Aria's POV
The Tamer Society council chamber is packed.
I stand in the center of the room, flanked by Azrael on one side and Sarah on the other. Lily is safely hidden with Maya—I wouldn't bring my daughter to this viper's nest.
Around me, fifty council members sit in judgment. My father Marcus is among them, his face carefully blank. Xavier sits in the Kane family section, his eyes locked on me.
Celeste stands with the accusers, her face twisted with hatred.
"Aria Chen," Elder Yong begins, his voice echoing. "You stand accused of illegal demon contracting, abandoning your bloodline duties, and threatening the Tamer Society's safety. How do you plead?"
I could play this safe. Apologize. Beg for mercy.
But I'm done being the victim.
"Not guilty," I say clearly. "And I challenge the legitimacy of these charges."
The room erupts in shocked whispers.
"You dare—" Elder Yong starts.
"I dare." I step forward. "Five years ago, this Society watched me get sabotaged, humiliated, and abandoned. No one helped. No one investigated. You all just assumed I was worthless and moved on."
"You were spiritually dead!" someone shouts.
"I was SABOTAGED!" My voice cracks like a whip. "Celeste Chen poisoned my bonding ceremony with spirit-repelling herbs. She destroyed my life deliberately, and every single person in this room let it happen."
All eyes turn to Celeste, who goes pale.
"That's a lie!" she shrieks.
"Is it?" Sarah steps forward, pulling out a folder. "Because I have the original ceremony incense analyzed. Traces of Nightshade Root—a known spirit repellent. I also have security footage of Celeste entering the preparation chamber thirty minutes before the ceremony. Alone."
She projects the images on the wall. Clear footage of Celeste tampering with the incense burner.
The council explodes with noise.
"This proves nothing!" Celeste's voice is desperate.
"It proves you're a liar and a saboteur," I say coldly. "You destroyed my bonding ceremony because you were jealous. You stole my fiancé. You celebrated while I suffered."
"You still contracted with a demon!" Elder Yong pounds his gavel. "That is forbidden!"
"Why?" I challenge. "Because demons are evil? Or because you can't control them?"
"Demons have slaughtered thousands—"
"So have Tamers." Azrael speaks for the first time, his voice making everyone flinch. "Your kind has killed more demons than we've killed humans. Yet you call yourselves righteous."
"You're the Demon King! You're a monster!"
"I'm honest about what I am." Azrael's eyes gleam red. "Can you say the same? How many innocents have died because your 'righteous' Society prioritizes power over people?"
"This is not on trial!" Elder Yong slams his gavel again.
"Maybe it should be," Xavier says, standing.
Everyone stares. Xavier Kane, golden boy of the Society, defending a demon contractor?
"What are you doing?" Celeste hisses.
"The right thing. Finally." Xavier faces the council. "Aria Chen saved my son's life three days ago. The same son I treasure. By Tamer law, I owe her a life debt. The Kane family owes her a life debt. You cannot execute or imprison her without violating sacred oaths."
"The boy is a child—hardly a life debt worthy of—"
"He's my heir!" Xavier's voice booms. "The future of the Kane bloodline! Her surgical skill saved him when no one else could. That debt is binding, and every person in this room knows it."
Murmurs of agreement ripple through the crowd. Life debts are sacred—violating one brings dishonor to entire families.
"Furthermore," Xavier continues, "Aria and I share a child. Lily Kane-Chen. By law, that makes Aria family. Protected family."
"You denied that child!" Celeste screams. "You threw money at her and told her to abort—"
"I was wrong." Xavier's face is carved from stone. "I made a terrible mistake five years ago. One I've regretted every day since. But I'm correcting it now. I acknowledge Lily as my daughter. I claim blood protection over both her and her mother."
The council erupts again. Blood protection is nearly unbreakable—it means Xavier's entire family would go to war to protect me.
"This is ridiculous!" Celeste is hysterical now. "She's a demon contractor! She's dangerous!"
"Dangerous?" I laugh. "I'm a surgeon. I save lives. How many lives have you saved, Celeste? How many children have you healed? Or have you been too busy shopping and scheming?"
"You self-righteous—"
"Enough!" Elder Yong's gavel cracks. "We will vote. All in favor of issuing an arrest warrant for Aria Chen?"
Hands rise. Maybe twenty of them.
"All opposed?"
