Markus lies perfectly still, his body refusing to obey as he stares at the ceiling above him. He knows that ceiling. The cracks, the faint shadow near the corner—it belongs to his house.

  With everything he has, he turns his eyes, slowly taking in the room. The dresser. The door. His room.

  Relief flickers, weak but real.

  Then a bitter liquid pours down his throat.

  He doesn’t need to think to recognize it anymore. A health potion.

  “Liddle,” Markus breathes, the name barely surviving the journey past his lips.

  “Don’t move. Your body isn’t in the best shape,” Liddle says.

  “Ange told me everything. It’s…” She stops, her eyes widening as the words catch in her throat. She shakes her head, trying to push it away.

  “I’m glad you came back to me.”

  She leans in, carefully curling her horns around his neck, and lets out a long, trembling sigh. Then she presses a soft kiss to his lips.

  “Don’t worry,” she says gently. “Dr. Me is here to make sure you get better.”

  “I think it’s malpractice to kiss the patient,” Markus murmurs.

  Liddle smiles. “It’s your prescription,” she says confidently. “One kiss every two… um… one hour.”

  Markus tries to grab her, but his hands won’t wrap around her, refusing to move. She climbs onto the bed and nuzzles into his arm, then wraps her tail around his wrists, gently pulling them together like soft handcuffs. There’s no pressure—if he wanted to, Markus knows he could break free.

  “Please… just stay here,” she says, tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to have to worry about that priest.”

  “The priest—” Markus tries to jolt upright, but his body refuses to move. “There may still be time. If he dies, that could start the war—”

  “Markus, please,” she says softly. “You did everything you could. Just… rest.”

  She wraps an arm around him, then curls her tail around his leg, holding him close—claiming him in that gentle way she does.

  “I know you wouldn’t understand right now,” Liddle whispers. “But I promise you don’t have to fix everything.”

  “But…” Markus barely manages to get the word out.

  “No.” She shakes her head against his shoulder. “What happened isn’t your fault.”

  He swallows, eyes unfocused. “Yes it is.”

  “I wasn’t there,” Liddle whispers. “I don’t know exactly what happened. But I do know you. And I know you did everything you could. You wouldn’t have come home barely able to stand if that wasn’t true.”

  She searches his eyes, fear flickering in her own, then leans in and kisses the tip of his nose—her cold touch meant to calm her husband.

  “That’s what I love about you,” she murmurs. “So please…”

  But the rest of the sentence dies quietly. Markus has already drifted off, his eyes slipping shut.

  Liddle kisses his nose again, softer this time, then rests her head on his chest, letting the slow rise and fall of his breathing soothe her trembling thoughts.

  “Rest up, sweetie,” she whispers, holding him close in case this truly is their last night together.

  She stays like that for a quiet minute, listening to him breathe, until a knock startles her from the moment.

  “Don’t get up. I’ve got it.”

  She slips off the bed gently, convinced it’s Sally returning home from playing with Kanna and the other kids.

  But when she opens the door, it isn’t Sally at all.

  Lemres stands there.

  “How is Markus?” Lemres asks in a low voice, head bowed, eyes fixed on the floor.

  “He’s fine. Bye.”

  Liddle says it fast, already trying to shut the door.

  “Wait!”

  Lemres shoves his foot into the gap, stopping it from closing. “Please. We need to talk.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “Sounds like we already talked. Check. See you next time.”

  She pushes harder on the door.

  “Someone is trying to kill Markus!”

  Lemres snaps. The door loosens against his foot as he exhales sharply.

  “I know someone sent him through a portal to fight him. Or—wait a minute…” He falters, eyes tightening as the realization hits deeper.

  “I know you have every right to be mad at me,” he says, voice low and shaking. “But he’s in danger. And I thought you would want to know… so you wouldn’t be surprised.”

  He looks up at her for the first time.

  “Liddle… you may be the only one left who can keep him safe.”

  Liddle reluctantly steps aside and allows Lemres into the house.

  He moves toward Markus with slow, careful steps, his posture heavy with guilt—but the moment he crosses the threshold of the bedroom, Liddle’s stance shifts. Frost gathers at her fingertips as she prepares an ice spell, a silent warning carved into her eyes.

  Lemres immediately halts and steps back, hands raised slightly, realizing how close he came to provoking her.

  “The spell Ange cast was strong,” Lemres says quietly.

  Liddle’s eyes narrow. “Wait… you weren’t the one who did this?”

  “That’s what I came to tell you.” He exhales slowly, guilt creeping into his voice. “Someone broke into Ange’s house with a plan to kill Markus. She acted fast—too fast—and cast a spell to make him appear dead.”

