Chapter 34 A Devil’s Promise
A DEVIL’S PROMISE
THANE
Alora slept, curled against the leather seat as the jet slipped through the night sky, her small body tucked into itself, as if instinctively seeking warmth.
The soft rise and fall of her breathing moved in a rhythm so delicate, it almost hurt to watch.
A faint crease sat between her brows, the last echo of her fear and exhaustion lingering even in sleep.
Her cheek rested on a pillow I had placed behind her head, her lips parted just slightly, her lashes brushing her skin like dark strokes of ink.
I should have looked away.
Given her peace.
Allowed her rest.
But how could I, when everything inside me pulled toward her with a terrifying force?
When the sight of her sleeping so close made something deep within me tighten and unwind all at once.
I had never known softness until her. Never known warmth until the first time she whispered my name.
Never known what it meant to be truly seen until she looked at me with something fragile and hopeful instead of fear.
And tonight, she had run from me.
Not from the intruders.
Not from the threat.
But from the truth of me.
The memory of her eyes, wide and horrified when she saw the demon surge from beneath my skin, came back to me with punishing clarity.
That look had cut through me more deeply than any blade could.
And now she slept beside me after I had kidnapped her.
After I had just made her my prisoner, yet I was the one who felt trapped in a cage.
‘Mine.
Our light.
Our heart.
Keep her safe.
Never let her go.’
My demon purred low in my head, a possessive vibration that spread through my bones and settled warmly in my chest. I reached out with a trembling hand, brushing a stray curl away from her cheek.
The moment my fingers touched her skin, she instinctively shifted closer, the softest sound escaping her lips.
The warmth of her breath brushed my knuckles. My control faltered.
I pulled away quickly, tightening my jaw as I forced myself back into my seat. Touching her would be too dangerous. If I pulled her into my lap, if I felt her body melt against mine, if I had her warmth pressed against my chest again, I would not let her go. Not tonight. Not ever.
I needed a distraction. Something to anchor myself to before the demon convinced me to take what it wanted. Before I convinced myself that holding her was the same as protecting her.
Her duffle bag sat at my feet along with the one that carried the Seal.
Its presence heavy and foreboding in the small cabin.
I reached for it slowly, trying not to disturb her.
The moment my hand touched the strap, the air changed.
A strange pressure pressed against my awareness, subtle but unmistakable, like something ancient stirring just beneath the surface of the night.
The Seal was awake.
No, not awake.
Responding.
I hesitated, watching Alora for any sign that she felt it too.
But she slept on, oblivious, peaceful, and so heartbreakingly vulnerable.
I lowered myself onto my knees beside the bag, opening the zipper with careful precision so as not to startle her.
The green glow spilled out like mist rising from deep water, ethereal and haunting in the dim cabin light.
I lifted the Seal from the bag.
Its jade surface pulsed once.
Twice.
As if greeting me.
As if recognizing me.
The symbols carved into it shifted faintly beneath the surface, an illusion of movement that had always unsettled me.
This time, the glow intensified until it illuminated the entire cabin, washing the walls in shades of emerald.
I stared down at it, feeling its power ripple silently along my skin like threads of heat sliding between my bones.
At first, I thought it leaned toward me because I was the keeper. Because I alone could contain its power. Because my father had trusted me with a burden no one else could bear.
But then the glow deepened, warm and swelling.
And my demon gasped.
‘Not for us.
Not for our power.
Someone else.
Someone new.
Someone born of light.’
My breath stalled, and my gaze snapped toward Alora.
The Seal…it was… responding to her.
Not faintly. Not accidentally.
But fiercely.
The green glow spilled across her sleeping form, draping over her skin like a second layer of moonlight. Her hair glowed with a soft halo. The very air around her vibrated, faint and luminous, as if something divine stirred beneath her breathing.
My heart slammed once against my ribs. Hard.
“No,” I whispered, not even realising I had spoken aloud.
“No, this cannot be…”
Then something colder than ice slid through my skull.
A voice.
Not mine.
Not the demon’s.
Not any creature of Earth.
“Thane…”
The voice dragged through my mind like claws scraping stone, ancient, powerful, and dripping with slow amusement. My demon recoiled violently, pressing back into my rib cage, bristling with hatred.
‘Not him.
Not the Fallen One.
Not the Devil King.’
The Seal pulsed in my palm, and the temperature in the cabin dropped sharply.
“I see you have finally brought me what is mine.”
The demon snarled, its voice a low roar inside me.
‘She is ours.
Not yours.
We will kill you.’
The laughter that followed sent black sparks dancing at the edge of my vision.
“How foolish that you believe that. How tragically naive. Did you truly think the Seal wanted you? That you were the chosen one written into the stone? That your power was what it called to?” The voice mocked, making me grit my teeth so hard they would have shattered had I been mortal.
The jade cracked in my grip, thin spiderweb lines glowing like veins of fire before it healed itself.
My voice came out low, cold, and deadly.
“Get out of my head!”
“I cannot. You invited me in the moment you awakened the Seal. And you misunderstand your role, little demon. This has never been about you. It has never been about your strength, your bloodline, or even your father’s famed legacy.
” The light shifted suddenly, pooling around Alora in a radiant halo that made my heart seize.
“But it is about her.”
Everything inside me went still.
Silent.
Frozen.
“She is the light that the Seal recognizes. The spark of Heaven buried in mortal skin. My Electus. My destined queen… And I will claim her!”
My demon howled.
‘Liar.
She was made for us.
She is ours.
We will burn you.’
The voice only grew colder in response.
“She is the key to my freedom from the realm I rule. The Seal is nothing without her. And you… you have handed her to me. A gift wrapped in darkness.”
The glow surged so brightly I flinched, shielding Alora with my arm as the light swept over her.
“Bring me the Seal and bring me your little light. Your precious Alora. My precious Electus, or watch your world burn!”
“NEVER!” I roared as it felt like everything snapped inward.
The glow then suddenly died, and the cabin went silent.
The Seal lay dull and lifeless in my shaking hand.
Yet Alora slept on despite the internal battle.
I stared at her, terror and fury colliding inside me with a force that threatened to tear me apart.
Because I knew the truth now.
The Devil didn’t just want the Seal.
No…
He wanted my Fated.
To be continued in…
Thane’s Claim
Princes of Afterlife series
Book 2