THE DEMON KING WHO WAITED FOR HER
CHAPTER TWENTY
THE SHADOWS GATHER
The land Lyold and Tonde entered was not marked on any map. The sky above it was permanently dark, as though the sun had long abandoned it. The ground breathed heat, cracked and blackened, and the air smelled of old blood and forgotten sacrifices. Even the wind whispered curses instead of songs.
This was the Evil Land—a place where forbidden powers answered only those willing to pay with their souls.
Lyold walked cautiously, his once-arrogant steps now measured. He could still feel the sting of defeat, the shame of fleeing from Linah and Mako. His hands trembled slightly as he clenched them into fists.
Behind him walked Tonde, calm and unreadable. His eyes held no fear—only hunger.
"You hesitate," Tonde said coldly. "Fear does not suit you."
Lyold stopped. "That woman is not what we thought. Linah carries power older than the thrones of the underworld."
Tonde's lips curved into a dark smile. "Exactly why we are here."
They reached a massive stone gate carved with symbols that seemed to move when stared at for too long. The gate opened on its own, releasing a wave of suffocating darkness.
From within emerged the Ruler of the Evil Land, seated on a throne made of bones and molten stone. His eyes burned crimson, and his voice echoed like thunder trapped underground.
"So… the fallen prince returns," the ruler said. "And he brings the traitor uncle."
Tonde bowed slightly, not in respect but calculation. "We come with an offering—war, chaos, and a queen."
At the mention of a queen, the ruler leaned forward. "Speak."
"There is a woman," Tonde continued, "born of water and rebirth. Linah. She carries sacred powers capable of reshaping realms."
The ruler's eyes gleamed with desire. "Sacred power… tainted by love. I have felt her presence."
Lyold looked up sharply. "You know of her?"
"I know," the ruler said slowly, "that such power does not belong in mortal hands. Bring her to me—or bring me her power—and I will give you an army that will drown the underworld and burn the human world."
Lyold swallowed hard, but Tonde's smile widened.
"We vow," Tonde said, "to fight until her power is mine… or hers is destroyed."
The ruler rose from his throne. "Then go. Prepare. The wedding you fear will be soaked in blood."
A cruel laugh echoed through the halls as Lyold and Tonde turned away, the darkness sealing their pact.
Far away from the gathering shadows, Linah's life had slowed into something almost peaceful.
The village welcomed her like a lost child returned by the ancestors. Women ululated when she walked past, elders nodded knowingly, and children followed her with curious eyes. Though she did not yet understand everything about her origins, the land recognized her.
She helped her mother fetch water, her hands remembering movements her mind could not explain. She laughed with her father beside the fire in the evenings, listening to stories she had almost forgotten. At night, the stars seemed closer, as if watching over her.
Yet peace did not erase her unease.
Sometimes, while pounding grain or sweeping the yard, Linah would pause. Her chest would tighten. Her inner voice whispered warnings she could not fully hear.
Something was coming.
Mako visited when he could, though he often watched her from a distance, smiling softly. He saw how she glowed in the village, how grounded she seemed. And yet, at night, when they sat together quietly, his hand would tighten around hers.
"I feel it too," he admitted once. "The calm is borrowed."
Linah nodded. "The ancestors are giving us time."
That night, as Linah lay on her sleeping mat, she dreamed—not of war, but of water rising slowly around her feet. A shadow watched her from afar, reaching out, craving what flowed in her veins.
In the Evil Land, the ruler stood before a basin of dark water. Linah's reflection shimmered on its surface.
"Soon," he whispered, desire burning in his eyes. "Sacred power belongs to the strongest."
And though Linah slept peacefully in her village, the war had already begun in the shadows.
END OF CHAPTER TWENTY