More hands rise. Thirty at least. Xavier's hand is up. Sarah's too.
My father's hand rises slowly. Opposed to arresting me.
I stare at him. He meets my eyes, and something painful flickers across his face.
"Motion fails," Elder Yong announces grimly. "No warrant will be issued."
Relief floods through me, but Elder Yong isn't finished.
"However, Aria Chen, you are hereby placed under Society monitoring. You will report your location weekly. Any suspicious activity will result in immediate re-evaluation. You are forbidden from contracting additional demons or teaching demon magic to others."
It's not freedom. But it's not prison either.
"I accept those terms," I say.
"Good. This council is adjourned—"
"Wait." A new voice speaks from the back of the chamber.
An old woman steps forward, her presence radiating ancient power. I recognize her from textbooks: Elder Mei, the oldest living Tamer. Her spirit is a Dragon—one of only three Dragon contractors alive.
"There is another matter to address." Her eyes fix on me. "The matter of how Aria Chen became powerful enough to bond with the Demon King."
Dread fills my stomach.
"Five years ago, Aria was rejected by all spirits. Now she commands Azrael himself. That level of power doesn't appear overnight." Elder Mei's gaze is penetrating. "Unless someone altered her spiritual core. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing."
The room goes silent.
"What are you suggesting?" I ask carefully.
"I'm suggesting that your ancestor, the Exorcist Empress, didn't just seal Azrael five hundred years ago. She bound part of his essence to her bloodline—a failsafe, perhaps, or a contingency plan." Elder Mei circles me slowly. "That essence has been dormant in the Chen line for generations. Until it activated in you."
My father stands abruptly. "That's impossible—"
"Is it?" Elder Mei turns to him. "Marcus, your daughter was always meant to bond with Azrael. The spirits rejected her because they sensed his essence in her core. They couldn't compete with a Demon King already woven into her soul."
I feel like the ground is disappearing. "What?"
"You didn't summon Azrael by chance, child. You called to him because he was already part of you. The contract you formed five years ago didn't bind you to a stranger." Elder Mei's smile is mysterious. "It awakened what was always there."
Azrael goes very still beside me. "She's right," he says quietly. "I felt it during the binding. Your soul recognized mine because we were already connected."
"But that means..." I can't finish the thought.
"It means you were always destined to be mine," Azrael says. "And I was always destined to be yours. The Exorcist Empress knew this day would come. She prepared for it five centuries ago."
My mind reels. Everything I thought I knew is wrong. I didn't choose this bond by accident—it was fate. Destiny. Written into my bloodline before I was born.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" I whisper.
"Because we didn't know," my father says heavily. "The Empress's journals were lost generations ago. We thought the Azrael seal was permanent."
"Nothing is permanent," Azrael says. "She knew that. So she ensured that when I eventually broke free, it would be to protect her bloodline. Not destroy it."
"This changes everything," Elder Yong mutters. "If the contract was predestined—"
"Then it's not illegal," Sarah finishes triumphantly. "It's legacy magic. Inherited power. You can't prosecute someone for activating their own bloodline gift."
The council members look at each other, uncertain.
Elder Mei nods. "The girl is not a criminal. She's a Chen fulfilling an ancient pact. The Empress chose this path centuries ago. Who are we to question her wisdom?"
"But she's still dangerous—" someone protests.
"We're all dangerous," Elder Mei cuts them off. "That's why we're Tamers. The question is: will Aria Chen use her power to protect or destroy?"
All eyes turn to me.
I think about Lily. About the children I've saved in surgery. About the five years I spent building a life instead of seeking revenge.
"I protect," I say firmly. "I'm a doctor. A mother. I save lives. That's who I am."
"Then this matter is settled." Elder Mei strikes her cane on the ground with finality. "Aria Chen is a legitimate Tamer with an inherited demon contract. She will be treated as such."
The council has no choice but to agree. You don't argue with Elder Mei—she's been alive longer than anyone, and her word is law.
As the chamber empties, Xavier approaches me.
"That went better than expected," he says.
"Thanks to you." I force the words out. "The life debt claim was smart."
"It was true." His eyes are intense. "You saved my son. I owe you everything. And Lily—when can I see her again?"
"I don't know. I need to think—"
"Aria, please. I made a binding oath. I swear I'll never hurt her. Just give me a chance to know my daughter."
