“They were exiled from Hell centuries ago.”
The room went still. The older cult members lowered their heads silently now.
“We broke sacred laws,” the old woman admitted quietly. “We tried forbidden summoning rituals. Royal magic. Soul bargains.”
The younger brother folded his arms loosely. “You nearly tore open dimensional collapse twice.”
“That was one time,” another cult member argued weakly.
“It was absolutely not one time.”
I stared around the tiny shop afterward. The candles. The summoning books. The desperate years spent trying to reconnect with the world they lost. And the goat with sunglasses stopped feeling funny. These people weren’t obsessed with demons because they were evil. They were homesick. My demon noticed the exact second I understood.
Then the oldest cult member turned toward him again carefully.
“We know we have no right to return.”
Silence filled the little shop afterward. Then quietly, my demon stepped forward. Every cult member went completely still. Just royal authority settling softly through the room.
“You spent eleven years trying to reopen a door,” he said calmly.
The old man lowered his gaze. “Yes.”
My demon glanced toward me afterward, just a small movement, but it was enough for me to understand. He was doing this because of me.
Because before me, he would never have forgiven them. Then my demon lifted one hand. Silver shadows curled softly through the air before forming a royal seal above the center of the shop.
Every cult member gasped. His voice stayed calm when he spoke again.
“Your exile is lifted.”
While everyone else celebrated around the shop, one question refused to leave my mind.
I stepped toward the old man. “Can I ask you something?”
He smiled gently. “Of course, Lady Eva.”
I frowned. “That's exactly my question. How do you know my name? The first time I came here, you already knew who I was. I never told you.”
The old man was quiet for a long moment before answering.
“Because before my exile, I served the royal family as one of Hell's royal demonic seers.”
The younger brother straightened immediately. “You were a royal seer?”
“I was.”
I looked between both of them. “What's a royal seer?”
“I could see echoes of the past, understand the present, and glimpse possible futures,” the old man explained quietly. “Not every future. Choice always changes fate. But I could sense the paths souls were walking.”
A strange silence settled over the little shop.
“And I could always recognize royal soulmates.”
My fingers tightened around my demon's hand automatically.
The old man noticed the movement before smiling sadly.
