The figure stepped closer, his dark cloak brushing the dewy grass beneath the willow's twisted limbs. Princess Seraphina's heart fluttered, caught between fear and fascination. She had been warned stories of demons—beings of shadow and destruction—but here he was, standing before her, not a monster, but something almost… human.
"Who are you?" Her voice was steady, though her wings twitched with nervous energy.
He inclined his head, a slow, deliberate gesture. "I am Kael. I come from the other side of the Veil, where darkness breathes and light seldom lingers."
Seraphina's eyes narrowed. "A demon in Soavy's sacred grounds? How did you cross here without the council's knowledge?"
Kael smiled—just a flicker, but enough to reveal sharp, perfect teeth. "I crossed for one reason: to find you."
Her breath caught. "Me? Why?"
He stepped closer, and she could feel the heat radiating off him, an unnatural warmth that both unsettled and intrigued her. "Because you carry a light that the shadows have long sought, and because in that light, I see something I never believed possible… hope."
Seraphina's wings quivered. Hope? From a demon? It was impossible.
Yet beneath the fear, a seed of something else took root. Could this forbidden meeting be the beginning of a change neither her kingdom nor the dark realms were prepared for?
Before she could answer, a sharp cry echoed from the palace—a warning that their time was short.
Kael's gaze hardened. "We must part for now, princess. But I will return."
With that, he slipped back into the shadows, leaving Seraphina alone in the garden, her heart pounding with questions and a hope she dared not speak aloud.
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