It all started when their satellite phone lost signal.
Hades had been the first to suggest they turn back toward the city. For once, Casadin and Evadne agreed without argument.
That morning, they woke up tangled and warm after their very passionate night, bodies aching in all the best ways. But outside their camper van, the world had changed. The roadside where they parked was blanketed in a thick fog, so dense they could barely make out the path ahead.
Casadin, who had taken the wheel, drove cautiously forward until a narrow stretch of road finally emerged through the haze. The silence was uncanny. No sound of birds, no passing cars, just the soft hum of the engine and their own breathing.
"Cas, slow down," Evadne said from where she sat comfortably in Hades' lap, tucked into the passenger seat.
"What's wrong, baby?" Hades asked, arms securely wrapped around her.
"We already passed that signage earlier," Evadne murmured, pointing toward a rusted, partially collapsed road sign at the side of the path.
"Are you sure, princess?" Casadin asked, easing the vehicle to a stop. He eyed the sign, which was almost unreadable through layers of corrosion and chipped paint.
Hades pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. "Keep going," he told Casadin. "Let's check something."
They drove for another thirty minutes. No intersections, no towns, not even a random vehicle parked on the side of the road. Just miles of green-blurred highway that never seemed to end.
Then they passed it again.
The exact same signage.
"Fuck," all three of them cursed simultaneously.
Hades quickly brought up the photo he took and compared it. Every detail was identical, from the bent corner of the sign to the oddly shaped bush beside it.
"We're going in a loop," Hades said, voice low, cold, calculating. "Somehow, we're stuck."
They had already wondered earlier why they hadn't passed another vehicle despite supposedly traveling along one of the most popular road trip highways in Iceland. Now, they had their answer.
"I think we're in Wrong Turn," Evadne muttered. "Some hillbilly's gonna massacre us soon."
"Princess."
"Baby."
Casadin and Hades scolded her in unison.
Evadne zipped her lips with a grin, clearly entertained by how rattled the two men were. They rarely showed nerves. But this? This had them tense.
"Let's try one more time," she suggested eventually. "If we still end up here, we should go down and walk."
Neither of the men argued. So Casadin drove again.
And thirty minutes later, they were back in front of the same goddamn sign.
The three of them stared out in disbelief.
"If I didn't know you were a mermaid, Princess, I'd say this was absolute horror fiction bullshit," Casadin said as he pulled out a backpack and began packing. "This is some Blair Witch meets Inception type loop."
Hades was already preparing their gear, satellite phone, Swiss Army knife, first aid kit, tumblers, canned goods, tent, blankets, and thermal sleeping bags. He locked up the camper van and double-checked every latch before stepping out into the quiet wilderness with them.
"Hey!" Evadne yelped when Hades fastened a belt bag around her waist, one that had two mountaineering ropes hooked to either side. One rope was attached to his belt. The other was already being handed to Casadin.
"Are we going mountain climbing now?" she asked, incredulous.
"Baby, we don't know what we're walking into. This is precaution. I don't want us getting separated."
"You even prepared for this? You are such a paranoid freak," Casadin grumbled, but fastened his belt bag anyway.
"I have to be ready," Hades said, checking the ropes again like a man possessed. "Because you two always leap before you look."
He made sure every buckle was tight, every knot secure. It wasn't just about preparation, it was control. It was the only way he knew how to protect them.
Evadne looked between the two men, her dark prince and her golden guardian, and sighed with a kind of affection only chaos could produce.
"Now," Casadin said, pulling the slack of the rope taut and glancing toward the forest lining both sides of the road, "where the hell do we go from here?"
On either side of them, nothing but thick Icelandic forest, dark, mysterious, and waiting.
"Let's find a body of water," Evadne suggested, scanning the thick forest. "Just in case we're really in some Wrong Turn bullshit, at least we'll have an advantage."
"I think that's our best option," Hades agreed, already adjusting the straps on his backpack. "Worst-case scenario, we end up in a lake. Best case, we find the beach. Then we can follow the shoreline back to the city."
"Or we end up the next victims in Wrong Turn," Casadin muttered dryly, earning a laugh from Evadne, and a sharp glare from Hades.
Evadne closed her eyes and reached out with her magic, calling to the nearest water source. In a forest this dense, the air was thick with moisture, making it easy for her to summon the smallest droplets.
Almost instantly, dewdrops hovered in the air before them and began to drift deeper into the woods, floating like glowing pearls in the mist.
"Ready?" Evadne asked, turning to the two men.
