkness itself had chosen form.
Linah froze.
The woman stood before her, no longer floating, no longer hidden — her eyes heavy with regret and ancient sorrow.
"You see me now," the woman said softly. "Because your memory is waking."
Linah's heart pounded. "I know you," she whispered. "I don't know how… but I do."
The woman nodded.
"You have known me across lives. I was promised to the man you love."
Pain crossed her face.
"But he never chose me."
Linah stood slowly, her fear mixing with recognition. "Why are you here?"
"Because your soulmate is dying," the woman replied. "And this time… there will be no rebirth if he falls."
Linah's breath caught.
"He is imprisoned beneath the world," the woman continued. "Drained by those who fear his return. His father's bloodline seeks to erase him completely."
"And me?" Linah asked.
The woman's gaze sharpened.
"They fear you more."
Linah's memories surged again — charms, rivers, spirits bowing, her hands glowing with power she once wielded without fear.
"You are the only one who can reach him," the woman said. "You are not just his love. You are his shield."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Linah straightened.
"Take me to him."
The woman searched her face. "Do you understand what you are choosing? The underworld does not forgive humans who walk its paths."
Linah lifted her bracelet.
"I already died once for him," she said. "This time, I will fight."
THE PROMISE
As the woman turned to open a path between worlds, Linah pressed the bracelet to her lips.
"I'm coming," she whispered through tears. "I miss you. Your touch. Your presence. Please… hold on."
The charm flared with sudden heat.
Chains rattled in the darkness.
Mako gasped as her voice echoed through their bond.
"No," he whispered hoarsely. "Linah… don't."
For the first time since he was crowned king…
For the first time since he walked into the underworld without fear…
Mako felt it.
Failure.
He closed his eyes, his heart breaking as her presence wrapped around him like warmth he did not deserve.
"I failed to protect you," he murmured. "And now you walk into death because of me."
Above him, unseen by guards or spirits, the air trembled.
The bond between king and soulmate burned brighter than blood.
And the underworld felt it.
End of Chapter Ten