Lyra pov:
Next Morning
I woke up to pale light slipping through curtains I didn't recognize.
My body felt heavy, like I'd spent the night wrestling with something I couldn't name. When I finally dragged myself to the mirror, the face staring back was someone else — dark circles under my eyes, skin pale, looking like I'd gone ten rounds with sleep and lost.
Would zombies even exist here?
The thought came out of nowhere. I almost laughed. In a world where demons sat on thrones and kings talked about eating hearts, why not zombies?
I pushed the thought away and splashed cold water on my face.
By the time I stepped out of the bathroom, towel still wrapped around my head, my mind was already running. Breakfast. Cathy. The engagement. The Dragon King. Too many things, all tangled together, none of them clear.
I wasn't looking where I was going.
That's why I screamed.
He was sitting on my bed.
Like it was his. Like he had every right to be there. Legs crossed, back straight, one hand resting on his knee. A king on a throne, except the throne was my mattress and the sheets were still messy from my restless sleep.
"Mr. Demon Jer— I mean, Demon King."
The words came out too fast. I smiled. It felt wrong on my face.
He raised one eyebrow.
*How dare he sit there like that?* I kept the thought behind my teeth.
"I am a king," he said.
I stared at him.
"I own every part of this world." His voice was calm. Easy. Like he was talking about the weather. "This bed. This room. This castle."
He paused.
"And you."
My breath caught.
"Your life."
My hand flew to my chest. My heart. He meant my heart.
He stood up in one smooth motion. I stepped back without thinking.
"Let's eat," he said. "I want my heart to be healthy. So I can enjoy it one day."
My palm pressed harder against my ribs.
He walked toward the door. I thought he'd leave without another word. But at the doorway, he stopped.
"Come quickly. You have much to do today."
A glance over his shoulder.
"Bring that woman with you."
Then he was gone.
I stood there, towel still on my head, water dripping onto the floor. My heart was pounding. My mind was full of questions — the pendant, the Dragon Clan, the things Cathy had hinted at, the way he talked about my heart like it was already his.
But the way he looked at me. The way he spoke. They weren't in the mood to answer anything.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror.
Fine.
I had a plan.
I knew someone who could answer my questions.
I smiled. Small. Secret.
------------------
I found Cathy's room at the end of the corridor. The door was plain. Quiet. Like she was trying not to be noticed.
I knocked twice.
"Come in," she said, her voice small.
She was sitting on the edge of her bed, hands in her lap. When she looked up and saw it was me, something in her face shifted. A breath she'd been holding. A small sigh — not scared, not sad, just... relieved.
"Let's go eat," I said.
"I'm not hungry."
I sat down beside her. Close enough that our shoulders almost touched.
"Mr. Demon King specifically said we have to come to breakfast."
She didn't react.
"And if we don't go," I added, lowering my voice, "he'll probably eat my heart."
The corner of her mouth twitched. Just a little. But something in her shoulders relaxed.
I smiled.
"Cathy. Can I say something?"
She nodded.
"Whatever situation we're in, there are some things we shouldn't say no to."
"What things?"
"First — food." I held up one finger. "If we eat, at least we'll have energy to run away." I paused. "And saying no to food? That's a sin. A big one."
She stared at me for a moment.
Then she smiled. Small. Fragile. But real.
"Okay," she said.
I smiled back.
We stood up together and left her room.
-----------------------------------
The corridor stretched out in front of us, cold and shadowed, but for once I didn't feel like running.
We walked for maybe ten minutes. The castle was a maze — halls leading to halls leading to more halls — and I'd stopped trying to remember the way. I just followed, Cathy quiet beside me.
When the doors opened, I stopped.
The room was huge. A small house could have fit inside. The ceilings went up so high the shadows up there seemed to belong to another world. In the middle stood a table so long I couldn't see the far end. A dining table. But I'd never seen a dining room like this. Not in movies. Not in dramas. Never.
Lucian was already at the head.
He didn't look up when we came in. He didn't need to. His presence filled the room without trying — it just was, and everything else existed around it.
He lifted one hand. A lazy wave. "Come here."
We walked toward him.
"Sit," he said. "We have things to discuss."
