A way to live with it

“Is it true?” After the portal had fully closed, Xaren's piercing voice broke the stillness as he glanced at Avaris, who was standing rigidly next to me and appeared equally anxious and displeased. “You can’t use your powers unless he’s near you?”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Xaren was always able to get right to the point, regardless of how absurd or bothersome his inquiries were. I glanced at Avaris, who looked as confused and out of place as ever. Not surprising, considering how much of this he didn’t understand—and frankly, neither did I.

"Yes, it is true," I stated bluntly while crossing my arms. “Without him, I’m weak, and unfortunately, so is he. That’s why I need this sorted as soon as possible.”

Xaren's eyebrows went up, obviously unimpressed. “You? Weak? That’s rich.”

Now, here’s the thing about Xaren: he’s my relative, though we’re so distantly related even I don’t know where the connection starts. We were raised together in the underworld, but Xaren abandoned his role while I remained faithful to mine. He is a vagrant who alternates between the human and demon realms and says he values independence over allegiance.

Still, he’s the only one I trust. And in this mess, I didn’t have the luxury of being picky about who I turned to.

I gave Xaren a pointed look. “Look, I didn’t come here for a lecture. I need your help.”

He leaned casually against the wall and grinned. “You’re asking me for help? This must be worse than I thought.”

“It is,” I said tightly. “Now, can we focus?”

Xaren was about to respond with another witty comment when Avaris cleared his throat. “We should get back to the palace,” he said nervously. “There’s a lot to prepare for tomorrow.”

“The palace?” Xaren's head jerked toward me with a look that spoke of both shock and frustration. “What the hell are you doing dragging the Empire into this? I thought you said you wouldn’t make things messy, Dyvian. The Emperor doesn’t—”

I interrupted him abruptly. “I said I’ll handle it. But first I need some answers."

Xaren sighed, clearly annoyed. “Fine. Start from the beginning. What exactly happened?”

I hesitated, glancing at Avaris. This wasn’t something I wanted to say out loud, but Xaren wasn’t going to let it go.

Here’s the truth: I’d never been summoned before. For centuries, I waited in the underworld, biding my time. Every demon dreams of a summoning—it's our one shot at breaking free, at being called to the surface.

But mine was different. There was a reason.

And after years of patience, my chance finally came.

But something went wrong.

Instead of a standard summoning, I ended up tied to him. A human who didn’t even know what he was doing. Now, we’re bonded—my powers, our lives, everything. And neither of us can break free.

Xaren’s eyes narrowed as I finished explaining. “A bond like that…” His expression changed to one that was more contemplative as he trailed off. “I’ve heard stories, but they’re old. Centuries old. It happened once—between a demon and a witch.”

Avaris’s eyes widened. “Witches are real?”

Xaren gave a dramatic roll of his eyes. “Humans think they’re the only interesting species. It’s pathetic, really.” He chuckled, clearly amused by Avaris’s shock.

Avaris scowled and spoke incredulously. “If you’re so smart, why are demons hiding in the first place?”

That hit a nerve. As Xaren straightened, his casual manner disappeared and his eyes darkened. I intervened quickly to keep things from getting out of hand.

“Enough,” I snapped. “I don’t have time to referee this nonsense.”

Xaren glared at Avaris for another moment before finally backing down. “Anyway,” he said, turning back to me, “the bond couldn’t be undone. But the demon and the witch found a way to live with it.”

“How?” Avaris asked hastily, his curiosity taking precedence over his customary hesitancy.

Xaren hesitated, which was unusual for him. “The demon marked the witch,” he said finally.

My stomach dropped.

“What does that mean?” Avaris asked, glancing between us.

Xaren grinned, and I immediately regretted asking him for assistance because of the sparkle in his eyes. “It means Dyvian would have to mark you. As his mate. His partner. For life.”

The words sounded like a clap of thunder.

“What?!” Avaris shouted, his face pale with shock. “You’re joking!”

Xaren grinned more broadly. “Not at all. Congratulations, little human. You might just be Dyvian’s soulmate.”

As Avaris processed Xaren's words, I could see the panic rising in his eyes and his breathing becoming more rapid. “This is insane!” he yelled, turning to me. “You knew about this, didn’t you?!”

"I did not ask for this either," I exclaimed, my frustration boiling over.

Xaren, as expected, was enjoying every second of this. “This is better than I thought,” he muttered, smirking to himself.

I shot him a glare. “You’re not helping.”

He shrugged, still grinning. “I don’t need to. You’re doing fine on your own.”

Avaris groaned, burying his face in his hands. “This can’t be happening,” he muttered.

I sighed. “We’ll figure this out,” I said quietly.

Avaris didn’t look convinced. Why would he look convinced? I could not even consider the marking-related things.

Xaren leaned back, folding hi

s arms with a smug look. “Good luck with that.”

This was going to be a nightmare.