The air felt heavier now—like breathing underwater.
Something was watching us from the hallway. Not human. Not natural.
Damon didn't move, but I could feel the shift in his presence. The calm predator had become a coiled spring, muscles tensed beneath that polished exterior.
"Decide," he said again, voice low and urgent. "Now."
I looked down at the contract on the table. The ink writhed like living smoke, waiting for my name. Waiting to bind me.
Xue reached out, her fingers brushing mine. She was trembling.
"Don't do this," she whispered. "Not for me."
But how could I not?
She was everything I'd ever known. My childhood, my future, my reason for waking up every morning. And now she was standing here, half-dead and soaked in shadows, because of some deal with a man who called himself Damon Dark.
A man who might not even be human.
He stepped closer, close enough that I could smell him again—old books, winter pine, something ancient and cold.
"You already know the answer," he murmured. "You just don't want to admit it."
I swallowed hard. "And if I say no?"
His eyes darkened. "Then you'll spend the rest of your life wondering what it would've been like to live forever."
There was something about the way he said it—something almost… personal.
I shook my head. "Why me?"
Damon tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was a puzzle he hadn't quite figured out yet.
"I told you," he said softly. "You've always belonged to me."
That strange warmth stirred in my chest again. A mix of fear and something else I couldn't name.
I turned back to Xue.
Her lips were pressed into a tight line. Her hands clenched the edge of the couch like it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.
"I don't want this," she said, voice breaking. "I never wanted this for you."
"But I want it for you," I said quietly.
And I meant it.
Even if I didn't understand what I was signing up for.
Even if it meant losing myself.
I picked up the pen.
The moment my fingers closed around it, the room seemed to hold its breath.
Damon watched me without blinking.
I lowered the tip of the pen to the parchment.
Just as I was about to write my name, the lights flickered violently—and then died.
Darkness swallowed the apartment.
A cold wind rushed through the room, carrying with it a whisper—not words, just a sound, deep and wrong, like nails scraping against glass.
Xue gasped.
Damon moved fast, stepping between me and the hallway. His silhouette was barely visible in the dim moonlight filtering through the windows.
"They're getting bolder," he muttered.
"What are they?" I asked, gripping the pen tighter.
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled out something small and silver. It gleamed faintly in the darkness—a dagger, curved like a crescent moon.
"Creatures born from broken contracts," he finally said. "They hunt those who owe me."
I stared at him.
"You mean… people like me?"
He glanced over his shoulder at me, expression unreadable.
"People like you," he confirmed, "and people like her."
My stomach twisted.
"Is that what she is now?"
Damon's gaze softened—for just a second.
"She's caught between two worlds," he said. "Too much time there, and she won't be able to come back at all."
I looked at Xue. She was pale, eyes wide, lips parted in silent horror.
I didn't know what kind of hell she'd seen to come back like this.
But I knew one thing.
I wasn't letting her go.
Not again.
I turned back to the contract.
This time, I didn't hesitate.
I signed my name.
The moment the last letter touched the paper, the ink flared black fire across the parchment—and then vanished.
A sharp pain shot through my wrist.
I gasped, looking down.
A mark burned into my skin—a symbol, elegant and dark, like a serpent curled around a key.
Damon exhaled softly, almost like he was relieved.
"Well," he said, tucking the dagger back into his coat. "Welcome to the game, Li Yiren."
Before I could ask what he meant, the lights snapped back on.
The apartment was silent again.
But something had changed.
I could feel it in my bones.
Damon turned to me fully, his piercing blue eyes locking onto mine.
"You're mine now," he said simply.
And for reasons I couldn't explain…
I didn't hate the sound of that.