The rain outside Emma's apartment hissed against the pavement like a warning.
She clutched the pocket watch—*Seth's* watch—in her palm, its metal unnaturally cold. She hadn't meant to take it. But after the fight at the café, after Seth vanished into the night without explanation, she'd found it abandoned on the floor, half-buried under a shattered chair.
Now, in the dim glow of her bedside lamp, she turned it over. The engraving on the back made her breath catch:
*"365 days to love or be lost."*
A click. The latch sprung open.
Inside, instead of clockwork, a single blood-red eye stared back at her.
**"Hello, Emma."**
—
Seth woke with a gasp, his ribs aching from Rafe's knife graze. The alley reeked of garbage and wet iron. He patted his coat pocket—empty.
*The watch was gone.*
The demon's voice slithered through his mind anyway, gleeful. *"She has it now. Shall I tell her how you begged for your soul? How you wept?"*
Seth staggered to his feet. *Emma.* He had to find her before—
—before she learned the *whole* truth.
—
Emma sat frozen as the watch's eye pulsed, its voice syrup-thick. **"Ask me anything, little baker. I know all his secrets."**
Her throat tightened. "What… *are* you?"
**"A witness."** The eye blinked lazily. **"Seth made a deal: a year to earn redemption through love… or his soul is mine."** A pause. **"He's failed every time before."**
The words lodged like glass in her chest. "Before?"
Images flooded her mind—
*A battlefield drenched in crimson. Seth, younger, fiercer, driving a sword through a man's chest. The gleam of a demon's smile. A contract signed in blood.*
Emma recoiled. "No."
**"Oh, yes."** The watch grew heavier. **"He was a warlord. A killer. And now?"** The eye crinkled, mocking. **"He kneads dough and blushes at your laugh. *Pathetic*."**
Her hands shook. She should throw it, smash it, *run*—
**"But you're curious,"** the demon purred. **"Aren't you?"**
—
Seth pounded on Emma's door, his knuckles splitting. "Emma! *Please*—"
Silence. Then—
The door creaked open. Emma stood there, the watch dangling from her fingers. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but her voice didn't waver. "Tell me *everything*."
And Seth, for the first time in centuries, did.
—
**Preview of Chapter 6:**
- **The Demon's Whisper:** Emma hears the *full* terms of Seth's curse—and the horrifying loophole.
- **A Dangerous Pact:** "I'll help you," Emma vows… but the demon *grins*.
- **Rafe's Revenge:** The gang strikes back, and this time, *Emma's* the target.
Want it softer? Darker? Let me know! 💟 (And yes, this demon ships them *hard*.)
5: The Weight of Truth**
The rain outside Emma's apartment hissed against the pavement like a warning.
She clutched the pocket watch—*Seth's* watch—in her palm, its metal unnaturally cold. She hadn't meant to take it. But after the fight at the café, after Seth vanished into the night without explanation, she'd found it abandoned on the floor, half-buried under a shattered chair.
Now, in the dim glow of her bedside lamp, she turned it over. The engraving on the back made her breath catch:
*"365 days to love or be lost."*
A click. The latch sprung open.
Inside, instead of clockwork, a single blood-red eye stared back at her.
**"Hello, Emma."**
—
Seth woke with a gasp, his ribs aching from Rafe's knife graze. The alley reeked of garbage and wet iron. He patted his coat pocket—empty.
*The watch was gone.*
The demon's voice slithered through his mind anyway, gleeful. *"She has it now. Shall I tell her how you begged for your soul? How you wept?"*
Seth staggered to his feet. *Emma.* He had to find her before—
—before she learned the *whole* truth.
—
Emma sat frozen as the watch's eye pulsed, its voice syrup-thick. **"Ask me anything, little baker. I know all his secrets."**
Her throat tightened. "What… *are* you?"
**"A witness."** The eye blinked lazily. **"Seth made a deal: a year to earn redemption through love… or his soul is mine."** A pause. **"He's failed every time before."**
The words lodged like glass in her chest. "Before?"
Images flooded her mind—
*A battlefield drenched in crimson. Seth, younger, fiercer, driving a sword through a man's chest. The gleam of a demon's smile. A contract signed in blood.*
Emma recoiled. "No."
**"Oh, yes."** The watch grew heavier. **"He was a warlord. A killer. And now?"** The eye crinkled, mocking. **"He kneads dough and blushes at your laugh. *Pathetic*."**
Her hands shook. She should throw it, smash it, *run*—
**"But you're curious,"** the demon purred. **"Aren't you?"**
—
Seth pounded on Emma's door, his knuckles splitting. "Emma! *Please*—"
Silence. Then—
The door creaked open. Emma stood there, the watch dangling from her fingers. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but her voice didn't waver. "Tell me *everything*."
And Seth, for the first time in centuries, did.
—
**Preview of Chapter 6:**
- **The Demon's Whisper:** Emma hears the *full* terms of Seth's curse—and the horrifying loophole.
- **A Dangerous Pact:** "I'll help you," Emma vows… but the demon *grins*.
- **Rafe's Revenge:** The gang strikes back, and this time, *Emma's* the target.
Want it softer? Darker? Let me know! 💟 (And yes, this demon ships them *hard*.)