Page 56 of Bargain with the Demon King
"Because you're becoming something magnificent and I'm the a only one who sees it." His hands slide from my shoulders to my upper arms, his grip firm, proprietary, as if testing the strength of the weapon he's forging. "Chad created a monster when he betrayed you. But I'm the one who's going to teach her how to hunt."
I turn my head, finding him closer than expected. Our faces are inches apart, his mouth close enough that I feelhis breath on my lips. "And what happens when I'm done learning?"
"Then you become something even demons fear." His eyes drop to my mouth. "Something even I might fear."
"You don't fear anything."
"I'm starting to fear how much I want to watch you destroy things." His thumb strokes my arm through the dress. "Starting to fear how beautiful you look when you're cruel. Starting to fear what I'd do to keep you exactly like this—sharp and vicious and perfect."
"I'm not perfect. I'm broken."
"Broken things cut deepest." He straightens, steps back, and I hate how cold I feel without his proximity. "Tomorrow. Dawn. Wear something that makes you feel powerful."
"Everything makes me feel powerful now."
"Good." He moves toward his bedroom. "That's exactly how you should feel."
I return to my chambers, but I don't read. Can't focus on fiction when reality has become so sharp. Instead, I replay the merchant's desperate grab. The power flooding through me. Azzaron's approval burning in his eyes. His hands on my shoulders, possessive and proud.
Through the wall, I hear him pacing. Restless. Hungry.
Good. Let him hunger. Let him want. Let him wonder what kind of monster he's creating.
Because tomorrow I'll conduct three bargains. Tomorrow I'll taste more desperate souls. Tomorrow I'll stand beside him and show exactly what Chad's betrayal built—not a broken girl crying over lost love, but something with teeth and appetite and absolutely no mercy left.
Chad created a monster. He just won't live long enough to meet her.
But Azzaron will. Azzaron gets to watch her grow, feed her dark appetites, teach her exactly how satisfying it feels to bite.
The thought makes me smile—sharp and predatory and nothing like the girl who sold her soul for love.
That girl's dead.
This one has teeth.
And tomorrow, she hunts.
Chapter 19
Azzaron
Lord Vex drums his claws against obsidian—tap, tap, tap—the sound designed to irritate. His shadow peels away from his body, moving independently, betraying the agitation his face won't show. Lady Morinth's pets kneel at her feet, trembling. The temperature drops as Raziel stands, frost spreading from where his palms touch the table.
"The humans grow bold." Raziel's voice grinds against itself—old bloodline demons speak in layers, primary voice over ancient undertone. Silver marks pulse along his forearms. "Three incidents this week. Demons harassed, mocked, attacked."
"A child threw mud at Gorthak." Lord Kaine's breath fogs despite the chamber's warmth. "Hardly worth retaliation."
"The principle matters." Raziel's eyes burn amber. "Allow disrespect without consequence, chaos follows."
I watch Adraya from the corner of my eye. She sits beside my throne, close enough that her mortal warmth contrasts with cold stone. Lavender soap. Sun-touched skin. Both foreign in my realm. Her pen moves across parchment, but her jaw tightens with each lord's pronouncement. Once. Twice. Three times. She counts—I know because I count with her.
"The humans are under His Majesty's protection," Lady Morinth says, her voice crystallizing air into ice shards thatfall silently. Where her fingers touch her pet's hair, skin burns and heals in endless cycle. "That protection extends to their stupidity."
"Then punish only the demons who retaliated," Lord Vex suggests. His shadow splits—one stays with him, one circles the table, one reaches toward mine before remembering itself. "Show that attacking protected humans carries consequences."
"Punish demons for defending themselves?" Raziel's undertone harmonizes wrong, a vibration that makes the soul-marks on my arms burn cold. "Dangerous precedent."
"The precedent exists. The King's law is absolute."
