They left her to die.
Elira stumbled through the forest, snow crunching under her bare feet from her palm carved open by the ceremonial blade dripped steadily with blood.. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps, each exhale a ghost in the frigid night air. Behind her the forest stretched cold and silent in front of her stood the altar.
A forgotten ruin of black stone, veined with red like it bled once and never stopped.
Her heartbeat echoed in her ears loud, desperate.
She dropped to her knees. hunted or worse but Elira was out of options.
The spell burned in her throat like fire forbidden,ancient the kind that got witches like her,Her coven had turned on her,branded her a traitor cast her out.
All for using blood magic to save a child.
Mercy is weakness they said,Power must come with pain.
So she bled again and this time, she wouldn't beg the gods for help.
She'd summon something older.
She pressed her cut palm to the altar and whispered the words she found in a book that should've been burned centuries ago.
"By ash and ember… by blood and shadow… I call to the flame beyond the flame…"
The wind stilled.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
Then the ground split open.
Heat roared up like a furnace, blinding red and gold. Elira shrieked and fell back as fire shot into the sky.The trees shivered, the snow melted in an instant and from the center of the flames something stepped forward.
No.
Someone.
He was tall Unnaturally tall bare-chested despite the cold, skin dark and smoldering like cooled obsidian. A crown of horns curled back from his head and his eyes Gods, his eyes glowed like a dying sun.
The devil.
She'd summoned a devil.
He looked at her like she was an insect… or a amusement.
"You," he said, voice a deep wicked purr, "You dared call me."
Elira scrambled backward, "I didn't mean to—I just—"
"You spoke the words," he interrupted stepping closer,"You offered blood.You called, little witch."
"I needed help!"
He laughed a low, rumbling sound that felt like thunder in her chest.
"And so you summoned me? Foolish little witch."
She tried to stand but her legs trembled too much. She had no magic left, no power only blood and fear.
"I didn't know it would be you."
"Liar," he said softly,"but I like liars. They taste better."
Her heart froze, "W-What?"
He crouched in front of her, one hand touching the altar. The stone hissed under his palm.
"The pact is sealed your blood called to mine."
A glowing sigil flared on her hand red and fiery and a matching mark shimmered across his chest her magic reacted to his, binding them together.
"No," she whispered,"No, this can't—"
"It is." His eyes gleamed.,"You summoned me now we are bound."
He stood, towering over her,"Tell me your name."
She swallowed hard "Elira."
"Pretty," he,"I am Ravion. Fallen prince of the Ninth Flame the flame that devoured thrones. and now…little witch, I am bound to you."
She stared at the mark,"I didn't agree to this."
"Intent means nothing to the Old Magic. It hears need, not permission."
She bit her lip, hard,"So what happens now? You own me?"
His grin was slow, cruel, "Not exactly. I can't kill you, if that's what you're afraid of the pact prevents it."
"Why would a devil like you care about a witch like me?"
His expression shifted subtle, unreadable, "Because someone wanted you dead enough to toss you into the wild and I always enjoy a bit of vengeance."
She flinched. The memory of her coven's cold eyes the way they turned their backs on her. The way she bled alone, screaming as the door shut behind her.
"I'm not worth saving," she muttered.
"But you're worth watching." He stood tall again, towering over her,"Your blood stirred something old. Something dangerous. That makes you mine."
The wind changed sharp and charged. Above, the sky boiled with unnatural clouds the air grew heavy, humming with the aftermath of magic far too strong for this world.
"You've drawn attention," he said, "Others will come. Demons. Hunters. Creatures who can smell a pact like this from realms away."
Elira's stomach turned,"So what do we do?"
"You come with me."
She blinked,"Where?"
"To the one place no one dares follow." He met her gaze,"My realm."
She stared horrified,"You want me to go to hell with you?"
He smirked,"Not hell. Just close enough."
"And if I say no?"
He stepped closer again. Too close. His body radiated heat. His fingers brushed her jaw, and she flinched but didn't pull away.
"You can say no," he said, voice suddenly soft, dangerously soft, "But the bond is forged. Your soul is linked to mine. You'll feel it. The pull. The ache."
"And if I try to break it?"
"You'll die trying."
Her breath hitched.
This was insane. Impossible she should run ,she should scream.
But deep in her chest, something stirred something dark and warm and terrifyingly alive.
"Fine," she whispered "Lead the way devil."
His eyes gleamed he extended his hand again.
This time she took it.
The mark on her palm flared red-hot.
Power surged between them wild, raw and binding.
Something ancient shifted in the shadows.
And the girl with nothing left… walked willingly into the fire.