Kingdomofshadows Stories

The first time Marina met the devil, she bled for him. She had known the stories. The warnings. "Never summon the dark ones." "Never offer them your name." "Never make a deal you cannot escape." And yet, she had done all three. The chapel had been empty-abandoned by gods and men alike. But when she pressed her bleeding palm to the stone, whispering words that should have never been spoken, the world itself shuddered. And he came. A voice, like smoke curling around her throat. A presence, darker than the void itself. He watched her, crimson eyes gleaming like embers in the abyss. "You are either very desperate... or very, very foolish." Marina had not flinched. She had nothing left to lose. She had thought she could control this. That power was worth any price. But as the shadows closed in, as his hand reached for hers, as the mark burned into her skin, sealing her fate- She realized too late. Some deals cannot be broken. And the devil always collects.