They both nodded silently.
They followed the trail of glistening droplets, which slowly grew larger and brighter as they moved deeper into the forest. The trees closed in on them, their twisted trunks casting eerie shadows in the fading light. Not even the sound of insects or birds echoed in the quiet.
Just stillness.
Just the haunting silence of a place that felt… wrong.
Still, they followed the water. Because if there was one thing Evadne trusted more than anything, it was that water would never betray her.
They walked for nearly two hours, trudging over mossy roots and weaving through thorned bushes, until at last they heard it, the unmistakable rush of water.
The three of them exchanged looks and broke into a run.
A few moments later, they emerged from the trees and found themselves standing before a majestic waterfall that flowed into a split stream, the water veering in two opposite directions.
It was stunning… and strange.
"What now?" Casadin asked, eyes tracking both water paths.
"It's almost nightfall," Hades answered, eyeing the sky. "Let's set up camp here. We'll figure things out in the morning."
Evadne and Casadin nodded in agreement.
Casadin got to work gathering firewood and starting a fire. Hades unpacked the tent and set it up near the tree line, always calculating the safest placement.
Evadne, meanwhile, prepared their quick dinner, simple and warm, just enough to ease the fatigue in their limbs.
But then, something shifted.
A sharp pulse in her spine. A rush of cold against her skin that wasn't from the air.
"Casadin, Hades!" she shouted, spinning around just as her instincts screamed danger. The water from the falls responded instantly, forming into deadly arrows behind her with one flick of her fingers.
But she was too late.
"Move, and they die," growled a deep, unfamiliar voice.
A towering man had Casadin in a headlock, Casadin's neck held at an angle that said one twitch and it's over. Another figure, a woman, had a blade pressed to Hades' throat.
Evadne froze, the arrow-shaped water still swirling behind her.
"Please… don't hurt them," she said, voice trembling. The arrows dispersed into mist as she raised both hands in surrender.
A moment later, black smoke curled into the air and from it emerged a man with crimson slit-like eyes. His presence was suffocating, predatory, ancient, and unbothered by the chaos around him.
"Let them go," he ordered.
The other two obeyed immediately, releasing Casadin and Hades. The moment they were free, both men rushed to Evadne's side, placing themselves protectively in front of her, teeth gritted, eyes blazing.
The red-eyed man raised a brow, and his companions chuckled darkly, as if amused by the protectiveness of the two men, as if the very idea of shielding someone like Evadne was ridiculous to them.
The man stepped forward, inhaling deeply near Evadne.
"You're a halfling," he said, voice laced with curiosity. "But not of our kind. A different race."
"I'm a Narf," Evadne replied evenly, her chin tilted with pride.
The man blinked, and the slits of his pupils dilated. Behind him, the woman and man exchanged surprised glances.
"Princess," Casadin muttered without looking away from the strangers, "What's a Narf?"
"It's what they call mermaids in Solmara," she said, never lowering her guard.
"You know Solmara?" the red-eyed man asked, and his subordinates audibly gasped behind him.
The air shifted.
Something changed in their stance. Something reverent… or wary.
"I am Nebyros of the Noir bloodline. These are Zorynox and Noctarelle, my lieutenants," Nebyros introduced, gesturing to the tall man and the fierce-looking woman behind him. Both bowed slightly in acknowledgment.
"May I know your name, Narf?"
"I am Evadne Persephone Monteverde," she answered calmly. "And these are Hades Falcon and Casadin Sinclair."
The moment the names were spoken, Nebyros snapped his fingers, and a thick smoke engulfed the three of them. In the blink of an eye, the fog dispersed, revealing a completely different place.
Evadne, Hades, and Casadin looked around in astonishment.
They were now standing in what appeared to be a hidden settlement. Stone houses clustered closely together, carved seamlessly into the walls of an enormous cave. But what truly stunned them were the gems, of all shapes and hues, jutting out from the rocky surfaces, glowing faintly. Evadne could feel it in her bones.
They were radiating mana.
"Mana stones?" she murmured in disbelief.
"Are you really from Solmara?" Zorynox asked suspiciously.
"Kind of," Evadne replied, almost reflexively.
"What kind of answer is kind of? It's a yes or no question," Noctarelle snapped, visibly annoyed.
"I can explain that. But first… where exactly are we? And why bring us here?" Evadne asked, her eyes narrowed as she walked beside Nebyros.
