Chapter 58: The contract (1)

Gabriel's fingers curled tightly against the fabric of his robe, his brain racing to process Damian's words.

 'Mate. No. That couldn't be. That shouldn't be.'

He forced himself to look at Damian, meeting his golden gaze with poised control. "You are mistaken," he said, his voice firm despite the weight on his chest. "Whatever you think, Your Majesty, the mark—" He hesitated, swallowing against the tightness in his throat. "That mark was never meant for anyone but me."

Damian hummed, seemingly considering his words. "And yet, here we are." His fingers lingered near the mark before eventually withdrawing, as if he had learned everything he needed simply by touching it. "You carved it into your own skin, correct. But there is magic beneath it..." He tilted his head slightly, studying Gabriel as if he were solving a puzzle. "That wasn't your doing."

Gabriel forced himself to maintain a neutral expression, but inside a storm of thoughts raged. How could he know? He thought of Maximilian. Did Max tell him? Gabriel's mind immediately jumped to Max. He had said it wasn't him. Or had Damian already suspected something before?

He didn't dare ask. Instead, he pursed his lips into a fine line. "If that is true, Your Majesty, what do you want me to do about it?"

Damian purposefully leaned in, his body closing the gap between them, his breath warm against Gabriel's ear. "You don't have to do anything." The casual confidence in his tone sent a chill down Gabriel's spine.

Damian leaned in even more, his voice quieter now, almost intimate. "Did you know that such a contract can be broken by another royal?"

Gabriel stiffened, his breath caught in his throat. The ground seemed to tilt beneath him, and his mind reeled at the implications. A contract like that, embedded in his very soul, was not something that anyone could break. A contract tied to imperial magic required power, a will strong enough to overwrite it. For Damian to say—

His eyes widened slightly before he schooled his expression again. "That's impossible."

"Is it?" Damian's golden gaze bore into him, unshaken. "You're bound, Gabriel. But you don't have to be."

Gabriel's heart raced and blood pounded in his temples as the words echoed in his mind. 'You don't have to be'

. But why was he offering this? He knew the Emperor wasn't known for mercy and wasn't the type of man to free someone out of kindness. Everything he does is calculated and deliberate. There's always an angle.

Gabriel took a careful breath, steadying himself. "And what would you ask in return, Your Majesty?"

Damian's lips curled into something dangerously close to amusement. "What makes you think I would ask for a price?"

Gabriel didn't falter. "Because nothing is free."

A beat of silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. Damian remained poised, his golden eyes gleaming in the dim light as he studied Gabriel. 

Gabriel could feel the weight of the moment press against him, as if the Emperor was waiting for him to act. Waiting for him to break.

Then, finally, Damian exhaled a quiet chuckle. "You're right," he admitted easily. "There is a cost."

Gabriel's breath caught, his body instinctively pulling away. His pulse hammered against his chest, as though every nerve were standing on end. He was resisting the urge to step back, to escape the oppressive atmosphere Damian had created around them. But his body betrayed him once more, refusing to move. Damian's proximity was suffocating, as if an invisible force was drawing him in and holding him captive.

Damian tilted his head, his eyes glinting under the soft glow of the lanterns. "You would belong to me instead."

The words struck Gabriel like a physical force, slamming into him so hard that he could not breathe for a moment. His body became rigid, and his breath was briefly taken away. 'Belong to me.'

The words twisted inside him, scraping at his insides.

 'No.'

Damian continued smoothly, as if he had just stated a simple truth. "The contract binds you to something you can't even remember. But if I break it..." His fingers brushed the edge of Gabriel's sleeve, barely touching, but it felt like an electric shock, sending a shiver down Gabriel's spine. "You would no longer be unclaimed."

Gabriel's voice sounded sharper than expected. "I am not a possession to be traded."

Damian's eyes darkened, his expression unreadable. But there was something else in his eyes, something darker, far more dangerous than Gabriel had anticipated. "You misunderstand me."

Damian's grip tightened slightly around Gabriel's waist, a subtle reminder that they were still being watched. The pressure of his touch reminded Gabriel that there would be no easy way out of this conversation. He couldn't just pull away and pretend nothing was happening. Not now. Not with the Emperor standing so close, his every move calculated and controlling.

"I do not take what isn't freely given," Damian murmured, his voice softer now but no less intense. His words seemed to vibrate through Gabriel's bones, filling him with a strange, unsettling sensation. "I am simply offering you a choice."

A choice.

Gabriel wasn't sure if he believed that. Because when Damian Lyon presented a choice, he always expected a yes. Gabriel had seen the Emperor's power. Had seen how his will could bend others to his whims with nothing more than a word.

Damian's gaze was unwavering; his golden eyes drilled into Gabriel, searching and dissecting him. "What will it be, Gabriel?" He leaned in just enough for Gabriel to feel his warm and tantalizing breath against his skin.

"Do you want to stay bound to something you cannot remember, something that was not of your choosing? Or do you want to be free?" His voice dropped to a low murmur, almost a whisper, as if he was sharing a secret with Gabriel that no one else could hear. "If I break the contract, you would no longer be bound by it."

Gabriel could feel his heart pounding in his chest, a frantic rhythm ringing in his ears. Free? Was that what Damian was offering him? Or was it a lie, a carefully crafted illusion to further trap him in his web?

His voice shook, but he forced the words out. "And if I agree to this... freedom?" His eyes narrowed. "What happens to me? What will I owe you?"

Damian's lips quirked into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "Nothing, Gabriel. But everything at the same time."

Gabriel flinched, the weight of those words settling on his shoulders like an invisible burden. "What bullshit is this?"

The Emperor's smile deepened as he seemed to read Gabriel's confusion. "You would owe me yourself, Gabriel. Your loyalty. Your body. Your heart." Damian's voice was quiet now, low and almost tender, as if he were speaking to a lover, not a prisoner. "Because when I break that contract, it will be replaced with something else. My mark."