CHAPTER TWELVE
THE DEMON KING WHO WAITED FOR HER
by C.G.
How did she manage to locate him?
The question burned through Mako's mind the moment he saw her standing before him.
Shock, fear, and longing tangled painfully in his chest as his eyes met Linah's. Chains bit into his wrists, draining his strength, yet the sight of her hurt him far more than the restraints ever could.
He opened his mouth, ready to shout at the mysterious woman standing beside Linah—ready to curse her for guiding Linah into the underworld and placing her life in danger. But the words died in his throat when he saw the expression on Linah's face.
Her eyes were wide, glistening with tears and disbelief.
So it was him.
Her mysterious man.
The only man who had ever made her feel whole.
Tears streamed down Linah's cheeks as scattered memories collided inside her mind—past and present crashing together like waves against stone.
Her gaze traveled over Mako's wounded body, taking in every cut, every bruise, every sign of suffering he had endured alone.
Her heart pounded painfully as she fell to her knees before him.
"Mako…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
She leaned forward, trying to press a kiss against his forehead, desperate to reassure herself that he was real. But before her lips touched his skin, a slow, deliberate clap echoed behind her.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Linah froze.
She turned slowly and met the cold, mocking eyes of Mako's stepbrother.
Fear stabbed through her chest as memory returned—the cruelty, the malice, the hunger for power written across his face. But Linah straightened her back, forcing herself to breathe.
This was not the time for fear.
She had crossed worlds for love.
She would not run now.
Mako's stepbrother smiled darkly.
"How touching," he said. "The demon king brought to his knees by a human woman."
He raised his hand.
"Make him scream."
The warriors obeyed without hesitation.
Chains tightened. Whips cracked against Mako's skin. His body jerked as pain tore through him, but he refused to cry out.
Linah screamed instead.
"Stop!" she pleaded, rushing forward, but invisible forces shoved her back.
Mako's stepbrother laughed.
"You see," he said calmly, "this is what happens when kings abandon their thrones. Weakness follows."
He stepped closer to Linah, his eyes burning with greed.
"You have power," he continued. "Ancient power. Give it to me, and I will let him live."
Linah's breath hitched.
Her bracelet burned against her wrist, pulsing like a living heart.
"Choose," he commanded. "Your power… or his life."
Mako lifted his head slowly, blood running down his face.
"No," he said hoarsely. "Do not listen to him."
Linah shook her head violently. "They are killing you!"
"They will destroy everything if you give in," Mako replied softly. "The forests. The rivers. The living and the unborn."
His voice broke, raw and unguarded.
"I have waited for you across lifetimes," he whispered. "Not so you could die for me… but so you could live."
Tears blurred Linah's vision as she pressed her forehead against his despite the chains between them.
"I cannot lose you again," she whispered.
A surge of warmth flooded her body—ancient, familiar, terrifying. The ground trembled beneath her feet. Torches flickered wildly as shadows twisted along the walls.
Mako's stepbrother staggered back, suddenly uneasy.
"Bind her!" he shouted. "Before she awakens fully!"
But it was too late.
Linah closed her eyes, clutching her bracelet.
"I will save you," she murmured. "But I will not lose myself."
When she opened her eyes, they glowed faintly—not with darkness, but with balance.
Somewhere deep within the underworld, ancient beings stirred.
Across forests and rivers, ancestral spirits awakened.
The war was no longer only about bloodlines.
It was about the return of the woman who had once been silenced.
And this time—
She would not fall.
END OF CHAPTER TWELVE