"You're in the secret Noir village," he replied. "The hidden stronghold of the demi-human demons. If you truly know Solmara, then there's someone you must meet, our leader, Hara Lyxaria 𝘝𝘦𝘭'𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢. Direct descendant of the first Demon Queen, 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘦𝘯 𝘝𝘦𝘭'𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢, who came from Solmara herself."
Moments later, they reached a structure that looked like a temple, ancient, carved directly from the cave stone, adorned with more glowing crystals embedded into the walls. It was breathtaking, otherworldly.
"Wait… demons?" Casadin finally caught up with the implications. "You're telling us you're demons?"
"Yes," Nebyros answered without hesitation.
"Great. So we're already in hell? At least we didn't feel ourselves die," Casadin muttered as he draped an arm around Evadne's shoulder. "But hey, if I'm going to hell, I'd rather be with you, Princess. Imagine if it was just me and Hades? I'd probably kill myself again."
"This isn't hell. And you're still very much alive," Nebyros said flatly.
"Well, if hell means I get to be stuck with you, baby, I might actually start liking the idea," Hades retorted, nudging Casadin aside so he could hold Evadne's hand.
"You're insane," Casadin muttered back.
"Hara. They've arrived," Nebyros suddenly announced as they entered a vast throne room.
A thick swirl of smoke appeared before the dais, and then, stepping through it, a woman emerged. She was stunning. Nearly identical to Nebyros, except heavily pregnant.
"Meet our current leader, Hara Lyxaria," Nebyros said, walking up the dais to assist her down gently. "These are Evadne, Hades, and Casadin."
Evadne was momentarily speechless. The sheer beauty of these demons was ethereal, even haunting. And despite having recovered all her memories as the first princess of Vaelundis in Solmara, this was the first time she had ever laid eyes on demi-humans.
"Are you really a Narf?" Lyxaria asked as her glowing eyes scanned Evadne.
"How did you know?" Evadne blinked.
"Nebyros told me. Through our twinlink," Lyxaria said with a soft smile.
"Yes. I am a Narf," Evadne confirmed.
"Then come. Follow me," Lyxaria said as she turned and walked toward a long hallway, Nebyros immediately taking her arm to assist her.
Evadne's eyes widened slightly when she noticed a thin, glowing red thread connecting the two, like a filament of magic stretching between their chests.
"What's that?" she asked, unable to stop herself.
"You can see it?" Lyxaria turned, her smile deepening. "It's a soulbind string."
"You're soulmates?" Hades asked, clearly intrigued.
"You two look alike… Twins?" Casadin asked, then squinted. "Wait, twincest?"
Hades and Evadne both shot him matching death glares.
Casadin immediately slapped a hand over his own mouth. "I take it back. Forget I said anything."
"Don't worry," Lyxaria said, smiling gently at Casadin's earlier outburst. "We're not offended."
"Yes, Nebyros and I are twins," she added. "But we are not soulmates. Not truly, though we are soulbound. There's a difference."
Evadne, still staring at the glowing red string between them, blinked in curiosity. Hades and Casadin were both listening closely now.
"A soulmate," Lyxaria explained, "is a natural bond. The universe chooses it. When that bond is severed, the pain is unbearable, but survival is possible. A soul may shatter, but if it is strong, it will heal."
She then looked toward Zorynox and Noctarelle, who stood quietly nearby. Her expression softened.
"But a soulbind is chosen. It is not something given by fate, it's forged. It's like your human concept of marriage, but far more powerful. When a soulbind is severed… one of the souls must die. That is the price."
Evadne's brows drew together. "You found your soulmates… but you severed them?"
Lyxaria nodded solemnly. "Yes. For a greater purpose. The Noir bloodline must remain pure. It has always been that way. One male and one female must be born into the line, and they must consummate the bond through a soulbind to continue the lineage."
Casadin took a sharp breath. Hades's expression was unreadable. Evadne could feel her chest tighten.
"Why are you telling us all of this?" she asked quietly. "This is our first time meeting."
Lyxaria turned to her with calm conviction. "Because you said you are a Narf from Solmara."
They came to a large double door embedded into the rock wall, ancient and marked with carvings. Lyxaria and Nebyros each placed a hand on the handles. At once, the door responded to their touch and creaked open.
"This can only be opened by our bloodline," Lyxaria said.
As they stepped inside, Evadne, Hades, and Casadin found themselves in what looked like an ancient chamber, its walls covered in carvings and pictographs like those found in unearthed temples. The air was heavy with mana and the weight of history.
