Chapter 3 The Mark Of The Pact
The dream came like a memory she couldn’t name.
She stood in a garden lit by the glow of burning roses as ash floated through the air like snow. In front of her stood a tall man, his eyes gold as fire and full of sorrow. His voice was soft, deep, and familiar.
“Even if you forget me,” he whispered, “I will find you again.”
The words wrapped around her heart like smoke.
She reached out, but before she could touch him, the flames rose higher, swallowing him whole. She screamed his name… a name she didn’t even know and woke up with a cry on her lips.
Her heart raced and sweat clung to her skin. The image of the burning garden was fading, but the ache it left behind stayed.
It had felt too real. Like a piece of her life she’d lost and just remembered.
She sat on the edge of her bed, breathing hard. “It was only a dream,” she told herself quietly. “Just a dream.”
But the way her chest ached said otherwise.
The servants entered soon after, bowing low. “My lady, the Elders of the Inferno Court await you.”
She nodded and let them help her dress. The gown was deep red and threaded with gold…. heavy and regal. The mirror showed a face that didn’t look like hers anymore. Pale skin, dark eyes rimmed with faint gold light, and a small mark on her wrist that she hadn’t noticed before.
A small circle surrounded by faint lines, almost like a sigil.
She rubbed at it, but it didn’t fade. The mark was faintly warm, pulsing in rhythm with her heartbeat.
Still, she ignored it. There were more pressing things to attend to, she thought to herself.
---
The gates of the Inferno Court opened before her with a hiss of burning air.
The hall was grand and endless, made of black stone and molten gold. Shadows moved like living things along the walls and as she stepped inside, the air grew thick with power, the kind that carried centuries of rule.
There were twelve thrones, each holding an Elder whose face shimmered faintly under the light of the flame.
And then there was Azael.
He stood beside the highest throne, dressed in black with a faint crimson glow at the edge of his coat. His eyes found her the moment she entered and the world seemed to narrow until only he existed.
Her heart twisted strangely, fear mixed with something softer in her, something she couldn’t name.
“Welcome, my queen,” one of the Elders said, bowing low. “It has been too long.”
She blinked. “Too long?”
Another Elder smiled faintly, his voice dry like crackling wood. “You always say that, child. Every time.”
Azael shot them a warning glance, and the hall went silent.
He stepped forward, his gaze holding hers. “My queen,” he said softly. “They mean that you honor us. Come.”
She bowed her head slightly and walked beside him. When he touched her arm to guide her forward, warmth spread through her entire body, the same warmth from her dream. It made her dizzy.
---
When the ceremony ended, she left the court, her mind spinning.
The Elders had greeted her as though they knew her before now. One had even called her Seraphine, before correcting himself sheepishly.
She didn’t know any Seraphine. And yet, the name felt so familiar.
As she wandered the halls, trying to calm herself, small things began to stand out around her.
A vase of white lilies sat by the stairway, they were her favorite flower. She hadn’t seen them since she was a child, and yet… there they were, thriving in the cold infernal air.
Further down, she passed a grand painting framed in gold. A woman veiled in silk looked down at her. Though most of her face was hidden, her eyes were so identical to her own, she almost couldn't tell it wasn't her.
Her breath caught.
She stepped closer, reading the small inscription carved beneath the frame:
For the one who returns.
Her fingers trembled. “What does that even mean?” she whispered.
But she shook her head quickly. “No. No, it’s just coincidence or probably just strange magic.”
And yet, as she walked away, the mark on her wrist pulsed again, harder this time.
---
Later that evening, she found Azael standing by the balcony, the firelight turning his hair to dark gold. He turned at her footsteps, his gaze softening.
“You left before I could escort you,” he said, his tone calm, almost teasing.
“I needed to think,” she replied. “The Elders… They acted as if they'd known me forever. And there are things here I recognize, though I shouldn’t.”
Azael studied her quietly for a moment. “You’ve always noticed quickly,” he murmured.
She frowned. “I don't quite understand, what do you mean ‘always’?”
Instead of answering, he stepped closer. “Show me your hand.”
Hesitant, she held it out. He gently turned her wrist upward. The mark glowed faintly beneath his touch.
“What is this?” she whispered. “It wasn’t there before.”
His golden eyes lifted to hers, steady and unreadable. “It’s the mark of the pact,” he said softly. “The bond between us. It appeared when the ceremony was sealed.”
Her breath hitched. “A bond?”
He nodded. “It’s what ties your life to mine. A symbol that represents your ring and your vow. You are bound to me, as I am bound to you.”
She pulled her hand back slightly, confused. “Bound how? My life can't….?”
He took a slow breath, his voice lowering. “If I fall, you fall. If you die, I fade with you. It’s an ancient law that comes with the pact, written long before this age. Every thousand years, it renews when I find you again.”
Her heart froze. “Find me again?”
His gaze softened, almost sad. “You don’t remember.”
She stared at him. “Remember what?”
“That you’ve lived before. Many times. That every thousand years, you return to me reborn, forgetting everything. The pact ensures that when your soul returns, I have the right to claim you again.”
She shook her head slowly. “That’s impossible. I’m not….”
But her voice faltered. Then it all starts to piece together, the dream, the burning garden, his eyes and his voice whispering, ‘Even if you forget me…’
Her throat went dry.
Azael’s tone was quiet. “You have always been mine, Seraphine.”
The name made her heart twist painfully. “Stop calling me that,” she whispered. “That’s not my name.”
“It was,” he said softly. “Long ago.”
Silence filled the space between them. Only the crackle of distant fire remained.
She turned away, her thoughts spinning. “So this mark means I’m trapped here? That I belong to you?”
“No.” His voice was low, but it carried weight. “It means you are protected. That no one, not even the heavens can harm you while I still breathe.”
Her chest ached. She wanted to hate him for what he said, for the calm certainty in his words. But the warmth in his voice made her heart tremble.
He stepped closer until he was standing just behind her. “You don’t have to understand it now,” he said quietly. “You’ve only just returned. Let me keep you safe this time.”
She turned to face him, her voice came out softer than she meant. “Safe from what?”
He didn’t answer right away. When he finally spoke, it was almost a whisper. “From the same fate that takes you from me every thousand years.”
His hand brushed her cheek gently. “I swear to you, this time I won’t lose you again.”
The tenderness in his voice made her chest tighten. For a moment, she let him touch her, his warmth seeping into her skin, his gaze soft but filled with emotion that she almost forgot he was a demon and the son of the Devil.
She didn’t understand any of it. But something deep inside her wanted her to believe he was telling the truth and that he wouldn't hurt her but she didn't want to. She wanted to hate him, the same way she hated her father for sending her down here.
He leaned closer, his breath brushing her ear. “You don’t need to fear me,” he murmured. “Not you.”
Her lips parted. “I’m not afraid of you.”
A faint smile touched his mouth. “No. You never were.”
The air between them thickened, heavy with an emotion she couldn’t name. His fingers lingered against her wrist, tracing the glowing mark. “It suits you,” he said softly. “Like it was always meant to be there.”
She swallowed hard and stepped back suddenly, breaking the imminent spell. “I should… I should take a walk. Clear my head.”
Azael nodded, though his eyes didn’t leave hers. “As you wish. But don’t wander too far. The darkness listens, and it remembers you even when you don’t.”
She forced a faint smile. “I’ll be fine.”
He watched her for a long moment, then turned away, his expression unreadable.
