Azraeth's POV
Lilith's magic crackles toward Mireya.
I throw up a shadow barrier, blocking it. The purple magic slams into my shadows and explodes, shaking the entire underground room.
"She's not going anywhere with you," I growl.
Lilith laughs. "Still so protective. Just like you were with Morwenna." She tilts her head. "How did that work out for you?"
Rage burns through me. Behind me, I feel Mireya's fear through the bond. Her new wings tremble. She's barely standing after the awakening, and now this witch wants to take her.
Over my dead body.
"Leave now, Lilith," I say quietly. "This is your only warning."
"Or what? You'll kill me?" She steps into the room, her purple magic lighting up the darkness. "You're weak, demon. Five hundred years of torture broke you. And that curse eating you alive? I can smell your death from here."
She's right. I am weak. But I'm still the Demon King.
I launch myself at her. My shadows become blades, slicing through the air. Lilith dodges, laughing, throwing purple fire at me. We crash through the room, magic against magic, destroying everything.
Through the bond, I feel Mireya's panic. She wants to help but doesn't know how. Her power is wild, uncontrolled.
"Stay back!" I shout at her.
Lilith uses my distraction. Her magic wraps around my throat like a chain, pulling me down. I hit the floor hard.
"Poor demon king," she coos, walking toward me. "So worried about your new pet." She looks at Mireya. "Do you know what you are, little girl? Why your magic is so special?"
Mireya backs against the wall. "Stay away from me."
"Your mother made a deal with me before you were born." Lilith's smile is cruel. "Helena Ashcroft sold you to me in exchange for protection. You're mine by contract."
Through the bond, I feel Mireya's shock. Her mother sold her?
"Liar," Mireya whispers.
"Am I?" Lilith pulls out a glowing paper covered in magical writing. "Signed in blood. The firstborn daughter in exchange for my protection. That's you, sweetheart."
No. No, this can't happen. I won't lose another bonded soul to these monsters.
I pour all my remaining strength into my shadows. They explode outward, breaking Lilith's magical chain. I surge to my feet and slam her against the wall.
"That contract," I snarl in her face, "is void. She's soul-marked to me. My claim supersedes everything."
Lilith's eyes widen. Then she laughs. "The soul mark? Oh, this is perfect. You've bonded with a girl who's already contracted to me. The magic conflict will tear her apart."
My blood goes cold. She's right. Two magical contracts on one person—the soul bond and Lilith's deal. They'll fight each other, using Mireya's body as the battlefield.
Unless I complete the full bonding ritual first. Then my claim becomes absolute.
"Mireya," I say without looking away from Lilith. "Come here."
"What?" Her voice shakes.
"Trust me. Come here now."
I feel her hesitation through the bond. She's terrified. But she takes a step forward. Then another.
Lilith tries to grab her with magic, but I block it with shadows. Mireya reaches me and I pull her close, one arm around her waist.
"This is going to hurt," I tell her. "But it will save your life."
"What—"
I press my marked chest against hers. Power explodes between us. The soul mark burns brighter, hotter, fusing us together more deeply. Mireya screams. Through the bond, I feel her pain—it's like being branded from the inside out.
But I also feel the contract with Lilith starting to break. The soul bond is older magic, stronger magic. It consumes the witch's contract, burning it away.
Lilith shrieks. "No! That's mine! She's mine!"
The contract paper in her hand bursts into flames and turns to ash.
Mireya collapses against me, gasping. The mark on her chest has changed—it's bigger now, more detailed. The bond is deeper than before. I can feel everything she feels. Her fear. Her pain. Her confusion.
And underneath it all, her rage at her mother for selling her.
"It's done," I say, holding her up. "You're free from her contract."
Lilith's face twists with fury. "You'll pay for this, demon. Both of you." Purple magic swirls around her. "The angels want you dead. The witch covens want her captured. And now I want revenge."
She raises both hands, gathering massive power. The whole room shakes.
"When we meet again," she hisses, "I'll rip that soul mark right out of her chest."
She vanishes in a burst of purple smoke.
Silence falls. Mireya is still pressed against me, trembling. Her new wings are folded tight against her back. Through the bond, I feel her trying to process everything—the betrayal, the contract, the pain.
"My mother sold me," she whispers. "Before I was even born, she sold me to that witch."
"Yes."
"And you... you just saved me by making the bond stronger."
"Yes."
She pulls back to look at me. Tears stream down her face, but her eyes are hard with anger. "I want to see her. My mother. I want to know why."
Through the bond, I feel her determination. She won't rest until she gets answers.
"We'll go," I promise. "But first, you need to learn control. Your power is wild. If we face your mother now, you might accidentally kill her."
"Would that be so bad?" Her voice is cold.
I smile. There's the darkness I sensed in her. "No. But you should do it on purpose, not by accident."
She almost smiles back. Almost.
Then the ground beneath us starts to crack.
I look down. Red symbols are appearing in the stone floor—a tracking spell. Someone found us.
"They're coming," I mutter. "The angels. They must have traced Lilith's magic here."
"Can we teleport again?" Mireya asks.
"Not yet. I'm too drained." I pull her toward the door. "We run."
We burst out of the safe house into the underground tunnels beneath the city. Behind us, I hear wings. Many wings.
The Celestial Guard has found us.
We run through the dark tunnels. Mireya's new wings scrape against the walls. Her breathing is ragged. She's exhausted from the awakening and the strengthened bond.
But she keeps running.
"There!" a voice shouts behind us. "The demon and the marked one!"
Golden light floods the tunnel. Angels are everywhere.
We turn a corner and hit a dead end. Solid wall. No way out.
"No, no, no," Mireya gasps.
I spin around. Ten angels block the tunnel behind us, weapons drawn. And at the front, with her burning sword, is Seraphina.
"Nowhere left to run, demon," she says coldly. "Step away from the girl."
"Never."
"Then die together." She raises her sword.
But before she can strike, Mireya does something incredible.
She steps in front of me.
"No," she says. Her voice doesn't shake. "You want him? You go through me first."
Through the bond, I feel her terror. But also her courage. This girl who was betrayed by everyone is choosing to protect me.
Seraphina laughs. "Foolish child. You just learned you have wings. You think you can fight me?"
"I don't know," Mireya says. "Let's find out."
Her hands burst into black flames.
And the dead-end wall behind us explodes.