The forest path was silent.
Morning sunlight filtered weakly through the canopy, scattering pale beams across the damp earth. The air was cool and heavy with lingering mist, and each step crunched softly against the tangled roots beneath their boots.
Aerin walked at the front, his dark eyes shifting between Ryn the childhood friend who'd miraculously returned and the dirt path stretching ahead. Beside him, Ryn twirled his runed spear idly, mismatched blue-green eyes glinting with mischief as always, though his tone carried an undercurrent of seriousness he rarely showed.
Behind them, Kael strode silently, his tall frame effortlessly commanding the space around him. His long golden hair caught fragments of sunlight filtering through the trees, while his crimson-red eyes glimmered faintly, ever-watchful. His presence was a constant close, steady, unavoidable tethered by a bond neither of them had chosen.
Lucien walked on Aerin's other side, just close enough to shield him if needed, his red hair damp from the lingering dew, his black eyes sharp and wary. One hand rested loosely near the hilt of his enchanted blade.
The silence stretched until Ryn finally broke it.
"You know," Ryn began casually, spinning the spear once before letting it rest against his shoulder, "I still can't believe you of all people summoned him."
Aerin frowned slightly, glancing at him. "Ryn…"
But Ryn wasn't done. His gaze flicked briefly toward Kael before returning to Aerin. "You have no idea what you've pulled into your world, do you?"
Aerin hesitated, his voice soft. "I know enough to-"
"No," Ryn cut him off, his tone sharp now, playful edge gone. "You don't. Back when Kael ruled the Seventh Realm, he wasn't feared because he was powerful he was feared because he was merciless."
That made Aerin freeze mid-step, his boots sinking slightly into the damp earth. He turned his head, dark eyes searching Kael's expression, but the Demon Lord walked on without flinching, silent and unbothered.
Ryn's voice dropped lower, meant for Aerin but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Entire cities burned under his command. Armies slaughtered. Families erased in a single night. He didn't just rule he conquered. And when that wasn't enough, there are whispers he bound mortal souls to fuel his own power."
Lucien's steps faltered slightly at that, his black-eyed gaze darting sharply toward Kael.
Aerin's throat tightened. "That… can't be true."
Finally, Kael stopped walking.
The shift in his presence was subtle but undeniable a ripple in the air, a soft hum of restrained power. Slowly, he stepped closer, his boots silent against the forest floor, until he stood right beside Aerin.
Without a word, Kael reached out.
It was an unthinking, natural gesture — his fingertips brushing Aerin's cheek as he tucked a loose strand of his short black hair behind his ear. His touch was feather-light, almost reverent, but the effect on Aerin was immediate his breath caught, his heart stuttered, and warmth flushed beneath his skin.
Kael's crimson-red gaze held his for a moment too long. There was no mockery there. No command. Just something dangerous and unspoken lingering between them.
Ryn, of course, noticed instantly. His lips curved into a sly smirk. "Ohhh," he whispered under his breath, spinning his spear lazily. "That's… interesting."
Lucien noticed too and his reaction wasn't subtle. His jaw clenched, and his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword, black eyes narrowing sharply at the demon.
The tension between the four of them thickened, crackling like static in the damp air. Aerin shifted uncomfortably, opening his mouth to speak but before he could, the forest itself interrupted.
A low, guttural growl rumbled from the shadows ahead.
Kael's head snapped up instantly, his crimson-red eyes glowing faintly as his entire body shifted from calm composure to deadly focus.
From the depths of the trees, dark shapes emerged twisted, horned demons with charred skin and burning blue eyes. Their claws were hooked, dripping with an oily black ichor, and the air warped faintly around them as they moved.
One hissed, voice guttural and broken: "The summoner… kill the summoner!"
They lunged before anyone could react.
Kael moved first.
In a blur of motion, shadows exploded from his palms, wrapping around the first demon like living chains before tearing it apart in a single, merciless strike. Its body dissolved into black ash before it hit the ground.
"Stay behind me!" Lucien barked, stepping in front of Aerin and swinging his blade in a clean arc, severing another demon's arm before driving his enchanted steel through its chest. The runes on the blade burned faintly, sealing the creature's essence in one decisive thrust.
Ryn spun his spear with lethal precision, chanting a brief incantation under his breath. The weapon's runes flared bright blue as he struck, impaling one of the demons through the throat, its shriek cutting off mid-sound.
Aerin, heart pounding, started forming a sigil with trembling hands but before he could finish, another demon lunged from his blind spot. Its claws extended, swiping straight for his neck.
He didn't even have time to scream.
Kael was there.
The Demon Lord slammed into the creature with enough force to snap the tree behind it. His shadows surged violently, shredding the demon apart as his crimson eyes burned brighter, sharp and wild.
His voice was low, furious, unrestrained:
"Touch him, and you die screaming."
Even the remaining demons hesitated, momentarily frozen beneath the weight of his unleashed power. But Kael didn't wait his shadows lashed out, devouring them where they stood until the clearing was silent again, littered with nothing but fading embers and ash.
Aerin's breath came ragged and uneven, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he gripped the hem of his shirt. "Kael…" he whispered softly, his voice trembling.
Kael turned slowly, his crimson-red gaze locking onto Aerin's wild, sharp, but beneath the fury… there was something else. Something fragile.
For the first time since they met, Kael looked afraid.
Not for himself.
For Aerin.
Lucien stepped forward, lowering his blade but keeping his stance defensive, his black eyes cold and unwavering. "You're losing control," he said flatly, his tone sharp and cutting.
Kael didn't look at him. "I protected him."
Lucien's lips curved in a humorless smile. "Don't flatter yourself, Demon Lord. You didn't protect him because you care. You did it because the bond forces you to."
That made Kael finally turn, his gaze locking with Lucien's like drawn steel. "You think you understand," he said softly, dangerously, "but you don't."
Lucien stepped closer, voice icy. "Then explain something to me."
Kael tilted his head slightly, waiting.
"If you want to keep him safe so badly…" Lucien's words cut like a blade. "…then why can't you keep your distance?"
The silence that followed was heavier than any battle.
Kael didn't move, but the shadows around his boots shifted faintly, coiling like restless serpents. And then, slowly, a faint, dangerous smile curved his lips soft and deliberate.
"Because," he said, his voice low and smooth, "…sometimes the safest place… is the closest one."
Lucien's grip on his sword tightened, his jaw clenching as he turned sharply away, muttering a curse under his breath.
Ryn let out a low whistle, leaning on his spear with an amused grin. "Ohhh, this is going to get messy."
Aerin stood frozen between them all, heart pounding, breath shallow, his thoughts tangled in ways he couldn't untangle.
And somewhere deep within, the faint sigil beneath his skin pulsed once — a reminder that no matter how chaotic things became, there was no escaping what bound him to Kael.
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End of Chapter Seven