Before I can answer, Celeste appears, her face ugly with rage.
"You think you won?" she spits. "You think this is over?"
"It is over, Celeste," Xavier says coldly. "We're getting divorced. I've already filed the papers."
Celeste's face goes white. "What?"
"I'm done. With the fake marriage. With the lies. With you." He doesn't even look at her. "My lawyers will contact you."
"You can't—I'm the mother of your son—"
"Marcus will always be my son. But you? You're nothing to me." Xavier finally meets her eyes. "You sabotaged Aria. You destroyed her life for your own gain. I was blind to it before. Not anymore."
Celeste looks between us, hatred radiating from every pore. "You'll regret this. Both of you."
She storms off.
Sarah appears at my elbow. "That woman is going to be a problem."
"Let her try." I'm too tired to care about Celeste's threats.
My father approaches slowly, hesitantly.
"Aria," he says. "Can we talk?"
I look at the man who disowned me. Who chose reputation over his daughter.
"No," I say simply. "We can't. Not yet."
Pain flashes across his face, but he nods. "I understand. When you're ready—if you're ever ready—I'll be here."
He walks away, shoulders slumped.
Sarah squeezes my hand. "You did good today."
"I survived. That's not the same thing."
"Sometimes surviving is the victory."
Outside the council building, Azrael pulls me aside.
"You're distracted," he says. "What Elder Mei said—about our bond being predestined—is bothering you."
"Isn't it bothering you?"
"No." His crimson eyes are steady. "Predestined or not, you chose to form the contract. You chose to survive. You chose to become strong. Destiny might have set the stage, but you wrote your own story."
"What if I'm just playing a role someone else designed?"
"Then you're playing it brilliantly." He smiles slightly. "The Empress might have woven us together, but what we do with that connection is ours alone."
My phone rings. Maya's number. But when I answer, I hear Lily crying.
"Mama! Mama, help!"
Terror freezes my blood. "Lily? Baby, what's wrong?"
"There's a bad man here! He has red eyes like Uncle Az but scary and he says—he says—"
The line goes dead.
"No." I start running. "No no no—"
Azrael grabs my arm, his face deadly serious. "That wasn't me. Another demon has Lily."
"WHO?" I scream.
"Someone powerful enough to bypass my protection wards. Someone who wants to hurt you through your daughter." His eyes blaze crimson. "Someone just declared war on the wrong contractor."
Xavier appears, having heard everything. "Where is she?"
"Maya's safe house." I'm already moving. "We need to go NOW."
"I'm coming with you," Xavier says.
"Like hell—"
"She's my daughter too!" His voice cracks. "Please. Let me help. Let me protect her."
I don't have time to argue. Every second counts.
"Fine. But if you slow us down, I leave you behind."
The three of us race for the parking lot. As we reach Xavier's car, my phone buzzes with a video message.
I open it with shaking hands.
The video shows Lily tied to a chair, crying. Behind her stands a man with burning red eyes and a cruel smile.
"Dr. Russo," the demon purrs. "Or should I say Aria Chen? I have something precious of yours. If you want her back alive, come alone to the Old Bridge. Midnight. No Azrael. No backup. Just you."
The video cuts to black.
Lily's scream echoes in my mind.
"It's a trap," Azrael says.
"I don't care."
"They'll kill you."
"Not before I tear them apart." I look at the Demon King, and he sees something in my eyes that makes him step back.
Pure, murderous rage.
"They took my daughter," I say quietly. "They hurt my baby. There is no power in this world that will stop me from getting her back."
"Then we go together," Xavier says. "Life debt or not, she's my daughter too. I won't let you face this alone."
I look at him—this man who destroyed me, who's trying to redeem himself.
"You better keep up," I say.
"Try stopping me."
As we drive toward the Old Bridge—the same place where I formed my demon contract five years ago—I feel Azrael's presence in my mind, dark and furious.
"Whoever took Lily doesn't know what they've awakened," he says. "A mother's rage plus a Demon King's power? They're already dead. They just don't know it yet."
"Make them suffer," I whisper. "Make them regret ever touching my child."
"With pleasure."
The Old Bridge looms ahead in the darkness.
Somewhere there, someone is holding my daughter.
Someone is about to learn why you don't threaten a woman who's already lost everything once.
Because this time?
This time I have nothing left to lose.
And everything to kill for.