The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis
Chapter 63: The Demon Inside

Chapter 63: The Demon Inside

The moon hung high above the Crown Prince’s manor, silver and silent, casting long shadows through the open-air walkways. By the time I left Zhao Meiling’s destroyed quarters, the fires in most lanterns had been doused, the servants had retreated to corners, and the palace had gone quiet.

Except for the footsteps behind me.

Shi Yaozu didn’t speak until we turned into the last corridor. He followed me like a shadow—not the loyal kind, but one uncertain of its shape.

"What’s wrong?" I asked, without turning my head.

There was a long pause before he opened his mouth to speak. "Is it normal to feel like something’s moving inside your chest?" he asked, his voice soft, but I could hear something in it that I had never heard before.

Uncertainty.

I stopped walking.

When I turned, he was standing a few paces back, arms crossed behind him like he was trying to brace his body from the inside. "It’s not painful," he continued, his eyes narrowing as he stared forward. "It’s just... like something is there. Something that wasn’t before. It’s quiet. Watching. But it’s mine."

I studied him for a moment.

Only hours ago, in the Empress’s courtyard, Hattie had given him a Wrath demon seed. And apparently, it was a lot stronger than the one she had given the Empress. I don’t know what was going through his mind when he wished for a demon seed, but whatever it was, it was enough to create something... interesting.

"It means," I said slowly, "that you have the potential to be powerful." For a moment, I debated with myself just how much to share. I mean, I was pretty sure that I covered the basics when we were in the Empress’s courtyard, but now that he was like me...

I needed to figure out just how much I trusted him.

His gaze sharpened, piercing into me like I just threatened to kill the Crown Prince or something. "What do you mean, potential?"

"I mean," I sighed, shoving my demons to the side and shifting direction, "that there’s a demon living inside of you now. And how much power you can access depends on how well you understand it—and yourself."

He didn’t flinch, and that surprised me. From what I could understand back in the village, demons weren’t exactly appreciated here.

"Is there a place here where we can work? Somewhere private?" I asked, letting out another long sigh. "We need to not be disturbed by anyone."

"I’ll lead the way."

We moved through the courtyard gardens, silent but swift. I had no idea where we were going, but he knew. He guided us to a small, enclosed pavilion behind the training hall, normally used by the guards for solitary practice. Here, there were no servants and no prying eyes.

Only when the doors were closed behind us did I loosen my sleeves and reach into my hair.

I pulled a single pin free. Silver, thin, elegant.

Then, holding it between my fingers, I let the power rise.

The metal melted like wax in my palm, folding inward and outward again, forming shapes that shimmered in the dim light. A blade. A bracelet. A bracer for my forearm. I let it dance in the air between us, shifting as I willed it.

Shi Yaozu’s eyes never left it.

"As a wrath demon, the two powers that will come easiest to you are metal and fighting. I’m pretty sure that I mentioned it before," I said, staring at the shifting metal, just as enamored as Shi Yaozu was.

"You... you also have a demon inside of you?" he asked, his voice low.

"No," I said quietly. "I have three...plus me, of course."

That answer made him blink.

"It makes things... interesting," I continued, nodding my head. "Especially when my patience is tested."

His brows lifted faintly. "Does that happen often?"

"It’s happening right now," I chuckled, letting the metal coil into a chain before wrapping it around itself. "Wrath wants revenge. She wants to do it slow, so slow no one sees it coming until it is too late and Death has come for them. Lust has already picked who she wants, and she’s not interested in compromising. Pride? At this moment, she’s content simply watching the show. But the moment someone touches what’s mine, she’ll explode."

I turned toward him and raised a brow. "And then there’s me."

He tilted his head. "What do you want?"

I traced a finger through the air, and the metal twisted into a choker. I floated it toward him, letting it settle lightly around his neck. Surprised, he ran his finger over it, feeling the smoothness of it all.

By the time I was done with it, there was no beginning and no end. Just a collar on a very impressive assassin.

"I might joke that I have split personalities," I murmured, wondering if he would demand that I take it off, "but don’t make the mistake of thinking I don’t want the same things they do. I do. I always have. The four of us are all part of the same cube. There is no major conflict, just very long discussions as to timing."

"Why?" he asked, and it wasn’t about the choker he was still touching.

