By the time we finally emerged from the tunnels, the night air felt almost shocking. Cold wind brushed across my face as I stepped out of the hidden passage behind the cathedral. Above us, the sky stretched dark and cloudless, dotted with faint stars.
I took a deep breath. Freedom. Technically.
The cathedral loomed behind us, silent and massive against the night sky. Somewhere inside it, the royal court was probably still celebrating the wedding that had ruined my life.
I resisted the urge to throw a rock at it. Instead I focused on walking.
The forest surrounding the city stretched for miles, thick with towering oak trees and twisting undergrowth. The ground was uneven and damp, making my ruined wedding slippers even more impractical than they had been earlier.
Mal walked beside me like he had done this a thousand times. Which, knowing him for approximately ten minutes, was probably accurate. After several minutes of silence, he spoke "How far are we going?"
"Somewhere safe."
"Define safe."
"Somewhere the royal guards won't immediately try to kill me."
"That narrows it down slightly."
I stopped walking and turned toward him. "You are incredibly unhelpful."
Mal leaned casually against a tree
"I am not the one who activated a demon summoning ritual by mistake."
"That was an accident."
"You bled on the circle."
"I tripped."
"You tripped dramatically."
I glared at him. "You're enjoying this."
"Immensely." He laughed, which only seemed to mock me more.
I started walking again. Despite everything that had happened tonight, a strange sense of calm had begun settling over me. Maybe it was exhaustion. Or maybe it was the simple fact that if I had survived summoning a demon king, things probably couldn't get much worse.
Probably.
After a few more minutes, something else occurred to me. "Mal."
"Hmm?" He purred at me almost seductively.
"Are all demons like you?"
"No."
"What are the others like?"
"Worse."
"That's comforting."
He chuckled quietly. The sound was surprisingly normal. Not sinister. Not threatening. Just amused.
I frowned slightly. "Why did you agree to the contract?"
"You offered something valuable."
"You don't even know what you're going to ask for yet."
"I have time."
"That's not reassuring." We walked in silence for a while longer. Then something strange happened. A sudden tug pulled at my chest. More like pressure. I stopped immediately.
Mal stopped too. "You moved too far away," he said. "How far?"
"About fifteen steps."
I stared at him. "You're telling me we have a magical distance limit."
"For now." He almost sounded apologetic.
I groaned. "Fantastic."