"Here, Evadne." Lyxaria gestured toward one side of the chamber and walked up to a specific wall. "The story begins here."
Evadne stepped forward, Hades and Casadin close behind her. They stared at the intricate images carved into the stone, unable to decipher the full meaning until Lyxaria began to speak once more.
"This is the story of creation," she said. "The Great Creator, God, formed the Celestials first. And among them, his most beloved… was Samael."
"Samael?" Hades and Casadin echoed at once.
"Lucifer," Evadne whispered, recognition dawning in her voice.
Lyxaria nodded. "In God's grand design to create humanity, someone had to walk the path of darkness. A ruler for hell. Samael was that chosen one. But what most don't know is that the first human God created… wasn't Adam. Or Eve."
She turned toward them, her voice soft but firm.
"It was a woman. Her name was Lilith. She was created like the Celestials, from power, not from dust. She was made with will, not submission. And that is where everything changed. Samael and Lilith fell in love. A love not meant to exist in the Creator's plan."
Evadne felt a strange chill run down her spine.
"When God saw that love swaying Samael from his purpose," Lyxaria continued, "He separated them. Lilith was cast away. Erased from history. Forgotten by all… except Samael."
Lyxaria's voice darkened slightly, her hand brushing over the carving of a winged man with hollow eyes and a woman wreathed in light.
"Broken by grief, Samael embraced his role as ruler of hell. But not out of duty, out of vengeance. He swore to corrupt God's perfect creation, to twist humans, to prove that even they were not immune to temptation. But beyond that, he swore to retrieve Lilith."
"When the Creator gave the Celestials the right to build their own realms, to understand what it meant to create, Samael forged Solmara," Lyxaria said reverently. "Not to teach, not to guide. He created it as a sanctuary. A world where Lilith could return. A world meant for her."
She stepped back slightly, allowing them to take in the rest of the wall. There were carvings of races with tails, horns, and scales. Wings and clawed feet. Glowing stones. Giant beasts.
"It was in Solmara that the demi-human races were born," Lyxaria said. "The Holy Beasts followed. Guardians of balance."
Lyxaria stepped closer to a section of the wall, this one glowing more intensely than the rest.
"This," she said quietly, "is the prophecy of Lilith's return."
Her voice echoed slightly in the hollow chamber, drawing Evadne, Hades, and Casadin forward.
"Lilith will be born from the union of the bloodline of Adam," Lyxaria recited, her eyes on the ancient carvings. "A man who remembers the cost of love. A man who waits, endlessly, unshaken by time or temptation, bearing the curse of longing in silence… And a soul beloved by the heavens, born of grace and tragedy. One who weeps not for herself, but for others."
She turned to look directly at Evadne, her voice solemn.
"Our ancestor, Lissaēn Vel'Risha, the first Demon Queen of Solmara, was sent here to Earth by our lord Samael, to ensure the safe passage of Lilith back to Solmara. That's why our bloodline had to remain pure. Because one day, before Lilith is born… Lissaēn will be reborn as well."
Evadne frowned. "I still don't get why you're telling us all this."
Lyxaria simply smiled and walked toward a dark, vacant part of the chamber wall. There were no carvings here. No symbols. Just stone, smooth and untouched.
She beckoned Evadne to follow.
"We do not yet know how the prophecy will unfold," Lyxaria said. "But what we do know is that the blood of a narf will complete it."
At that, both Hades and Casadin stepped in immediately, placing themselves in front of Evadne in a protective stance.
"We're not going to harm her," Nebyros said with a sigh. "All we need is a drop of her blood."
Evadne gave her men a pointed look. "Seriously?"
"Baby," Hades murmured, "we're just trying to be careful."
"She's right, Princess," Casadin added with a shrug.
"I'm grateful," Evadne said, raising a brow. "But did it occur to you that if they wanted me dead, they wouldn't have bothered explaining any of this? They would've killed me at the waterfall."
Noctarelle scoffed. "Humans really do have such small brains."
Hades and Casadin scratched their heads in sync, mildly embarrassed.
"So how do we do this?" Evadne asked, stepping forward. "Do I just prick my finger?"
"Unfortunately, no," Lyxaria said gently. "We need the blood of a full-blooded narf. You are still a halfling. That means you haven't undergone your bloodletting yet."
"Bloodletting?" Evadne repeated. "What is that?"
Zorynox narrowed his eyes. "I thought you said you were from Solmara. How do you not know about the bloodletting?"
