Deal with Hell

Daphne didn't know how she had missed this earlier.

His chest was entirely still, and there was not even a tremble, much less a heartbeat. All that moved was her own uncontrollably shaking hands.

Her hands were now smeared with his blood, but from his nonchalant face, it was like the crimson liquid was merely a cup of spilled berry juice.

"You're not dead?" She finally let out a horrified gasp.

"Do you want to be a widow that much? Is one dead husband not enough for you?"

"Why do you not have a heartbeat!" Her voice rose higher, and she looked at the gaping bloody hole with appalled eyes.

Blood was no longer even oozing out from the wound. Rubbing her eyes, she could have sworn that the wound was larger mere moments before.

"Why are you not dead?"

Slowly, Daphne collapsed to the floor in defeat. She didn't know what else she could do, and more than ever, she felt so helpless.

"Who said that I'm not?"

He stooped down beside her, ripping off a piece of fabric from his cloak and wiping off the blood from her hands.

The gaping hole in his chest that had been there earlier was nearly entirely gone.

Daphne didn't want to look at him. The sight of his face disgusted her, and there wasn't even a reason to put on a guise anymore. After all, what was the point? She had lost for good, and this time, it would be clear that the bargain was off.

She had failed. And she had brought down the entirety of Eversun alongside her.

"What is your punishment?" She closed her eyes, anticipating a lash to her face or some other stinging pain. "Please, don't harm the Kingdom of Eversun over this. You can kill me in whatever way you deem fit."

Instead, there was only a period of silence.

Just when she anticipated the worst, his deep voice sounded. "A kiss will do."

Her eyes went wide.

"A kiss?"

She racked her mind for any torture tactics that could possibly share a name with this act of affection.

He moved his head towards her.

She didn't move any closer.

"You're not going to call off the deal? Or are you going to kill off the entire Kingdom of Eversun after this kiss?"

"Have you married me in a coffin?"

She nodded.

"And for all of the people of Eversun to see?"

She nodded again.

"And have you become my consort?"

After a moment of hesitation, Daphne once again agreed.

"Then consider the bargain to still be in place." He looked her straight in her eyes, and there was nothing insincere about his gaze. Perhaps it was tinted with darkness, but there was no hint of trickery within his eyes. "As long as you remain with me here in the North, I will spare the people of Eversun."

"But I tried to kill you," her voice came out as a squeak.

"That was not part of the deal, was it now, Princess?"

Her gaze went blank. How much did this man not value his life?

"And if that wasn't, I don't see why it should alter the terms of our bargain."

"I will not stop trying to kill you." Somewhat infected by his candidness, Daphne accidentally let the words slip out of her mouth. "For every moment that I live by your side, for every moment I serve as your supposed consort, for every moment that I breathe air, for every moment that my heart still beats, I will not stop trying to kill you."

"I know."

"You killed my people, ruined my kingdom, and forced me to shame. Even if we lie together on the same bed, my mind and heart will never be in the same plane as yours."

"I know."

"Then why are you keeping me by your side still?" She spat.

"Roses have thorns, and in order to fully appreciate the beauty of the blossom, what's a little pain as a price?"

"The price is your life."

"So what?"

Those casual words drifted in the still night air, the weightlessness of it all especially foreign to Daphne.

"The price is your life," she repeated, not sure whether the Northern King had accidentally misheard her.

"It's not like I can die again anyway." He pointed to his chest. Apart from the traces of dried blood against his pale skin, the hole from earlier had completely disappeared. If not for the white scar that remained in its place, Daphne would have thought that she hallucinated the entire assassination to begin with.

She took a step back, for the first time taking his words seriously.

It all clicked.

The Northern King was rumored to have made a deal with the devil, the keeper of the underworld, himself.

If he had not signed a blood pact with the demon, how could the uncivilized, struggling Northern Kingdom ever fight back against the Kingdom of Eversun in such a short amount of time? It had been merely a few years ago when the Northern Kingdom had begged for mercy by the steps of the Eversun palace. And now...well...Daphne looked to her surroundings in anguish.

If he had not learned some sort of necromancy, how could he have brought back Akira from the dead? Daphne had tried convincing herself that she didn't feel Akira's weak pulse or breathe, but surely her nanny would have picked it up.

If he had not acquired some sort of magical powers, how could he have healed himself in the span of minutes?

If there wasn't some secret to him, how can he possibly not be lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Maybe he was really dead after all.

But if he was dead, how could he be standing right there"

"Do you still not believe me?" He twirled the bloodied dagger between his fingertips before handing it directly to Daphne's shaking hands.

"Here." He pointed to the exact same spot in his chest, the place where his heart should have been. "Do it again."

Seeing Daphne not move, he instead grabbed her hand, moving it until the tip of the blade rested directly against the scar.

"I told you, you're prettier when you smile. So if this is what makes you happy, then be it."

With one push, he plunged the dagger into his own flesh.