Then, suddenly, the most irritating person in existence makes his entrance—Devran.
Not surprising, really. These woods are his domain after all. His stench of sticky magic practically oozes from the earth itself.
I exhale sharply, willing the night to hurry up. Dusk drags on like a stubborn child refusing to go to bed. My magic frays at the edges, dangerously low. But, well… it is just Devran. After all the times I shoo him away, he might as well be a nuisance of nature—like a pesky pigeon. I don't need magic to deal with him.
"Oh, hey, Devran," I greet, politeness forced, as I lazily bite into my chicken skewer, not bothering to rise.
Scarlette shoots me a curious glance before getting up to take a subtle step back. She must sense it too—whatever is about to happen—or maybe she is just better at pretending than I give her credit for. Love Fairies are naturally scared of Dark Fairies, after all.
Devran struts forward, that infuriating smirk of his in place, but there is something sharper in his eyes this time—something… darker. He isn't here for a casual chat.
"Well, well," he says, his voice oozing amusement. "If it isn't the most miserable duo in the woods."
I clench my jaw, resisting the urge to snap.
Scarlette's gaze flickers between the two of us. She must be trying to figure out who this menace is, but I am not sure how much I want to say about him. I am not even sure how much I know about him, and that is a problem in itself.
"Poor Veravos," he mocks, his voice slow and deliberate, savoring every syllable. "Looks like after all these centuries I've found your weakness."
I barely miss a beat. "An extrovert?" I deadpan, raising an eyebrow.
He doesn't laugh. Shame. I think that is a good one.
"Funny," he growls, the humor gone, replaced with something colder. "For someone trespassing in my woods."
I shrug, casual as ever. "You've trespassed in mine countless times. What's once in return?"
But the air shifts, a knot forming in my stomach. Something isn't right. He isn't playing his usual nosy neighbor routine. That dark gleam in his eyes? No…
Queen Judorah had sent him.
Before I can react, Devran lunges.
His hand shoots out, closing around my throat, lifting me clean off the ground. I choke, the skewer slipping from my grasp and hitting the dirt below.
"What the hell are you doing?" I rasp, clawing at his grip, my feet dangling in the air.
"It's not personal, Veravos," he says, tone almost bored. "I'm just following orders. And right now? You've burned through so much dark magic from your battle with the army earlier, I could crush you like a bug."
Seriously? Is this how I am going to die? At the hands of Devran, of all people? If I get one more hour, just one damn hour, I could recharge.
Devran grins, choking me further as he drawls. "And to think you even brought me a Love Fairy for dinner."
Wait—Scarlette.
I flick my gaze around, expecting to see her scrambling away. Self-preservation and all that.
And as expected, she is gone. Of course.
Then, like a ghost, she appears behind Devran.
Dark magic bleeds from my weakening body, swirling into a black orb in her hands. But it doesn't stay black. Crimson mist spirals into it, blending and merging.
Scarlette's emerald eyes darken—no, flare—into a fierce scarlet glow. In one swift motion, she drives her hand straight into Devran's back, fingers curling around something solid.
Devran freezes. His grip on my throat slackens as his breath hitches.
My red-haired hero.
Then she plucks something from him.
A black, pear-shaped object, slick and pulsing in her palm.
Devran stumbles forward, coughing violently, his knees hitting the dirt.
"What… magic is this?" he gasps, bewildered.
Scarlette tilts her head, examining the object as though it were a mere curiosity. Then, with an eerily serene expression, she squeezes.
Devran convulses, vomiting blood.
I stare, my pulse roaring in my ears.
Oh my gods.
Is that his heart?
"Didn't you just say you wanted to eat me?" Scarlette's eyes gleam, but there is something new there—something unhinged. "Well, sweetheart, my heart's got teeth." She smirks.
She tightens her grip on Devran's heart, and a sinister laugh bubbles from her lips. The air around her thickens with crimson mist, swirling in an eerie rhythm.
Crap. My dark magic must be amplifying her bloodlust.
"Scarlette, stop this!" I snap, voice sharp.
She doesn't hesitate. With an almost careless flick of her wrist, she tosses the heart at me, as if it were a trinket she grows bored of.
"All yours," she says, voice laced with amusement.
I catch it. The still-warm organ presses against my palm, pulsing faintly. The sheer brutality of it should repulse me—but instead, I hesitate, too transfixed by the strange thrill of it. I stare at her for too long, intrigued, captivated by her unhinged energy.
Scarlette stands before me like something out of a nightmare. Her red and violet hair whips around her, stirred by the unnatural energy in the air. Her emerald eyes glow, now darker, twisted into a deep, fiery red. She is a force, raw and unchecked—chaos meeting destruction, a living storm.
I blink, snapping myself out of the moment. Devran's heart still lies heavy in my hand, throbbing slowly.
"Come on, crush it," Scarlette urges, impatience creeping into her voice. The dare in her tone is unmistakable.
Oh, Scarlette. You think this is over?
A slow smirk tugs at my lips.
"No, don't be rash," I reply, voice smooth.
Instead of squeezing, I let my dark magic slither over the heart, tendrils of shadow wrapping around it, tightening ever so slowly.
Devran's breath catches in his throat. His eyes cloud with pain, but there is a flicker of something—realization.
"He's going to be my puppet," I murmur, more to myself than to her.
Scarlette tilts her head, studying me closely. Is she impressed? Curious? Or has she just realized that, between the two of us, I am the real monster?
Devran's eyes flick to the emerald on the ground as we exchange a glance, and his desperation becomes clear. He lunges for it with a wild snarl.
Scarlette is faster. The gem is in her hand before he can reach it, and she springs to her feet.
