Aria felt as if her body were being pulled through fire and darkness at the same time.
Heat wrapped around her… then cold… then nothing at all.
She gasped as her feet hit solid ground.
When she opened her eyes, she wasn't in the forest anymore.
She wasn't anywhere close to home.
She stood on a cliff overlooking a massive, crimson-lit kingdom stretched beneath a black sky. Strange stars glowed like burning eyes. Lava rivers snaked through the ground like living veins. Huge shadowed mountains surrounded the horizon.
This was not the human world.
Aria whispered, voice trembling,
"…Where am I?"
Kael stepped beside her, his cloak swaying in the hot wind.
"In my realm," he said.
"The Demon Kingdom of Ravaryn."
Aria's knees almost gave out.
She grabbed a rock for balance.
"This… this can't be real. I can't be here. I can't—"
Kael gently touched her shoulder.
She flinched.
"Aria," he said softly, "you were moments from death. I brought you here to protect you."
"Protect me?!" Her voice cracked. "You kidnapped me!"
He actually paused—like the word hurt him.
"If I left you there, you would be dead by now."
Aria looked at him, panic twisting inside her.
"But I can't stay here! My mother—my village—they'll be terrified! I have to get back!"
Kael looked away, jaw tight.
"You can't return. Not yet."
Aria's breath caught painfully.
"Why? Why can't I go home!?"
He slowly turned toward her, crimson eyes burning under the dark sky.
"Because the moment you set foot in the human realm… every demon who felt your awakening will hunt you."
Aria's heart dropped.
"You are safer here, with me," Kael said.
She shook her head violently.
"No. No, I don't belong in a demon kingdom!"
Kael moved closer—too close.
But his voice wasn't commanding this time.
It was almost… pleading.
"You carry a mark that binds our realms. You are not ordinary. You were never meant to live a normal human life."
Aria stepped back.
"You're lying."
"I am not."
He reached for her hand, slow enough for her to pull away if she wanted.
She didn't.
He lifted her wrist… and the mark on her skin glowed softly.
Aria's breath hitched.
The mark responded only to him.
Kael spoke quietly.
"This mark does not belong to demons. It does not belong to humans. It belongs to fate. And fate brought you here."
Aria swallowed hard as the glow faded.
"I don't want fate," she whispered. "I want my life back."
Kael looked away, his expression tightening—like he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Before he could speak, a harsh voice echoed behind them.
"Prince Kael."
Aria turned.
A tall man with gray skin and horns stood at the entrance of a black stone gate. His eyes were sharp and unfriendly.
"Who is this human girl?" he demanded. "Why bring her here?"
Kael's aura shifted—cold, dangerous.
"She is under my protection," he said.
The guard stiffened. "A human? In the royal realm? The council will not approve."
Kael's eyes flashed.
"The council does not command me."
The guard lowered his head instantly, trembling.
Aria watched the exchange with growing fear.
"Prince…?" she whispered.
"You're really… royalty?"
Kael turned to her with a hint of sadness.
"Yes," he said. "And bringing you here will start a war inside the palace."
Aria's heartbeat stopped.
"A war… because of me?"
Kael nodded once.
"You are the prophecy they have feared for centuries."
Aria took a step back.
"I don't want any of this…" she whispered.
Kael stepped closer, voice low.
"But it has already begun."
He extended his hand to her.
"Aria… come with me. If you walk beside me now, I will protect you from everything. Even my own realm."
Aria looked at his hand.
Her mind screamed to run.
Her heart whispered something else.
Slowly, hesitantly…
She placed her hand in his.
Kael's eyes softened.
His fingers wrapped around hers—warm, firm, claiming.
"Trust me," he murmured.
Aria didn't know if she trusted him.
But she knew one thing—
From the moment she touched his hand,
the world of demons…
was now her world too.