Taken by the Demon King

Whispers in the Dark

The car starts to sputter, lurching forward and throwing Nina toward the dashboard. I manage to catch her, but the engine dies completely.

I twist the key in desperation, but nothing happens. The rearview mirror shows only dark, silent trees. The air feels heavy. A shiver runs through me.

✧

“Ninaaaa!” I scream as she bolts toward the forest. “No! Come back here!”

I chase after her, branches scraping my already bruised face. The mud slips under my feet, making every step a struggle. Nina vanishes among the trees.

✧

“Ninaaa! Here!” I whistle, but the ground is wet and slippery. I pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight.

The trees are so tall the sky is barely visible. A clearing reveals dry, gray, cracked ground. No birds, no leaves—just serpentine cracks across the dead soil.

✧

“Nina?” My voice echoes, fading into the trunks.

Then the forest answers. My own voice returns, distorted, like a warped whisper.

✧

Pressure surrounds me. The air grows thin, my body prickles. The ground trembles, almost imperceptibly, but enough to sense something massive breathing beneath it.

A guttural sound rips through the night—sharp, then hoarse, vibrating the soil. My stomach churns.

✧

“Nina…” I whisper. I try to turn and run, but something blocks my vision.

A grotesque shadow looms in the clearing. Tall. Broad shoulders, arms like black stone columns, skin marked with coal-black tattoos, piercings glinting in the dark. Only the face is clear—imposing, flawless.

✧

There, cradled in a tight embrace, trembling, is Nina.

“Lost?” He doesn’t even glance at me properly, continuing to stroke Nina unhurriedly. “So reckless,” his voice is deep, resonating through the forest, sending a shiver down my spine.

✧

Suddenly, he lifts his gaze and locks eyes with me. I freeze, unable to move. His eyes are like obsidian blades—sharp, deep… and yet empty? No, worse!

There’s hunger there. Interest. Curiosity. Something that paralyzes me, as if he can see, steal every fear, every thought I try to hide.

✧

He tilts his head, sizing me up slowly. He opens his mouth… and I nearly choke. A thick bar pierces his tongue, gleaming silver between sharp fangs. The metallic scrape against his canines makes my stomach twist.

“This…” He holds Nina with one hand, as if she weighs nothing, and extends the other toward me, long fingers with black claw-like nails. I have no doubt now—he’s a demon, whether by those eyes or that terrifying beauty. “Is she yours?”

✧

His tone is mocking, almost amused, as if he’s enjoying my torment. A crooked smile forms on his lips, and my stomach turns. My mother always said demons loved chaos and disorder… and this man is living proof. He watches me, studying every reaction like I’m a new toy.

“N-no…” My voice falters.

✧

He raises an eyebrow, amused, the corner of his mouth curling into a crooked smile that makes me tremble.

“Hmm, no?” I shake my head, trying to control the fear tightening my chest. “Because I heard you scream ‘Ninaaaa’ so infernally it woke me up,” he says, and my stomach lurches. I don’t know if I want to cry or run, but I can’t look away.

✧

“Nina… it’s… it’s me,” I stammer, my voice nearly fading. “My therapist said this helps with image dysphoria…”

Nina perks her ears and looks at me—she who ran wild into the forest. I love her… maybe enough to die for her? In theory, yes, but in practice… never.

✧

“Nina’s a common name for pets,” he remarks, indifferent.

“Then yours must be much better than mine, right?” I try to sound sarcastic, but my voice cracks.

“Caim,” he says. I swallow hard—my college friend was obsessed with macabre stories; she once said demons never reveal their names because they could be controlled that way.

✧

“You’ve got the name of an envious man and you judge mine?” I try to step back, but he doesn’t move.

“My father thought it fitting,” he replies, clenching his teeth.

✧

I fall silent, unable to breathe properly, watching his every move, every inch of danger radiating from him. My skin tingles, each heartbeat echoing in my body. Nina cowers, alert, and I know there’s no escape.

Caim tilts his head, his eyes fixed on me like I’m an intriguing experiment. Nina purrs in his lap, absurdly relaxed—too relaxed for someone in the grip of that thing.

✧

“Your therapist must’ve been messing with you,” he says, running his fingers gently over Nina’s belly, a tenderness that sends shivers down my spine. “You smell of fear, blood, and cheap gasoline. And you talk to me about image dysphoria?”

✧

Smell? What? I step back, and he lets out a rough laugh, a sound like he hasn’t used his throat in centuries. Nina chooses that moment to lick his finger. Traitor.

Even if I wanted to take her back, she’s clearly not interested. As for Tyler… I know I’ve got maybe minutes before he notices I’m gone. I check my phone—no messages, no signal.

✧

Caim glances at the sky—or what’s left of it between the trees—with a look that’s… boredom? As if he already knows how this will end and couldn’t care less.