Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty-Chapter 136: Flames, Shadows, and a Choice

The demon’s chest pressed flush against Cassian’s. Their legs tangled beneath loose folds of silk, the robe slipping further with every breath. Heat and shadow coiled between them, thick as smoke.

"A virgin finally finds his way to me..." the voice murmured, low and intoxicating, breath ghosting along Cassian’s cheek. "Do you know how long I’ve waited...?"

Cassian’s soul nearly fled his body.

His every nerve stood on edge. His mind screamed for sense, for escape, for sanity—but all of it had already shattered. He couldn’t tell what was worse: that a demon had just licked his neck, that he couldn’t move, or that the demon spoke like this encounter had been long-awaited.

He couldn’t breathe.

Not because of the demon’s weight—no, the Demon of Lust didn’t press down with brute force. His movements were sinuous, smooth, his form gliding like silk molded to Cassian’s own, like smoke wrapping around flame. But it was everything else—his presence, his breath, the low hum of danger in every elegant motion.

Cassian lay frozen, not by magic, but by the sheer avalanche of disbelief crashing through him.

Shock. Embarrassment. Panic. Shame.

And something else.

Something darker—something that stirred in the pit of his stomach, unwelcome and terrifying.

The demon’s lips brushed his throat again, featherlight, a breath rather than a touch. Cassian’s fists clenched against the coffin’s velvet lining. He hated the softness. Hated how easily those elegant fingers pinned his wrists, teasing his already splintered resolve.

Then came the voice again. A whisper like embers.

"Do you want me to stop, Cassian... or are you just scared of what you’ll want if I don’t?"

That did it.

Cassian snapped.

"I want you to get the FUCK off me!" he shouted, fury flashing in his eyes. He jerked upward, trying to slam his head into the demon’s nose or push him away—anything to sever the unbearable closeness.

But the air shifted and powerful force enveloped the entire place in its strong grip.

Then it roared.

A shadow crashed into the chamber like divine fury. In a single breath, everything stilled. Even the Demon of Lust looked up with irritation and like he already knew what was coming, but he not afraid, but certainly no longer amused.

And then—

BOOM.

The coffin shattered.

Without any warning, the coffin fell apart and flew in every direction. Just a brutal explosion of power. Stone splintered outward in a storm of black wind and shards, flinging debris like daggers across the chamber. The sound rang like a bell of judgment.

Cassian was thrown free.

Yet somehow... he wasn’t hurt.

He landed gently, not on stone, but into arms of someone. It was warm, strong, and unyielding.

Behind him, the Demon of Lust was hurled like a discarded ribbon, sliding across the floor. His robe fluttered around him, disheveled and torn, the smirk on his face still intact. Even covered in dust, he looked like a fallen god reclining amidst chaos.

And then came the voice.

Cold. Deep. Familiar in a way that set Cassian’s bones on fire and ice all at once.

"If I came a second later," the voice said—each word sharp as steel, edged in possessiveness—"would you two have already fucked each other?"

Cassian froze.

Every muscle locked.

"I—I didn’t—!" His voice broke. "It wasn’t me! That bastard was—he—!"

Panic seized him. He tried to pull away from the chest he now rested against, but the arms didn’t release him. If anything, they held him tighter in a unforgiving and punishing grip. It was too solid.

He twisted, blinking through dust and debris, heart hammering. His vision blurred, but he saw the outline—long dark hair, a high collar, and dark blood filled eyes gleaming through the haze. The man’s aura pressed down like judgment incarnate, cold and vast.

Cassian’s breath hitched.

"W-Wait—who—?"

The man chuckled.

A low, rich laugh that sank under Cassian’s skin like dark honey. His lips hovered by Cassian’s ear, brushing just barely, just enough to make his stomach twist with confused fear.

"Still pretending you didn’t enjoy it?" the stranger murmured.

Cassian shivered. The tone was foreign, but the effect was not.

"I—I didn’t—You’ve got the wrong idea—" He struggled again, but the hold only tightened.

Across the chamber, the Demon of Lust rose from the rubble like a cat stretching in the sun. He ran lazy fingers down his bare chest, the silk robe half-falling from his hips, his grin sharper than before.

"Well, if the Demon Lord is going to keep playing hard to get," the demon purred, "then I’d be happy to help bed his mate. After all... who could resist me?"

There was no teasing in his voice now. Only taunting.

And the words weren’t aimed at Cassian anymore.

They were aimed at the man holding him.

"Besides," the demon added, arching his back like it was a throne, "you should thank me. I was only warming him up for you."

Cassian felt the change instantly.

The air dropped in temperature, the warmth replaced by biting cold. The arms around him remained—but now they gripped harder and tighter.

Almost punishing.

Cassian shuddered not from pain, but from the warning.

The man behind him hadn’t spoken. But the silence was thunderous.

And then suddenly, a deafening boom cracked the floor beneath them.

Dust erupted upward, smoke billowing like a volcano burst from the earth.

Cassian barely had time to react before his vision darkened.

The last thing he heard was spoken against his ear with finality. It was a voice etched into the hollow of his soul.

"If you can survive this..."

A pause. A heartbeat.

"...then come to me."

His eyes widened—but it was too late. But he also knew it was a warning, not for him but that lusty bastard.

Darkness swallowed him.

His body went limp in that stranger’s arms. The world fell away like shattered glass.

And in the last flicker before unconsciousness claimed him—Cassian wondered:

Who was he?

Why did his voice feel like home?

And why did it ache like Cassian had already belonged to him... once before?

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on fr(e)𝒆webnov(e)l.com