"Because I spent eleven years on a mountain being left alone. Not because I was weak, but because I was strong enough to make it happen. And now that I’m back in the world?" I met his eyes. "Now, I want to have fun. And I need to teach a certain Third Prince what happens when he brings a tiger back home."

He didn’t respond right away. But I could see the question forming behind his impartial mask. The one no one had dared ask yet.

"How did you get here?" he asked finally. He lowered his hand, but still hadn’t asked me to remove the choker yet.

I closed my eyes for a moment. "How far back do you want me to start?"

"The beginning tends to work best," he replied.

I let out a breath. "I’m not from here. Not this world. I came from a place where people don’t care about demons. We are their neighbors, their lovers, their partners, and their friends. There, there is no difference between human and demon... well, until the centipedes come back. Then everyone is looking to a demon for protection. Our world changed at the drop of a hat... or the drop of a wish. My father, and I love that man, made me learn how to survive anything and everything before I could even walk. The traps, the house, everything that I have accomplished here was a direct result of that training. He was always scared that someone would make a wish, and I wouldn’t be able to survive until the end. But as I grew up, I didn’t appreciate my upbringing. I wanted something new, I wanted to see the world in a new way... and I made a wish."

He was silent, waiting for me to continue.

"The next thing I knew, I was inside of the Zhao Xinying’s body as it was discarded on a mountain road. That story the Prime Minister told everyone? That didn’t happen. She was beaten, her fingers broken, her ribs almost crushed. Fuck... that pain," I whispered, remembering the pain. "It’s not something any 9-year-old girl would survive. I wanted revenge... Pride and Wrath basically demanded it. But after all this time, I had given up on ever finding out how that body got there in that state."

"But now you know," he said, his voice... interested.

"But now I know. And the Zhao family will understand what it feels like to bleed from wounds you can’t see. I’ll get Zhao Xinying’s revenge... and then I’ll get mine.

Shi Yaozu’s expression didn’t change, but I could feel his thoughts racing.

"Why tell me?" he asked eventually.

"Because you made a wish, too," I said. "And now you have a demon inside of you. That means we’re the same in one very important way."

He looked down at his hands. "But I don’t feel powerful. Not yet."

"You will," I said, stepping closer. "Your powers will respond to your intention. But first, you need to learn how to want something."

"What?"

"You’ve spent your whole life serving the Crown Prince, doing his bidding without thought. But now?" I met his gaze. "Now, you need to know what you want. What you want. Because demons don’t answer to orders, they answer to hunger."

He was silent.

"Let’s start small," I said. "Imagine you’re in a fight. You need a weapon. You don’t have time to grab one. What do you do?"

"I... I don’t know," he replied, his eyes narrowing.

"Then ask," I said simply. "Close your eyes. Reach inside yourself. Talk to your demon. Tell it what you want. And if your need is strong enough—if your desire is sharp enough—it will answer."

Shi Yaozu stared at me. Then closed his eyes.

The pavilion went quiet.

I watched him breathe, slow and steady, like a soldier preparing for battle.

His fingers curled. His brow furrowed.

Then—faintly, flickering like the first flame of a lantern—I felt it.

Power.

It rippled beneath his skin, raw and hesitant, like an animal just waking up.

A shape shimmered in the air, hazy and indistinct. Metal? Bone? It didn’t form fully. But it was trying.

He opened his eyes, startled.

"You felt that?" he asked.

I nodded. "You called it. It’s not strong enough yet to take shape. But it’s there."

His voice dropped. "It felt... angry."

"That’s Wrath," I said softly. "It will always feel angry. But it’s not senseless rage. Its purpose. If you can control it, it will fight for you."

"And if I can’t?"

I held his gaze. "Then you’ll burn everything around you."

He didn’t flinch at that, either.

Maybe Hattie had picked him for a reason.

"You’ll have to train," I said. "Every night, if necessary. Until you and the thing inside you aren’t strangers anymore."

Shi Yaozu nodded. Then hesitated. "And if I lose control?"

"Then you lose control," I chuckled, shrugging my shoulders. "You won’t be able to hurt me, so why would I worry? Sometimes, the best feeling in the world is when you lose control and just snap."

He nodded once. "I understand."

I smiled faintly and turned away.

"I’m going back to my courtyard," I said over my shoulder. "You have until morning to decide if you’re ready to become something more than just a shadow. And when you figure that out... that’s when we can start having some real fun."