The throne hall thundered with magic as the summoning array ignited between Prince Joshua Vale's feet.
Light cracked across the marble, shaking the pillars of the castle, and casting warped shadows over the startled court audience.
"Joshua—!"
"Your highness!"
The prince held up his hand with a calm smirk. "Settle down everyone. This was the agreed upon terms. We knew the demon realm would summon me. I'm simply fulfilling my duty as Prince."
That's right. My duty. There's no way out of this. Not for a prince they never expected to keep.
The words stirred unease amongst the nobles, but they didn't contradict him. No one but her.
A sharp patter of footsteps broke through the noise.
"Your Highness—wait please!"
A maid sprinted through the parting crowd, breathing hard, as if she dropped everything the moment she'd heard of the summoning. Her eyes met his, wide and desperate.
Elara.
She'd served him since childhood.
The only person who always cared for him before the title of third prince mattered.
She stopped just outside of the glowing circle; her hands gripping the hem of her uniform.
"You can't just go without—without saying something!" she shouted at Joshua for the first time in his life. "Everyone else treats this like politics, but you're... you're not expendable."
The court shifted uncomfortably. Not a single person interrupted, her words striking true.
Joshua's expression softened, dropping the polite noble mask when he faced the maid.
"Elara," he murmured. "I'll be fine."
Her head shook instantly, tears glimmering.
"No, you won't," she insisted. Ignoring the surprised reactions of the nobles, she moved closer and took his hand with both of hers. "You're going to the Demon Realm alone, to marry someone you've never met. How can you tell me not to worry?"
The magic circle rippled beneath his feet. Their time together was about to get cut short. Joshua reached out, brushing a thumb across her cheek.
"You've always worried," he said softly. "Even when I didn't deserve it. That's why I didn't tell you. I've caused you enough trouble, my dear maid."
She gripped his hand tight, as if doing so would force him to stay.
"Then let me say it," she breathed. "Please... come back to me. Just—just promise you'll come back to me alive," she said, her voice fading on the last word. The air hummed and the summoning spell grew brighter.
Joshua squeezed her hand softly, before pulling away. "I'll come back," he whispered. "I swear it."
Her lips parted—she wanted to say more, needed to—
But the light erupted upward.
"Joshua!!" she cried.
The throne hall vanished in a burst of blinding magic.
The ancient pact demanded a royal be sent to the Demon Realm every generation…
This time, it had chosen him.
Joshua felt the world begin to change. Sound and color vanished, then gravity, until only the blue glow of magic remained. His fingers slipped through the last traces of Elara's warmth as the world unraveled.
The marble floor disappeared from beneath his boots.
The throne room faded away.
Then—
SLAM—
His body crashed into cold stone, air escaping his lungs in one violent exhale. He staggered, bringing himself to one knee as the blue mana faded around him.
His vision steadied enough to register where he now stood: A colossal chamber of black stone, lined with towering obsidian pillars, carved with runes that shined a dull crimson.
This… isn't what the elders described.
A warm scent hit him—herbs, clean stone, a hint of fresh wood.
Chains clanked around Joshua as he stood there.
Dozens of eyes—red, gold, silver—focused on him from the darkness. Demons lined the room, their forms just shadows. Each one held a weapon and wore armor while kneeling before an unseen presence hidden in the dark.
"So, this is the offering the humans dared send us."
The voice was calculated and commanding. A figure stepped forward from the shadows. While Joshua was taller than most men, the demon still loomed a head higher than him. His skin shone with an obsidian sheen, and a scar ran down the side of his jaw.
His eyes, cold and ember-bright, narrowed as he sized up the prince.
"It seems like they sent someone far too young this time," the demon murmured. "How disappointing." The demon's lip curled, as though Joshua was something he'd scrape off his boot.
Joshua straightened his posture, brushing the dust from his cloak. He forced his expression calm.
"I am Prince Joshua Vale," he said evenly. "Third prince of the Human Kingdom Arial. I'm here under peace, and I will not be deterred by anything or anyone. Including you."
A low rumble rolled through the chamber.
It took a minute for Joshua to realize it wasn't a growl, or thunder, or an earthquake. It was laughter.
Great. A room full of demons, and the first one I speak to thinks I'm a joke.
"Peace?" the demon repeated, lips curling. "Don't speak as if your title means anything here."
The demon king flicked his hand, all the kneeling demons rising as one, armor and weapons clinking.
The prince responded in kind, knuckles white from gripping the hilt of his sword. Even if he might die here, he had prepared himself for this months ago. Now, it was his duty to represent the spirit of humanity.
"Enough."
The room froze.
The armored demons lowered their heads instantly. Even the demon towering over him stiffened, the arrogance draining from his posture in a second.
"Daughter. Look at him. Barely a man wrapped in royal cloth. Too soft and far too fragile. This human isn't fit to stand in your shadow, much less take your hand." The king's eyes flicked toward the prince menacingly.
"Say the word, and we will send his corpse back to their kingdom as our answer."
"Father. Wait."
Joshua looked up, and his breathe caught.
A woman descended from a staircase and into the room, a sense of power behind her presence.
Her horns curved back with the color of polished midnight. Her eyes burned scarlet, bright enough to cast shadows with every blink. She wore a cloak of black silk, embedded with traces of red mana that glowed as she moved.
Her sight swept over him; His posture, his clothes, the way he stood even when outnumbered fifty to one, and she observed it all.
"So," she said quietly, "this is the human prince. The man the kingdom threw away to protect their hides. He has some courage at least."
Joshua matched her eyes with his own. "And you are...?"
The smallest of smirks appeared on her face.
Every instinct is screaming at me to be careful around this woman, Joshua thought, taking care to hold himself together.
"I am Princess Lysandra of the Demon Realm," she said. "Your betrothed."
Joshua's heartbeat sped up as he met her gaze.
But he couldn't show even a hint of weakness. Standing tall, he brought his hand up to her unfaltering. "I'm grateful we can finally meet."
Her expression didn't soften as she brought her hand to shake his. If anything, it sharpened. "Prince Joshua Vale," she said tilting her head.
"Welcome to the Demon Palace. From this moment on, your life belongs to me."