The palace did not sleep.
It breathed.
Seraphina felt it as she walked the upper corridors—an ancient awareness humming beneath the stone, watching, judging. Every torch flame seemed to bow as she passed, every shadow stretching just a little too far.
Kael walked beside her in silence.
He hadn't touched her since the training chamber.
That absence was louder than any embrace.
"You're being watched," he said at last.
She didn't look at him. "By whom?"
His jaw tightened. "By someone who doesn't need eyes."
She stopped.
Kael halted instantly, his attention snapping fully to her. "What is it?"
She pressed a hand to her chest. "It's like… something is pulling at me. Like the air knows my name."
For the first time, Kael looked unsettled.
"That's not possible," he said slowly.
"And yet," she replied, "it's happening."
A door appeared at the end of the corridor—one she hadn't seen before. Tall. Black. Etched with symbols that seemed to shift when she tried to focus on them.
Kael cursed under his breath.
"You should not be here," he said.
"But I am," she answered.
The door opened on its own.
The chamber beyond was vast, circular, lit by a single throne carved from obsidian and bone. Power saturated the space—heavy, ancient, suffocating.
Someone sat on the throne.
He rose.
Tall. Broad. Terrifyingly calm.
The Devil King.
Kael dropped to one knee instantly.
Seraphina froze.
The Devil King's gaze fixed on her—and lingered.
"So," he said, voice deep and resonant, "this is the woman who has unbalanced my son."
Kael stiffened. "Father—"
"Silence," the Devil King said mildly.
His eyes never left Seraphina.
"You do not kneel," he observed.
She swallowed, heart racing—but she did not bend.
"No," she said softly. "I don't."
The Devil King smiled.
Interest sparked—sharp and dangerous.
"How refreshing," he murmured. "Tell me, little human… do you know what happens to things that disrupt my realm?"
Kael moved instinctively closer to her.
She felt it—the shift in him. Protective. Ready to burn the world.
"They change it," Seraphina said.
The Devil King laughed.
Low. Dark. Amused.
"You have courage," he said. "Or ignorance."
"Sometimes," she replied, "they look the same."
Kael's breath caught.
The Devil King descended the steps slowly, circling her the way predators did—not hungry, but curious.
"You have awakened forces you do not understand," he said. "My son's restraint is legendary. And yet… you crack it effortlessly."
Seraphina felt Kael's presence behind her—solid, anchoring.
"I didn't ask for this," she said.
"No," the Devil King agreed. "But you were chosen."
He stopped in front of her.
"Tell me," he said quietly, "do you love him?"
The question sliced through the air.
Kael's control wavered—just for a breath.
Seraphina didn't look back at him.
"I trust him," she said instead.
The Devil King studied her, then nodded slowly.
"Good," he said. "Love can be exploited. Trust is far more dangerous."
He turned to Kael. "If she breaks, she dies."
Kael's voice was deadly calm. "She won't."
"And if you break?" his father asked.
Kael didn't hesitate. "Then the realm will burn."
Silence fell.
Then the Devil King smiled again—this time with approval.
"Very well," he said. "Let us see how long you survive each other."
With a flick of his hand, the chamber dissolved.
They were back in the corridor—alone, breathless, shaken.
Kael turned to her instantly, hands gripping her arms. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head. "But he sees me."
"Yes," Kael said hoarsely. "And now you're truly in danger."
She stepped closer, pressing her forehead to his chest, feeling his heartbeat thunder beneath her palm.
"You're shaking," she whispered.
"So are you," he replied.
His arms wrapped around her then—tight, protective, real. Not claiming. Not teasing.
Needing.
"If anything happens to you," he said quietly, "I will lose myself."
She tilted her head up, lips close to his. "Then don't lose me."
His breath stuttered.
For a moment, nothing existed but them—danger, desire, destiny coiling together.
"This is how it begins," Kael murmured. "The part where the world decides to punish us."
Seraphina smiled softly. "Let it try