Page 4 of The Demon King's Destiny

“Simple. It’s Fate.”

Eden huffed.

“I’m serious. Fate. Destiny. The Goddess above. Whatever forces of the world that create such things as mates, such wonders as the ability to shift into an animal, the magic to control the elements, to hypnotize others, or to … wait, what exactly do the demons do? Compulsion? It sounds exactly like hypnotizing. Don’t you think?”

Eden rolled her eyes. Only Evelyn would boil complex powers of the mind down to such simplicity.

Evelyn ignored her sister.

“It doesn’t matter,” she continued. “There are forces at play we will never understand. I can hardly believe two beings fated for one another would not be well-suited for one another. Or, in fact, perfect for one another. Why else would they be fated?”

Eden looked at Evelyn with newfound respect. She’d always assumed he sister was a hopeless romantic. Maybe there was some degree of practicality in Evelyn, after all.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, Evie, but you actually make sense.”

“Of course, I make sense. You just refuse to listen to me.”

They both giggled, continuing their long walk as they did many an evening after dinner. Nora rarely, if ever, joined them, preferring not to venture into the forest and accidently pull energies into herself. It was how she repaired her soul and it took a toll on everything around her.

After a time, Evelyn yawned and Eden steered them back toward the manor. Keeping their arms locked, they stepped off the path and into the golden field surrounding their home.

Feeling some part of the universe had been set right today, Evelyn looked forward to what else the futuremightbring.

* * *

Evelyn’s bare toes wiggled atop the soft grass at the edge of the forest. The summer moon’s light created unnatural beams of purple and blue spearing through the trees.

Bright and shimmering, these were the colors of her dreams. Ever since her mother died, the forest and moonlight had been the backdrop of every sleeping fantasy she could remember.

She always came back to this spot, at the edge of the clearing near her home. It was a familiar place, a location she visited often with Eden and Nora during her waking hours. In the meadow, they played as sisters did. Echoes of their laughter often broke through to her dreamworld.

Evelyn did not know what was so special about the area or why she was anchored to it when she slept. She’d tried over the years to drift along the edge or back to her house. Each attempt landed her back in this exact spot.

She wiggled her fingers, testing the elements. As always, she could feel the magic floating in the air. She had been taught from a young age to trust the elements and listen when they spoke.

When she had finally learned to control her powers, somewhere around the age of five, she’d opened herself up in her dreams, allowing her magics into her dreamworld.

Even in sleep the elements spoke. Only whispers of what they were when she was awake, but they were with her in her dreams. Always.

By now, she’d figured out her nocturnal activities weren’t normal. Something, other than her own power, pulled her here, again and again. Some force hauled her here every time she drifted off.

A few times, she’d not been alone. Evelyn didn’t like thinking about those particular nights from her childhood. She could still feel the phantom cold of the malevolent demon’s power.

A noise off to the left caught her attention. A wolf stood not twenty yards away, staring at her. She wasn’t surprised. She’d met a wolf today, so her mind was creating images of the familiar.

Evelyn’s mouth stretched, thinking of when their younger sister, Nora, came barreling into the room and stole the show, or, in this case, the wolf.

There was something terribly romantic about finding the one being the Universe created just for you, especially when you were of a species who did not have fated mates.

The tiniest pang of jealousy had crept into Evelyn’s heart and she quickly froze it out.Their poor fatherhad beenbeside himselfand it would only make things worse for him if he thought Evelyn was unhappy.

A twig cracked to her right and she swung her head around. She was met with a vampire’s hypnotic gaze. He was as tall as the trees and carried a flame in his open palm.

It was further proof she was in her dreamworld. No vampire was this size in real life, nor could they wield fire. Her sister, Eden, could. It was her greatest power.

The elements vibrated across the meadow, moving and shifting of their own accord.

Evelyn quickly realized this dream was not going to be like the others. She forced herself to pay attention, to commit it all to memory. Magic was speaking and she would not discount it’s story.

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