"My soul is from Solmara," Evadne clarified. "In Solmara, I was the first Princess of Vaelundis. But I was reborn here, on Earth. That's why I said I'm 'kind of' from Solmara."
She folded her arms, gaze steady. "I only recently regained my full memories of that life. And even then, as far as I knew, there were no demi-humans in Solmara. There were the Holy Beasts, yes. But not a single mention of a demi-human race."
Nebyros stiffened. "Are you saying… the demi-humans were wiped out?"
"No," Evadne shook her head. "They were hidden. The Demon Lord concealed them for over a thousand years. I only discovered this recently… through a dream."
The four demons visibly exhaled, their relief palpable.
Lyxaria's voice was calm as she continued, "A halfling carries two kinds of blood in their veins, human and demi-human. At birth, only one is awake. But when a halfling reaches their eighteenth summer, the dormant blood stirs. And thus begins the internal bloodwar. One blood begins to kill the other."
"That explains it," Evadne whispered, realization dawning. "That's why my powers awakened after my eighteenth birthday."
Everything was starting to connect. The nightmares. The voices. The inexplicable shifts in her abilities. It hadn't been random. It had been the bloodwar, her very body deciding which side of her would survive.
The four demons nodded solemnly.
"Within the year of the internal bloodwar," Lyxaria explained, "if you don't undergo the bloodletting, there's no assurance of what might happen. Whether your human blood wins or the demi-human blood does, the result will be… unpredictable. You might retain a human appearance but have demi-human powers. Or you might manifest demi-human traits without any abilities at all. Or worse."
She looked Evadne directly in the eyes.
"The bloodletting allows you to choose which blood to kill. That way, the outcome is clear. If you decide to end your human bloodline, you'll become a full-blooded demi-human. If you kill your demi-human blood, you remain fully human."
Evadne's eyes widened, breath catching in her throat.
"I'll be nineteen in two weeks," she whispered.
"Then it would be wise to consider the bloodletting soon," Nebyros said, his voice calm but firm.
"I understand what it means to remain human," Evadne murmured. "But… being a narf, I only know the word. I've never actually seen one. Do I grow a tail? Do I need to live in water? Like the mermaids people imagine here on Earth?"
Lyxaria smiled, almost motherly.
"If you ask for my opinion," she said softly, "and I know this will sound biased since we need a narf's blood... but I do believe choosing to be a narf would be your greatest strength. Even we have never seen one. Only Lissaēn and a few of her people, who were all demons, were sent to Earth from Solmara. But we demons can blend in easily with humans. We just possess abilities far beyond human limits. I believe narfs are the same."
"That's why we're called demi-humans," she added.
Nebyros stepped forward, adding in a more grounded tone, "And being a demi-human, you'll know your mates. You'll smell them. Sense them. Unlike humans who rely on chance and time… demi-humans can feel and hear their mates from any distance."
He glanced at Hades and Casadin.
"If these two are your mates, or even if they accept a matebond with you despite being human, you will always feel them. Hear their heartbeat no matter how far. You'll know when they're in danger. You can literally share each other's pain… and joy."
"But," he added grimly, "the bloodletting isn't easy. It's not some rite of passage. It's agony. You're not just cutting flesh… you're killing half of who you are. And your body, your soul, will fight that."
Lyxaria walked closer and gently took Evadne's hand in hers.
"Please don't think we're trying to pressure you. Or manipulate you," she said gently. "Our clan was sent here for a reason, and we believe nothing happens by accident. There are no coincidences, only design. You meeting us is part of something. Maybe it's to reveal the rest of the prophecy. Or perhaps it's something bigger… something far greater than simply finding a way home to Solmara."
Evadne looked down at their joined hands, her heart heavy with choice and consequence.
Hades spoke next, his voice protective and sharp.
"What if she doesn't want to go through with it? Will you force her?"
"No," Nebyros answered firmly. "Bloodletting must be done with a whole and willing heart. It cannot be forced."
He looked at Evadne, then Hades and Casadin in turn.
"Even if we were to take you hostage," he said, "even if we tried to manipulate her with threats, it would be meaningless. A coerced bloodletting fails. It's as good as never having done it at all."
He placed a hand over his heart in solemn assurance. "So rest easy. If you choose not to go through with it, you will not be harmed. And as fellow demi-humans, we will personally ensure your safe passage back to the city."
There was silence. Not of fear, but of gravity, of fate unfolding before them.
And for Evadne, the choice was no longer just about herself.
It was about destiny.
And what would be born… from what she chose to kill.