Lyra's POV
I stared at the closed door.
It stood there like it had always been there. Solid. Dark. Silent. No handle. No markings. Just... wood and shadow and something that made my skin crawl.
Cathy's words echoed in my head.
*First, we go to my clan. From there, I'll help you find your way home.*
She was gone. The portal was gone. And this thing had appeared in its place.
I slowly turned around.
The fear I'd been holding off since I fell into this world finally caught up with me.
My heart was pounding. My hands were cold. My breath came in short, shallow pulls that didn't feel like enough.
I took a step back.
And froze.
He was standing there.
Lucian. The Demon King.
The last person I wanted to see in this world.
---
Lucian's POV
Tengshe stood beside me, his massive serpentine form coiled in the shadows of the Nether Hall. His scales caught the firelight, gleaming like forged silver.
"They have taken the bait, my lord," he said, his voice a low rumble.
I watched the scene unfold in the mirror before me. The clearing. The portal. The door. Xiao Mo, standing there, trembling.
"They went the wrong way," Tengshe observed. "They followed the false trail that we have planted my lord."
I lifted my cup and took a slow sip of tea.
"Very wrong move, Xiao Mo," I murmured.
Tengshe shifted, his form shrinking, condensing, until he stood beside me in his human shape — tall, silver-haired, eyes the color of storm clouds.
"My lord," he said carefully. "They are attempting escape. Why do you not stop them?"
I set my cup down.
"Let them go for now."
Tengshe's brow furrowed.
"I want my fiancée to understand the demon world," I explained. "Let her explore. If she cannot survive one morning in the outer territories, how could she possibly stand beside me?" I allowed a faint smirk. "If she passes this small test, she may be qualified to become my fiancée. If she fails..." I let the words hang in the air. "She can become a meal for the demons."
Tengshe said nothing. He knew me well enough to recognize a jest when he heard one.
Mostly.
---
The mirror showed Xiao Mo and the Dragon Clan girl running through the town. Chasing shadows. Following crumbs I had scattered myself.
They believed they were escaping.
In truth, they were being taught.
I had planted the clues deliberately — a rumor here, a whispered direction there. A hidden portal that only the Demon King could open. A border that did not exist.
I had expected Xiao Mo to fall for it. She was human. She did not know this world.
But the Dragon Clan woman?
I watched her lead Xiao Mo toward the false portal and shook my head slowly.
*Tch. Tch.*
Still weak. The same fragility I remembered from the last time I saw her in the Dragon Clan. Nothing had changed.
I raised my hand.
Two portals opened.
One for Xiao Mo — she would be returned to me. Safe. Unharmed.
The other for the Dragon Clan woman — she would be sent back to the eastern castle.
For now.
---
Lyra's POV
I looked up.
And there he was. Standing in front of the door that wasn't there before. Standing between me and everything.
His eyes found mine.
"Tch. Tch."
He shook his head slowly, like a teacher disappointed by a slow student.
*"Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo."*
He took a step forward. I took one back.
"How was your little escape?"
His voice was calm. Almost pleasant. Like he was asking about the weather.
My mouth opened. Nothing came out.
"Cat got your tongue?" he asked.
I flinched.
He was still moving closer. Not fast. Not slow. Just... inevitable. Like winter coming. Like the dark settling.
I wanted to run. My legs wouldn't move.
He stopped right in front of me. Looked down. His eyes were cold. Not angry. Not even annoyed.
Just... watching. Like I was something interesting he'd found.
"How—"
My voice cracked. I swallowed.
"How did you know?"
He didn't answer. Just watched me.
"When did you know?"
His lips curved. Not a smile. Something sharper.
"The moment you planned it."
I mentally slapped myself.
"Xiao Mo." He said my name like I was a child who'd tried to steal sweets. "This is my castle. Nothing happens here without my knowledge."
I nodded like a puppet. What else could I do?
"Okay," I said quickly. "Okay. I understand. It was... it was wrong. I get it. But—"
I stopped.
A question had been sitting in my chest since he appeared.
"If you knew," I said slowly, "then why did you let me go? Why wait until—"
He raised one eyebrow.
"I wanted you to see the demon world."
I blinked.
"What?"
"You are going to be the future Mrs. Blackfrost," he said. "It seemed prudent that you understand what kind of realm you will rule."
I stared at him.
"Oh." Pause. "For what?
Ahhh?."
Then my brain caught up.
"Wait." My voice went high. "Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean Mrs. Blackfrost? Are you going to sell me? Is this a marriage thing? Are you—"
He reached out and flicked my forehead.
"Ow!"
