Page 28 of Fated to the Demon Lord

“Tell me about how the Final Proving works.”

“I’ll be given ten days to find a suitable body, kill it, and bond with it. After that, I will have the option to participate in a tournament for a position within the army.”

It—as if that body wasn’t a living, breathing being.

“What if you took possession of the body you wanted and made them kill themselves?” I suggested.

He shook his head. “I can’t. The magic is exact. I must end the life of the demon with which I wish to bond from outside their body, not from the inside.”

“Which means all the spirits will be looking for someone to possess eventually,” I surmised. The only way for spirits to interact with the physical world longer than a few moments was to temporarily possess a living body and use it as their weapon to take down the actual body they wish to bond with permanently.

“Yes. You will grant me a… head start.”

Someone he’d use to kill another… or perhaps he’d utilize my body until he found a better one? “If this is true, why not take over Feron? He’s bigger and stronger.”

Vaelor straightened, his muscles tensing. “You think I am evil enough to inflict such an experience on a loyal servant?”

I stepped back from him, my heartbeat picking up at the threat he presented. “But you don’t mind taking me over because I’m your enemy.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, human. You are merely a tool I can use for the next phase of my journey. And why not you? The one who poisoned me? It’s a touch of poetic justice, don’t you think?” He took a step closer, reducing the distance I’d created between us. “I’m your only hope.”

The weight of my predicament settled heavily as I fully realized how delicate my position was.

“So what’s stopping you from finding a better body to possess and killing me when you’re done with me?”

He glared at me as the answer rumbled out of him. “Nothing.”

I inhaled sharply. I shouldn’t have said the next part aloud, but I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t a possibility. Vaelor had to be aware of it too. “You could also drive me insane. You could dive so far into my mind that I lose all sense of myself.”

“I could. However, driving you mad would make it more difficult to control you. It’s easier to take over when you’re pliable and willing.”

I had to bite back a laugh. Pliable and willing had never been part of my nature. I’d known that since childhood, when I bit my mother’s hand for taking too long to style my hair. And yet, what other choice did I have? If I didn’t resist and went with him, then at least I’d survive a bit longer.

“How do you know all this?” I asked.

“Since I was unexpectedly and heartlessly murdered, I’ve been studying up on Kingdom Spiritu Malignos in my library.”

My breath caught. “You have a library? I’d like to see those books.”

“Perhaps I will be generous and allow you to, if you behave.”

My curiosity curbed quickly. “Behave?”

He took another step closer to me until there was almost no space between us. “I have come here tonight because we need to train.”

I moved away from him until my back hit the wall as the implication of what he wanted sank in. “You mean you want to practice possessing me.”

“That is correct.”

I remembered the instant he had entered me outside, and my instinctive recoil, the helplessness of it. It hadn’t been as terrible as with Raxus, but that didn’t make it a welcome experience. I didn’t want Vaelor in my body, and I certainly didn’t trust him with my mind.

“Do I have a choice?” The question was simple, but I wasn’t sure whether I meant the practice or everything that would come after it.

He reached up and grazed my cheek with a single nail. His gaze had softened, and his touch was gentle and cold, like mist on water. “Not if you wish to live.”

At least he hadn’t killed me… yet. And there seemed to be a part of him that was intent on keeping me alive for now.

“Fine.” I raised my chin, grateful for the wall at my back because my legs trembled at what I was agreeing to. “Do what you must.”