Mine
The gates groaned open long before I reached them.
They always did.
The manor hadn't changed since the day my father died. Black iron fences stretched toward the fog, thorned roses climbed cracked stone walls, and every window watched me like the house itself remembered what had happened.
I rested a hand against the heavy oak door.
"I'm home," I whispered.
No one answered.
There was no one left to answer.
Father had ruled this estate for decades, and beneath it, far below the stone foundations, he had kept something no one else dared to.
A devil.
My footsteps echoed through the empty halls until I reached the spiral staircase leading underground. The air grew colder with every step, carrying the scent of old iron and candle wax.
At the bottom waited a single reinforced door.
The key hung around my neck.
Father had made me swear never to lose it.
The lock clicked.
Inside, chains rattled.
Lucian sat against the far wall, crimson eyes lifting toward me. His black horns curved back through tangled hair, and despite the years underground, he carried himself like a king forced onto a prison floor.
"So," he said, his voice calm, "the old man is gone."
I closed the door behind me.
"He died three days ago."
Silence settled between us.
Lucian looked away first.
"...I know."
I hadn't expected that answer.
"You knew?"
"I felt the contract break."
Another long silence.
I stepped farther into the room until I stood only a few feet away.
"My father spent years making sure you never escaped."
"He certainly tried."
His smile wasn't mocking.
It was tired.
I reached into the leather bag hanging at my side and removed a new collar, black leather with polished silver fittings. Father had crafted it years ago but never used it.
Lucian's gaze fixed on it.
"So that's how it is."
I knelt in front of him.
"The old contract ended with my father."
"It did."
"But this estate..." I swallowed. "Everything he protected belongs to me now."
Lucian watched without speaking.
"So do the responsibilities."
For the first time, uncertainty crossed the devil's face.
"I don't intend to hurt you," I said quietly. "But I can't let you walk free, either."
The chain clinked softly as I fastened the collar around his neck.
Lucian never resisted.
He simply closed his eyes.
When the clasp locked into place, a faint silver light traced the leather before fading into the metal.
The manor accepted its new master.
I let out a slow breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
"It's done."
Lucian opened his eyes again.
"They've made their choice."
"No," I answered.
"I did."
The room fell silent once more.
Finally, I stood.
"My father is gone."
Lucian looked at the floor.
"I know."
"And until I decide otherwise..." I tightened my grip on the end of the chain, not pulling, only holding it.
"You're under my care now."
The devil gave a slow, unreadable nod.
Outside, thunder rolled across the hills.
Neither of us noticed the ancient symbols carved into the cellar walls beginning to glow.
Or the single crack forming across the oldest seal in the room.
