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Arin woke with a groan, his body refusing to cooperate. Every muscle ached, as though the cold stone floor had reached into his bones and squeezed them during the night. His eyelids were heavy, and when he blinked, he saw the red crystals glowing faintly from the walls, casting eerie flickering shadows that made his stomach twist with unease.
He sat up slowly, the stiffness in his limbs forcing a hiss from his lips.
Where am I supposed to go? What am I supposed to do?
Nothing in this world made sense.
A knock—sharp, quick, and unexpected—startled him.
“Who—?” His voice cracked.
The door opened before he could finish. A maid stepped inside, her steps quiet and practiced. She wore a simple dark dress, her expression neutral but her eyes cautious, as though she feared getting too close to him.
“Sir Arin,” she said with a small bow that still felt too formal for him. “You are awake.”
“I… think so,” he muttered, rubbing his face. “What time is it? What—where am I supposed to—”
“You are to follow me downstairs,” she interrupted politely but firmly. “The Master has ordered that you be placed on the palace schedule immediately.”
Arin blinked. “What schedule? I don’t even know what I’m doing! I don’t know what—what any of this is.” His voice trembled with a mix of frustration and fear.
The maid hesitated, clearly not used to questions.
“You will be given instructions as needed,” she said. “Please eat and dress quickly.”
She placed a tray of food on the table and set a folded set of clothes beside it. The food smelled unfamiliar—rich, spicy, with an undertone he couldn’t name. It made his stomach rumble and twist at the same time.
Arin stared at the clothes—dark, simple, a loose tunic and trousers that looked like servant wear.
“Is this… what I’m supposed to wear?” he asked weakly.
“Yes. Humans in the palace must not draw attention.”
His stomach dropped. “Humans?” he echoed. “There are other humans here?”
The maid’s lips pressed together. “Some,” she answered vaguely. “But most do not last long.”
Arin froze.
“Last… long? What does that mean?”
The maid avoided his eyes.
“It means you must hurry".
He dressed quickly, trying to adjust the unfamiliar fabric. His heartbeat thudded unevenly as he followed the maid into the hallway. The palace was even more massive than he remembered—dark stone pillars, glowing runes that pulsed like breathing creatures, and shadows that seemed to shift on their own.
Arin kept his steps small and careful.
“I don’t know where to step,” he whispered nervously. “Are there traps or something?”
“Yes,” the maid said simply. “Please step only where I step.”
He swallowed hard and followed her heel to toe.
As they moved deeper into the palace, demons of different ranks passed by—tall, horned figures with glowing eyes and sharp features. Some ignored him. Others glared with open hostility.
One muttered, “A human? Disgusting.”
Another sneered, “Why is that thing walking freely?”
Arin lowered his gaze. His legs trembled with every step.
Finally, they entered a lower section of the palace bustling with movement, servants and workers rushing about, each careful to avoid the demons patrolling the halls.
“This will be where you work,” the maid told him.
“Work?” Arin croaked. “How? I don’t know what any of this is—I don’t know the rules”
“You will learn,” she said. “If you fail, you will be punished.”
Arin’s breath caught.
Before he could respond, a demon with silver horns and dark armor stepped into their path. His eyes narrowed into slits.
“So this is the human the Alpha dragged in,” he growled. “Pathetic little thing.”
Arin stepped back instinctively. “I-I didn’t ask to be here”
The demon leaned down, sneering. “Then you should have died yesterday.”
Arin’s chest tightened. “I don’t understand what I’m supposed to say or”
“You should say nothing, human,” the demon spat.
The maid stepped between them quickly.
“He is under the Master’s protection.”
The demon scoffed. “That won’t save him from the others.”
Arin felt cold down to his bones.
The demon walked away, leaving a trail of dread behind him.
Arin swallowed, trying to breathe normally. “Why—why did he say that? What did I do?”
The maid finally met his eyes—just for a second.
“It is not what you did,” she whispered. “It is what you are.”
Arin didn’t understand.
But he understood one thing very clearly
He was in danger.
Everywhere.
From everyone.
The maid handed him a cloth and pointed toward a long table.
“For now, you clean. Do not speak unless spoken to. Do not look any demon in the eye. And do not run.”
Arin took the cloth with shaking hands.
“O-okay,” he whispered. “I… I’ll try. I don’t really know what I’m doing but… I’ll try.”
As he cleaned, demons passed by, some whispering, some staring openly. Arin kept his head low, mind racing.
He didn’t belong here.
He wasn’t meant for this world.
And if Kaelith had brought him into this palace…
He had no idea whether it meant protection or a slow, inevitable death.
The demon raised his claw, red magic crackling at his fingertips.
Arin squeezed his eyes shut, breath trapped in his chest. But a sudden, unnatural cold swept through the room.
The air thickened.
Silence fell so sharply it hurt.
Every servant froze where they stood.
The demon’s claw stopped mid-air.
Arin didn’t understand at first.
Then he saw every head bowing at once.
Kaelith had entered.
He didn’t walk quickly because he didn’t have to.His presence filled the room like a storm, shadows bending toward him, the temperature dropping with each step.
Arin stared, unable to move, still held by the demon’s grip.
The demon trembled visibly.
“A—Alpha!” he gasped, dropping Arin immediately and falling to his knees. “Forgive me—! I did not know he was this human"
Kaelith didn’t look at Arin.
Not even once.
His cold eyes were fixed solely on the demon who dared cause disorder in his palace.
His voice, when it came, was calm and lethal:
“You violated a commandment of the palace.”
The demon pressed his forehead to the floor. “Alpha—I swear—I didn’t intend to"
Kaelith raised a hand.
Shadows erupted from the floor, wrapping around the demon’s throat like chains. The demon choked, lifted slightly off the ground by an invisible force.
No one breathed.
Arin pressed himself back, shaking, but Kaelith didn’t acknowledge him at all.
Not a glare, not a word, not a gesture.
He didn’t even care that Arin was on the floor.
Kaelith’s attention was entirely on discipline — order — rules.
“Disobedience,” Kaelith said quietly, “is punished.”
With one flick of his hand, the shadows tightened. The demon collapsed, gasping and coughing on the stone floor.
Not dead but close.
Kaelith dropped his hand and turned away immediately, coat sweeping behind him.
He didn’t spare Arin a glance.
No questions.
No recognition.
Nothing.
He left the room as silently as he had entered, servants bowing so low their foreheads nearly touched the floor.
Once Kaelith was gone, the suffocating weight in the air lifted but the fear remained.
Arin sat on the ground, trembling hard.
The servants whispered urgently:
“He didn’t even look at him…”
“He truly doesn’t care.”
“That’s the Alpha for you.”
“That human is lucky the King didn’t kill him for causing trouble.”
Arin tried to steady his breathing, gripping the edge of the table for support.
He was alive only because Kaelith valued order, not him.
And that was somehow even more terrifying.
- Writer