"Listen," he said flatly. "I am Lucian Blackfrost. You are going to be my fiancée."
I gaped at him.
"But—but I didn't agree to that! You said if I cooperated, you'd let me go! You said—"
He bent down.
Suddenly his face was level with mine. Close. Too close. The height difference between us was ridiculous — like a coconut tree standing next to an apple sapling.
My brain, in its infinite wisdom, chose this moment to focus entirely on that thought.
Coconut tree. Apple tree. Why am I thinking about this. Why am I—
"The only way out of this world," he said, his voice low, "the only way out of this castle..."
He paused. His breath brushed against my ear.
"...is your death."
My spine turned to ice.
"Do you desire that so desperately?"
"Hehe." My laugh came out strangled. "No. No, no, no. No death. Fiancée is fine. Fiancée is great. It's not like you're marrying me, right? Right?"
He straightened. Smirked.
And didn't answer.
---
A knock came at the door.
It opened before I could react.
Cathy rushed in.
i looked at her for a moment before dashing to her.
I ran to her. She ran to me. We collided, and I wrapped my arms around her like she might disappear again.
"Cathy!"
"Lyra!"
She was shaking. I was shaking. Neither of us let go.
I only looked up when I felt his presence shift.
Lucian stood by the door, his gaze fixed on Cathy. Something flickered in his expression — recognition. Calculation. A coldness that hadn't been there before.
"You will not get another chance to escape," he said quietly.
He flicked his fingers.
The powder we'd used to disguise ourselves — the powder hidden in Cathy's robes — rose from wherever she'd concealed it, drifting through the air like tiny stars, gathering in his palm.
Cathy stiffened.
He looked at her for a long moment.
"I hold no grudge against you," he said. "But your king is the one I intend to eliminate. You will meet him the day after tomorrow at the engagement banquet."
Cathy's face went pale.
"And do not think you can return with him," he continued. "For now, I am keeping you as a hostage."
I looked between them, completely lost.
"But, brother—" Cathy started.
A portal swallowed him before she could finish.
She sat down on the bed, staring at nothing.
I sat beside her.
"Cathy," I said softly.
"Hmm."
"Do you... do you two know each other? From before?"
She hesitated.
Then shook her head.
Then nodded.
Then shook it again.
I glared at her.
She sighed.
"Yes."
"How do you know him? And what did he mean by 'your king'? And you called him 'brother' — what do you mean by all of this?"
Cathy exhaled slowly, her shoulders sinking.
"Lyra."
She looked at me. Her eyes were older than they should be. Tired in a way that didn't match her face.
"I wanted to tell you everything. But it's not my place to say. This is a story that should come from Lucian himself."
I opened my mouth. She held up her hand.
"Just know this. Two hundred years ago, the Dragon Clan and the Demon Clan were not enemies. We were allies. The strongest in this world. Nothing could break us."
She paused.
"Something happened. And we were separated."
"What happened?"
She shook her head.
"Don't ask me the details. When the time is right, you'll know everything."
She stood to leave.
"Wait."
She turned.
"200 years ago," I said slowly. "What do you mean 200 years ago? What's your age?"
She blinked.
"Two hundred and twenty."
I felt my brain stutter.
"And... and the demon king?"
"Two hundred and thirty-seven."
I stared at her.
"He was different before," she said quietly. "Kind-hearted. Happy. Before whatever happened..." She looked toward the window. "All I hope is that one day, he can be that person again."
She left before I could ask anything else.
---
I sat there for a long time.
A maid came in with food. I ate mechanically. The questions kept circling.
*Cathy is two hundred and twenty years old.*
*The pig man is two hundred and thirty-seven.*
I set my chopsticks down.
*TOO OLD.*
They were too old. Both of them. I was a baby compared to them. A toddler. A—
Wait. No. Focus.
*Two hundred years ago, the Dragon Clan and Demon Clan were allies.*
*Something happened.*
*Something separated them.*
I pressed my palms against my eyes.
*Why does my heart hurt when I hear the words 'Dragon Clan'?*
I didn't understand it. From the moment I fell into this world, something about those words made my chest ache. Like a bruise I didn't remember getting.
I pushed the plate away. Washed my hands. Lay down on the bed.
The ceiling was dark. The room was quiet.
But the questions kept circling.
*What happened two hundred years ago?*
*Why does Lucian want to eliminate the Dragon King?*
*Why does Cathy call him brother?*
*Why does my heart hurt?*
*Why does my heart hurt?*
I closed my eyes.
The darkness behind them was the same as the darkness above me.
And in that darkness, the questions kept whispering.