I place my foot on his back, pinning him down with satisfying weight.
"Kill me if you must," he spits, voice hoarse with defiance.
Pathetic.
Scarlette crouches beside him, her grip firm on his heart. "What does Queen Judorah want with the Baltimorean Emerald?" she asks, voice smooth, but with an edge of curiosity.
Baltimorean Emerald? Seriously? That's what it is called?
Devran's face slackens, his resistance crumbling. "For her spell."
Wait—just like that? No resistance? Too convenient.
Devran pales, realization hitting him, and he pleads with Scarlette, "Please… don't do this. I can't say anything more."
Scarlette turns away, rolling her eyes in disdain.
"This is wrong," Devran protests, desperation creeping into his voice, before I snatch the heart from her hand, nearly dropping it.
"Veravos… please," he begs, but I ignore him.
I stare at him, watching his expression drain to vacant fear. "What spell?" I demand.
"A spell to alter reality… into endless night," he murmurs, tone flat and hollow.
I freeze. Endless night. Reality-shaping magic… and Scarlette uses the emerald to slice meat?
I shoot her a sharp side-eye, but she doesn't notice, too absorbed in her line of questioning.
Scarlette presses on, unfazed. "Does Queen Judorah know what are the spell's ingredients?"
"The Baltimorean Emerald… an ancient scroll… and a Light Guardian willing to activate it. The Light Guardian rewrites reality itself. Permanently."
It all clicks. The Baltimorean Emerald—King Baltimore's prized possession. No wonder Scarlette has been hunted.
"Where do we find the scroll or the Light Guardian now?" she asks, voice steady.
"Somewhere in the Light Kingdom. That's all I know," Devran drones, eyes glazed over.
I can't help the smirk tugging at my lips. The Light Kingdom. I am right.
Scarlette turns to me, eyes flickering with something I can't quite place. "Oh, you were right after all."
A lucky guess. Or a well-timed lie. I take it.
She turns the heart in her fingers, the firelight dancing off its surface. "So... do you still want to play with his heart? Crush it? So many options."
The bonfire's glow paints her face in shades of gold and crimson, making her expression eerily unreadable.
I exhale slowly. "It's not a toy, Scarlette. It's a heart. And if we destroy it, Queen Judorah will know something's wrong. Devran needs to return."
She pouts, rolling her eyes. "Does he? Fine. Be that way."
I am about to pocket Devran's heart when I catch the look on Scarlette's face—or rather, the lack of one.
She isn't pushing me to crush it. She isn't mocking me for being sentimental. She isn't arguing. She is just… watching.
I narrow my eyes. What is she thinking? Why does she want me to crush it in the first place?
Then it hits me.
Oh. Oh. Devran is a loose end. He knows too much, sees too much. He knows where we are and what we ask of him.
Clever, ruthless, Scarlette.
I sigh, rolling the heart between my fingers. "You will forget this ever happened," I whisper, words barely audible. That should do it. Queen Judorah will never know we are onto her.
Scarlette doesn't respond, still standing with arms crossed, waiting.
I frown. "What?"
"You're not going to ask how the Dark Fairies are infiltrating the Light Fairy Kingdom?" she asks, tone sharp, cutting through the quiet like a knife.
Ah. There it is.
Before I can respond, she plucks the heart from my grip. It gives a pathetic squeak of protest.
I scowl. "You're going to bruise it."
"Fine, I'll be gentle," she replies with an air of nonchalance. Then, leaning in close to the heart, her voice drops to a whisper. "How exactly are you all getting inside?"
Devran's face remains a blank slate, eyes vacant. "We're already inside. Hiding in plain sight."
A coil of unease tightens in my gut.
Scarlette taps the heart thoughtfully against her palm. "How many?"
"Five. More to come."
I exhale sharply, the weight of the information sinking in. Fantastic.
Scarlette's lips curl into a sly smile as she turns the heart in her hands. "Now, forget you ever saw us. You were just on your way to the Love Fairy Kingdom."
My brows shoot up. Oh, she isn't just erasing his memory—she is sending him straight to the Love Fairy army, the same ones chasing us earlier.
Now that is an elegant way to tie up a loose end.
I glance at Scarlette, a slow smirk creeping onto my face. "You are really something."
Without a word, she sits back down, casually resuming her meal as if nothing has happened. Skewers in hand, she tears into them with that same cool, collected air.
Devran, eyes hollow and distant, turns and walks into the woods, a puppet on invisible strings.
And Scarlette? She doesn't spare him a second glance.
"Skewer for you?" she asks casually, holding a chicken skewer in one hand while placing Devran's heart beside the emerald on the floor as though it were just another trinket.
I stare at the heart, then at her. She actually has the nerve to eat after everything?
I exhale slowly. Nightfall draws near, and with it, the opportunity to replenish my dark magic. That's what I focus on.
Instead, my gaze keeps drifting back to her.
"So what are you going to do with the heart?" I ask, trying to keep my tone indifferent, even though my mind buzzes.
She twirls the skewer in her fingers with almost unnerving casualness. "Depends on my mood."
Oh my gods. She's insane.
And yet…
I can't look away.
This reckless, infuriating Love Fairy. Those emerald eyes, her purple-streaked red hair, the porcelain skin glowing in the firelight. The way she wields her enigmatic magic with unsettling ease. That eerie, eccentric sense of humor.
Something inside me twists.
My heart skips—no, lurches.
Wait. Wait.
Am I… interested in her? After all these centuries?
Is this my type?
An eccentric Love Fairy with a casual disregard for life and a fondness for skewers?
I need therapy. Immediately.