I didn't sleep.
Not because I was afraid—
but because every time I closed my eyes, I felt him there.
Not touching me.
Not speaking.
Just watching.
Morning crept in through the blinds, pale and unforgiving. My room looked exactly the same as it always had—posters slightly crooked, clothes folded with too much care, the faint smell of candle wax still lingering in the air.
If I hadn't known better, I would've thought I imagined everything.
"You didn't," a voice said quietly.
I froze.
He leaned against the wall near my desk, arms crossed, posture relaxed as if he had always belonged there. In daylight, he looked less like a creature of the dark and more like a sin that had learned how to dress itself as a man.
"You're supposed to stay… wherever demons stay," I said, my voice hoarse.
He tilted his head. "And miss your first day after the contract?"
My stomach tightened.
"I didn't ask you to follow me."
"No," he agreed calmly. "You didn't."
His gaze slid to my reflection in the mirror. I hadn't realized I was gripping the edge of the dresser until my fingers ached.
"But you don't want to be alone today," he added.
That landed too close to the truth.
I turned away, reaching for my jacket. "You said I could decide how this works."
"You can," he said smoothly. "I'm only… offering assistance."
I laughed under my breath. "That's what you call it?"
He smiled. Slow. Knowing.
"Call it whatever helps you breathe."
The school parking lot looked the same as always.
Students laughing. Lockers slamming. Madison Clarke's voice floating above the rest like she owned the air.
I felt the demon's presence at my side—not visible, not tangible, but undeniable. Like a shadow that only I could feel.
"Do you feel that?" he murmured.
"What?"
"The shift," he said. "Power changes the way you walk. The way the world looks at you."
I hadn't realized my shoulders were straighter until he said it.
Madison stood near the entrance, surrounded by her usual orbit of girls. Her hair was perfect. Her smile effortless.
Ethan was there too.
He noticed me first.
His eyes widened slightly, flickering with something like uncertainty.
Good.
Madison followed his gaze and saw me.
Her smile faltered for half a second.
Not long enough for anyone else to notice.
Long enough for me to enjoy.
"That's her," I whispered.
The demon's attention sharpened instantly.
"The captain," he said, amused. "Ah. She wears her cruelty like perfume."
I clenched my jaw. "I don't want her hurt."
He raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"I want her exposed."
That pleased him far more.
The first bell rang.
In class, Madison laughed too loudly at a joke she wasn't part of. Her voice echoed. People turned to look.
She didn't notice at first.
When she did, her smile tightened.
I felt something move inside me—warm, deliberate. Not anger. Control.
"You're learning quickly," the demon said softly.
"I didn't do anything."
"You chose not to shrink," he corrected. "That alone is disruptive."
Madison's phone buzzed.
Once.
Twice.
Her fingers moved fast. Too fast.
Her expression changed.
Confusion.
Irritation.
Then something closer to panic.
She glanced around the room, eyes darting, landing briefly on me.
I held her gaze.
Didn't smile.
Didn't look away.
Her phone buzzed again.
At lunch, the cafeteria buzzed with energy I hadn't felt before.
Not joy.
Anticipation.
Whispers traveled faster than trays.
"Did you see the post?"
"No way that's real."
"It's Madison, though. I mean—"
Madison stood frozen near the cheer table, phone clenched in her hand. Her friends leaned in, voices hushed, urgent.
I sat down—at my old table.
No one stopped me.
One girl slid over without meeting my eyes.
Another followed.
The demon leaned close, his voice barely a breath in my ear. "Your revenge doesn't require blood. Just truth."
I pulled out my phone.
The post was already everywhere.
Screenshots. Messages. Dates.
Proof.
Madison's carefully curated image fractured in real time.
She looked up.
This time, she knew.
Her eyes met mine across the room, wide and furious and afraid.
For the first time—
She looked small.
Ethan approached her, his expression tense. "Madison, what is this?"
She grabbed his arm too tightly. "It's fake."
He didn't pull away.
He didn't defend her either.
I watched something break behind her eyes.
The demon smiled.
"Consider this a preview," he said. "I haven't touched her yet."
My heartbeat was loud in my ears.
"You could've destroyed her."
"Yes," he agreed. "But that wouldn't have satisfied you."
He was right.
I felt… lighter.
Not happy.
But no longer powerless.
Madison stormed out of the cafeteria, her friends scattering after her like birds fleeing a fire.
The room buzzed.
Someone laughed.
Someone else whispered my name.
I looked down at my hands.
They weren't shaking.
"What happens next?" I asked quietly.
The demon's voice was almost gentle.
"Now," he said, "they learn you're no longer someone they can erase."
He paused.
"And now," he added softly, "you begin to understand what it means to owe a demon."
I swallowed.
The warmth inside me pulsed once.
Satisfied.