I sat. Cathy sat beside me. A maid appeared, placing dishes in front of us — bowls steaming, plates of food I couldn't name, cups of something that smelled like tea but darker, stronger.
Lucian didn't look at Cathy. Not once. His eyes stayed on the spoon in his hand, turning it slowly, watching the light catch on the silver.
*Overbearing. Typical pig.*
"Mr. Demon King."
He didn't look up.
"I have a question. Can I ask?"
"Say it." he replied flatly. No interest.
I took a bite of food, chewed slowly, tried to look casual.
"What if... suppose... what if I don't agree to this whole engagement thing?" I kept my voice light. "What will you do? Since you've already called all those clans and everyone..."
The fork in his hand slammed into the table.
The sound cracked through the room.
I choked. Food caught in my throat. My hand went to my mouth, but I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, because he was looking at me.
He leaned forward. Just a little. Just enough. His eyes held mine, and the air between us turned heavy, thick, hard to breathe.
"This," he said quietly, "is what I will do to you before I rip your heart away."
His voice was soft. That was what scared me. Not shouting. Not a threat thrown across a table. Just words, said calmly, each one landing like a stone.
I nodded quickly. "hehe" i gave a nervous laugh
"If you say it like that, who wouldn't understand?"
Beside me, Cathy had gone still. Her hands were in her lap. She wasn't eating. She wasn't even breathing.
Lucian picked up another spoon. Calm again. Like nothing had happened.
The big doors opened.
Two men walked in. One was familiar — Martin, the one who'd dragged me into this mess, the one who'd summoned me here like a package. The other was younger, built solid, the kind of presence that made you notice him even standing still. Smaller than Lucian. Everyone was smaller than Lucian.
They stopped and made a gesture — fist against their chest, head bowed.
I watched, fascinated despite myself. *They really do that. Just like in the dramas.*
"My lord," Martin said.
He hesitated. His eyes flicked to me, to Cathy, then away.
"Go ahead," Lucian said. "Speak."
The air in the room shifted.
I felt it before I understood it — a tightening, a stillness, like the walls were leaning in to listen. The light from the windows seemed dimmer. Or maybe that was just my fear making everything darker.
"My lord," Martin said carefully, "the Dragon King has accepted the invitation. He will attend the engagement banquet."
I watched Lucian's face. Nothing changed. Not a muscle. He could have been made of stone.
"However," Martin continued, and I heard the caution in his voice, "he wishes to choose the return gift himself."
Lucian smiled.
It was not a nice smile. It was the smile of a knife being drawn from its sheath. Slow. Quiet. Promising nothing good.
Beside me, Cathy shivered.
Just a small tremor. But I felt it through the arm of the chair, through the air between us, through the fear coming off her skin. Just the mention of the Dragon King, and she was shaking.
I understood nothing. No one was telling me anything. I was sitting here, food getting cold on my plate, while everyone talked in circles, while Cathy trembled beside me, while Lucian smiled like death.
Lucian's eyes moved to me.
"Today," he said, "you will go for engagement shopping. Everything is arranged. You just need to choose what you want. Martin will take you."
He paused.
"As for the return gift..."
His eyes shifted to Cathy.
She didn't look up. She stared at her hands, fingers laced together, knuckles white.
"It may be too much to ask," Lucian said slowly. "We'll see how he performs at the engagement banquet. Then we'll decide whether to send the return gift back or not."
The color drained from Cathy's face. I watched it happen — the blood leaving her cheeks, her lips going pale, her eyes wide with a fear so deep it seemed to swallow her whole.
The pieces came together slowly, like stones settling into place.
The Dragon King wanted to take Cathy back with him.
And Cathy was terrified of him.
I needed to know everything. Soon. Before this fear swallowed her. Before I walked into something I didn't understand.
Lucian looked at me one last time. His eyes held mine for a moment longer than necessary. A warning? A promise? I couldn't tell.
"Martin. Take them."
Martin bowed.
I stood. Cathy stood beside me. Her hands were shaking, hidden in her sleeves. I could see the fear in her shoulders, the way she made herself small, like she was trying to disappear.
And I smiled.
Because Martin was coming with us.
And Martin was the one who owed me answers.
---