[BL] I Didn't Sign Up For This-Chapter 104: In Which We Discover Spiritual Phone Calls

"The coalition has information about your bloodline," Ryota continued, apparently deciding to move past the hissing incident. "The Kael line maintained a training facility in a remote location, heavily warded, designed for wardens to develop abilities in isolation."

"Where?" Azryth asked.

"Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Middle of nowhere, accessible only by boat or plane, weather conditions make it naturally defensive."

I processed that. "You want us to go train."

"I want you to have options. The Equilibrium Emissary specifically targeted you and said you shouldn’t exist. If more come, you’ll need every advantage."

He wasn’t wrong.

"How do we get there?" I asked.

"Coalition is arranging transport. Boat from Seattle to Dutch Harbor, then smaller vessel to the island. Three days travel time."

"Three days?" I looked at Azryth. "We could just portal there in minutes."

Azryth’s expression shifted, and I felt through the binding what he’d already discovered.

The key was gone.

The arbiter-given ability to open portals anywhere we needed, the power that had let us hop between continents closing rifts, it had burned out, used up getting us to Veyrith’s throne room and back.

We were back to traveling like normal people.

"The key’s gone," Azryth said quietly. "I felt it when I woke up. The connection to it is just... empty now."

"Oh," I said. "That’s going to be inconvenient."

"Extremely."

Void chirped from my lap, apparently unconcerned with our transportation problems.

"I need to go to the infernal realm," Azryth said, looking at me. "To take formal control, stabilize things, see what Veyrith left behind."

I blinked. "You mean ’we’ need to go."

"No." His hand found mine on the table. "You need to train, learn about your bloodline, develop your abilities. The Emissary targeted you specifically, and we don’t know why. You need to be ready if more come."

"And you’re just going to the infernal realm alone?"

"I’m a demon lord. It’s my realm. I need to handle this."

The thought of being separated made something uncomfortable twist in my chest.

Months of being together constantly, of having him present through the binding every moment, and now we were talking about being in different realms for days.

"How long?" I asked.

"A few days, maybe a week at most. There’s a lot to handle, but I won’t take longer than necessary."

"Right. Demon lord responsibilities."

"Unfortunately."

Void hissed quietly.

Not at Mara this time. At Azryth.

I looked down at it. "He hasn’t done anything to you."

Void chirped, but the hiss had been clear.

It didn’t like Azryth.

Or more specifically, it didn’t like Azryth being close to me.

But it tolerated him... Barely.

"The feeling is mutual," Azryth muttered, quiet enough that only I heard it.

***

We left the next morning.

Azryth used a standard rift passage to the infernal realm, the old-fashioned way that required specific anchor points and significantly more power than the arbiter key had needed.

I watched him step through, feeling the distance open between us for the first time since the binding formed.

Not painful. Just... present. Like part of me was suddenly somewhere else and my brain was trying to process the wrongness of it.

Void sat on my shoulder, having decided that was an acceptable perching location despite having no limbs to actually grip with.

"Let’s go." Mara said.

I nodded and moved.

***

The coalition transport was practical and boring. I sat in the back with Void on my lap, watching Seattle pass by through tinted windows.

Mara was up front with the driver, scanner sitting in her lap. Henrik sat across from me with his tablet, occasionally glancing up to check on me in that quiet way he had. Ryota was beside Henrik, reading reports, Kelvin and Kade occupied the middle seats, already bickering about something that had happened during the throne room fight.

"I’m just saying, that demon had it coming," Kelvin said.

"You tripped over your own feet."

"Tactical repositioning."

"Into a pillar."

"The pillar was strategically located."

I tuned them out, staring out the window as Seattle passed by. Void was a warm weight on my lap, eyes closed, apparently content.

I was thinking about Azryth, wondering how the infernal realm was, when the binding pulsed differently.

Not the usual emotional bleed, something more deliberate, like a door opening that I didn’t know existed.

*Riven?*

I nearly jumped out of my seat.

That was Azryth’s voice. Not out loud, but in my head, through the binding but different, clearer, like he was speaking directly into my thoughts.

*What the hell?* I thought back at it, not sure if it would work.

*You can hear me.*

*Apparently. How are you doing this?*

*I have no idea. I was thinking about you and the binding just... opened differently. Like a channel.*

I felt his curiosity mixing with mine, both of us poking at this new development like it was a feature we’d accidentally discovered.

*This is weird,* I said.

*This is convenient,* he corrected. *I’m in the infernal realm, you’re in Seattle, and we can talk.*

*Spiritual phone calls.*

*Exactly.*

Void chirped from my lap, eyes opening briefly to look at me before closing again. It knew something had changed but didn’t seem concerned.

"You okay?" Henrik asked, looking up from his tablet. "Your heart rate just spiked."

"I’m fine. The binding did something new."

"New how?" Mara turned in her seat, scanner already in hand.

"We can talk to each other. Azryth’s in the infernal realm, I’m here,but I can hear his voice in my head."

Silence for a moment as everyone processed that.

"Like telepathy?" Kelvin asked.

"Like a phone call but internal."

*They’re asking questions,* I told Azryth.

*Of course they are.*

Mara’s scanner beeped. "The binding signature just changed, it’s...there’s an active channel open. Like a sustained connection instead of the usual passive link."

"Is that safe?" Henrik asked, looking between me and the scanner. "Maintaining an active psychic connection across that distance, the strain on your essence..."

"I feel fine," I said. "It’s not painful or anything, it’s just... there."

"Can it be intercepted?" Ryota asked, practical as always. "If someone can tap into binding frequencies..."

"No one can tap into soul bonds," Henrik said. "They’re too individual, the signature is unique to the two people involved."

"Still," Ryota said. "Worth being cautious about what you say through it."

*Ryota’s worried about security,* I told Azryth.

*He would be. Tell him the binding is more secure than any communication system the coalition has.*

"Azryth says the binding is more secure than any coalition comm system."

"He’s probably right," Mara admitted, still staring at her scanner. "I’ve never seen energy this tightly bound between two signatures. It’s like there’s no space for interference."

"Warden bonds don’t usually work like this," Henrik added quietly. "Most bonds are emotional resonance only, active communication is... unprecedented."

"We’re full of unprecedented lately," I said.

"Apparently," Henrik agreed.

Kelvin leaned over the seat. "So you can just talk to him whenever you want now? That’s very useful."

"Yeah," I said.

*What are they saying now?* Azryth asked.

*Mara’s scanning, Henrik’s concerned about strain, Ryota’s worried about security, and Kelvin thinks it’s useful.*

*Accurate summary.*

The connection settled into something comfortable, like leaving a phone line open while doing other things. I could feel Azryth’s presence, aware he was there even when we weren’t actively talking.

*How’s the realm?* I asked after a few minutes.

*Chaotic. The demons are cooperating but nervous, a lot of infrastructure Veyrith let fall apart. I’m working through it.*

*Let me know if you find anything interesting.*

*I will.* 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

I felt him focusing on something else, the connection still there but quieter as he handled demon lord business.

Mara was still looking at her scanner, Henrik had gone back to his tablet with occasional glances at me, and Ryota had returned to his reports though I could tell he was still thinking about the security implications.

Kelvin and Kade had resumed their argument about the throne room fight.

Void made a small sound and curled up more comfortably on my lap, apparently satisfied that nothing threatening was happening.

I stared out the window at Seattle passing by, heading toward an island in Alaska to train at a facility my bloodline had built, while my demon husband stabilized an entire realm, connected by a binding that apparently came with built-in long-distance calling.

Normal day in my life.

Somehow.