Suspicion, Kairos decided, was far more dangerous than certainty.
Certainty could be dealt with—executed, erased, burned from history if need be. Suspicion lingered. It whispered. It waited.
And Lena Maren had become a whisper he could not silence.
From the high balcony of the demon court, Kairos stood alone, hands clasped behind his back as frost crept slowly across the marble rail. Below him, the beast grounds lay unnervingly quiet. Too quiet. The white dragon rested curled in the far enclosure, its massive body relaxed in a way no tamed beast ever was.
Not tamed, Kairos thought grimly.
Aligned.
He narrowed his eyes.
No spell had been cast. No incantation spoken. No mark revealed. The seers had found nothing—twice. And yet beasts that had known only blood and rage bent willingly toward her.
That was not magic.
That was worse.
A presence stirred behind him.
"You're thinking too loudly again," came a smooth, amused voice.
Kairos did not turn. "You're still here."
Marianne—former Demon Queen, mother, curse wrapped in silk—stepped into the moonlight, red robes trailing like spilled wine. She leaned casually against a pillar, inspecting her nails.
"You promoted a maid," she said. "That alone makes history twitch."
"She neutralized a white dragon," Kairos replied. "History can endure."
Marianne chuckled softly. "You didn't say she controlled it."
Kairos' jaw tightened.
"She didn't resist it," Marianne continued. "She didn't dominate it. She didn't bind it. The dragon chose her."
He turned sharply. "That is exactly the problem."
Marianne's gaze sharpened. "Ah. There it is."
They fell into silence, broken only by the distant crack of ice shifting in the beast grounds.
"She carries no mark," Kairos said at last. "No trace. No residue. And yet fate bends around her like a loyal hound."
Marianne smiled faintly. "Careful, my son. That's how men fall in love with storms."
His eyes flashed. "I do not fall."
"No," she agreed lightly. "You conquer. Or destroy."
Kairos said nothing.
Below, Lena emerged from the beast enclosure, laughter drifting faintly as the polar bear followed her like an oversized cub. Ashikai padded beside her, tail flicking.
Kairos watched as she scolded the fox playfully, then froze when the dragon shifted, its eye opening just enough to track her movement.
A guardian's gaze.
His fingers curled slowly.
"Beasts recognize rulers," he said coldly. "Not servants."
Marianne's voice softened. "Or they recognize truth."
Kairos turned away. "Truth is a liability."
---
That night, Kairos did not sleep.
He stood within the ancient observatory—a forbidden chamber beneath the palace, carved before demon kings had learned restraint. A circular pool of black water lay at its center, surface smooth as glass.
He sliced his palm without hesitation.
Blood dripped into the pool.
The water rippled.
"Show me," Kairos commanded. "Show me the anomaly."
The pool shimmered, images forming—Lena in the barn, laughing as beasts gathered. Lena kneeling before him in the court, defiant even in chains. Lena standing before Kion, unafraid.
Then—
Static.
The image blurred violently.
A shadow crossed the surface, swallowing her form.
Kairos' breath hitched.
"Reveal her," he snarled.
The pool darkened further, a voice rising—not the Oracle's, but something older.
She is hidden because you are watching.
His blood steamed.
"I command you," he growled. "I am king."
Laughter rippled through the pool.
And yet you are the lock.
The image shattered.
Kairos staggered back, fury radiating off him in waves.
"I will not be made a fool of," he hissed.
---
The next morning, Lena was summoned.
Not to court.
Not to trial.
To the private training grounds.
She arrived wary, Ashikai tucked close to her side.
Kairos stood alone in the arena, armor discarded, dressed simply in black. He turned as she approached.
"Do you know why beasts respond to you?" he asked without preamble.
Lena blinked. "Because… I'm nice?"
Silence.
Then, unexpectedly, Kairos laughed—a low, sharp sound.
"Wrong answer," he said, stepping closer. "But honest."
She crossed her arms. "If you brought me here to accuse me again, I'm really not in the mood."
His gaze searched her face—not her skin.
Not her hands.
Her eyes.
"You are not what you appear," he said quietly.
Lena held his stare. "Neither are you."
Something shifted between them—dangerous, electric.
Kairos straightened. "From this day forward, you will report directly to me."
Her heart skipped. "That's not—"
"You will handle no beast without my knowledge," he continued. "You will not leave palace grounds without escort."
Ashikai bristled. He's caging you.
Lena lifted her chin. "And if I refuse?"
Kairos leaned down, close enough that she could feel the cold radiating from him.
"Then I will assume you have something to hide."
She swallowed.
He stepped back.
"You are dismissed," he said.
As she left, Kairos remained still, watching her shadow stretch across the arena floor.
For the first time in centuries, the Demon King did not feel in control.
And somewhere—
fate smiled.
---