  Liddle’s breath hitches. “But who would want to kill him?”

  “Sid.”

  “Sid? Alexia’s girlfriend?” Liddle steps fully between Lemres and Markus, lowering her head defensively over Markus’s as her horns angle toward Lemres. “Why? Does she know?”

  “I have no idea,” Lemres admits. “I’ll look into it. But I needed to warn you—don’t open the door for anyone. I’m trying to plan an escape route, but right now Markus can’t move, and even if he could… he wouldn’t leave the kids behind.”

  Liddle’s expression softens. “Yeah. He’s always the one thinking about others.” She leans down and kisses Markus’s forehead.

  “Stay with him. Don’t let him out of your sight,” Lemres says, already stepping back toward the portal he’s opened. “I’ll contact you once I know more.”

  And with that, he vanishes into the swirling light.

  Liddle is alone with Markus again.

  Normally, she loves these quiet moments when it’s just the two of them—laughing at whatever nonsense comes to mind, discovering the strange little wonders of Earth he keeps showing her. All the things she never got to see when she was a lone demon, hated and hunted, isolated from everything warm.

  “Liddle…”

  The voice is weak, but it still snaps her attention back to the bed.

  “Are you there?” Markus tries to push himself upright, but his arms buckle immediately, and he falls back onto the mattress with a soft thud.

  “No. You are staying in bed.”

  Liddle rushes to his side and presses a cool hand to his forehead, letting her ice-cold skin soothe him. “I promise nothing will happen while you rest. I’m here.”

  Markus swallows and reaches up with what little strength he has. His hand finds her wrist, then gently pulls her toward him until her forehead rests against his chest.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I know I’ve put a lot on you lately…”

  “It’s okay,” Liddle breathes, sliding into his arms and letting his warmth steady her shaking heart. “This is so much better than my life without you. And besides—you handle so much on your own, day after day. It’s nice to take a little of the load off you.”

  “I know, but—”

  “But nothing.”

  She presses a finger to his lips, her voice steady but soft. “Markus, remember I love you. And that means you have to let me help too. We’ve talked about this before.”

  “I know. I’ll bring it up the next time I go to therapy,” Markus says weakly.

  “It’s okay. You can tell me.”

  “It’s just…” Markus trails off, eyes softening as he looks at her. “It’s hard to talk when I’m doing this.”

  He cups her cheek and leans up just enough to kiss her, their lips brushing before he deepens it, his tongue gently touching hers. She pulls back with a small breath, her face warm and flustered.

  “I love you,” Markus whispers. “I don’t know how I could live without you.”

  His grip tightens around her, almost crushing her against him before he realizes it. His breath shakes.

  “But I’m scared,” he says, his voice cracking. “Because I failed. And if I failed here… there’s a chance I might have started a war. People could die. So many could already be dead because of me.”

  Liddle lifts her head and looks him straight in the eyes, firm and calm.

  “Why are you responsible for that?” she asks gently. “I know you did everything you could to stop that war from happening. And whatever comes next—we’ll handle it. As long as we do this together. Okay?”

  She brushes her thumb across his cheek, then guides his trembling hand upward.

  “But for now,” she murmurs, “just touch my horns. Do whatever you need to make yourself feel better.”

  She leans forward and gently rests her horns against his chest, letting the cool curve settle over his heartbeat like a quiet anchor.

  “And besides,” she whispers, “the wielder isn’t supposed to be tangled up in politics like that. No one would blame you. So it’s okay. Just rest.”

  Liddle notices Markus is already asleep by the time she finishes speaking. His breathing has evened out, his hand still loosely curled around hers.

  “I’ll go tell the kids it’s safe now,” she whispers, brushing a stray hair from his forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

  She returns a few minutes later, easing the door shut behind her. Markus hasn’t moved an inch. His chest rises and falls in slow, steady waves, his hand still reaching for her even in sleep.

  “Whatever happens,” she whispers into the quiet, “we’ll handle it.”

  She traces a small circle on his arm with her fingertip, grounding herself in the simple truth of him. All the chaos—Sid, the threats, the spell, the danger—falls away for just a moment.

  “It doesn’t matter what the world throws at us,” she murmurs. “Because we’re together. And as long as we’re together… we’ll be fine.”

  Markus shifts in his sleep, not fully waking, but turning just enough to pull her closer, as if some part of him hears her.

  Liddle’s breath softens. A small smile tugs at her lips.

  “See?” she whispers, closing her eyes. “You always find me. And I’ll always stay.”

  And for the first time since everything went wrong, she lets herself believe it—

  they will survive this, because they have each other.