Page 83 of Thane's Demon

Our heart.

Keep her safe.

Never let her go.’

My demon purred low in my head, a possessive vibration that spread through my bones and settled warmly in my chest. I reached out with a trembling hand, brushing a stray curl away from her cheek. The moment my fingers touched her skin, she instinctively shifted closer, the softest sound escaping her lips. The warmth of her breath brushed my knuckles. My control faltered.

I pulled away quickly, tightening my jaw as I forced myself back into my seat. Touching her would be too dangerous. If I pulled her into my lap, if I felt her body melt against mine, if I had her warmth pressed against my chest again, I would not let her go. Not tonight. Not ever.

I needed a distraction. Something to anchor myself to before the demon convinced me to take what it wanted. Before I convinced myself that holding her was the same as protecting her.

Her duffle bag sat at my feet along with the one that carried the Seal. Its presence heavy and foreboding in the small cabin. I reached for it slowly, trying not to disturb her. The momentmy hand touched the strap, the air changed. A strange pressure pressed against my awareness, subtle but unmistakable, like something ancient stirring just beneath the surface of the night.

The Seal was awake.

No, not awake.

Responding.

I hesitated, watching Alora for any sign that she felt it too. But she slept on, oblivious, peaceful, and so heartbreakingly vulnerable. I lowered myself onto my knees beside the bag, opening the zipper with careful precision so as not to startle her. The green glow spilled out like mist rising from deep water, ethereal and haunting in the dim cabin light.

I lifted the Seal from the bag.

Its jade surface pulsed once.

Twice.

As if greeting me.

As if recognizing me.

The symbols carved into it shifted faintly beneath the surface, an illusion of movement that had always unsettled me. This time, the glow intensified until it illuminated the entire cabin, washing the walls in shades of emerald. I stared down at it, feeling its power ripple silently along my skin like threads of heat sliding between my bones.

At first, I thought it leaned toward me because I was the keeper. Because I alone could contain its power. Because my father had trusted me with a burden no one else could bear.

But then the glow deepened, warm and swelling.

And my demon gasped.

‘Not for us.

Not for our power.

Someone else.

Someone new.

Someone born of light.’

My breath stalled, and my gaze snapped toward Alora.

The Seal…it was… responding to her.

Not faintly. Not accidentally.

But fiercely.

The green glow spilled across her sleeping form, draping over her skin like a second layer of moonlight. Her hair glowed with a soft halo. The very air around her vibrated, faint and luminous, as if something divine stirred beneath her breathing.