Page 5 of The Demon King's Destiny

Up ahead, Evelyn could make out the outline of an elderly male. Long, scraggly, hair framed the face of what had to be Theron, the temple priest of Sanctus Femina. He’d visited her dreams before. Slowly, he raised his finger to his lips in a silencing gesture.

A shadow stepped out from behind the priest. It grew bigger as it strode confidently towards her, showing the distinct outline of a warrior’s figure.

Through the glimmering light, she saw the reflecting shine off dark hair. So dark, it gave off an almost bluish tint. Tanned skin stretched over toned muscles. The shirt he wore did nothing to hide his physique.

He was exactly as she’d remembered.Well, maybe a little less enraged.

Moonbeams danced upon his face, revealing obsidian eyes. She didn’t like it when his eyes fully dilated, covering what she knewwere golden irises. Evelyn had only seen eyes bleed black like that once. Once had been more than enough.

“Hello, poppet,” his abnormally deep voice rubbed like velvet against her skin, taking her by surprise.

“My name is not poppet. It’s Evelyn.”

“Bold as ever, I see.”

“You—you remember me?” she stammered, surprised he recognized her. Much had changed on her body since she was six.

It had been nearly a decade since she’d seen him in her dreamworld. Even then, it had only been the briefest of encounters.

“How could I forget?”

His voice was laced with some emotion she couldn’t name, causing her to blush. “I suppose you would recognize your surroundings. They’re always the same here. Nothing ever changes.”

Marrok ignored her misinterpretation of his wording. His eyes wandered while he spoke, noting both a wolf and a vampire were close.

“It’s your dream, little one. I imagine you can make anything happen here.”

“One would think,” she scoffed.

Marrok’s steady regard swung back to the female, studyingher intently. The girl was an elemental. She was a teenager now, but there was no question she was the same female who had summoned him that night a decade ago.

The same long auburn hair now hung in loose braids. Her mismatched eyes were ones Fate would never allow him to forget.

One eye was green, the shade of the spring fields in the Westland. It was the coloring of the elementals who lived in Gwydion.

The other eye was of a color he’d only seen on a demon. Amber with flecks of gold and russet, identical to his own. Even her skin was darker than other elementals. Bronzed—like a demon’s. Like his.

If not for her one green eye and the color of her silky tresses, he might think the female a she-demon. The hair of both Sundari females and males only came in two colors. Black or white. Never any other variation.

Her long locks of auburn were striking. Her peculiar eyes fascinating. Yet it was the attraction of his soul to herscurrently tying himin knots.

His saatus was a vision, one he’d studiously avoided, refusing to seek her out. He’d been tempted to check on her many a night, but he’d kept his shields up, trusting his iron will to hold.

How easily he’d forgotten her show of strength. As a youngling, she’d managed to keep a rogue demon out of this clearing. Her shields and magics had been impressive, even in sleep.

It was no coincidence he’d not been able to prevent her from pulling him into her dream again. Feeling the presence of the old man at his back, he wondered if she’d had help.

“What am I doing here?” he asked, stopping inches from the transparent forcefield separating the forest from the small meadow.

“You tell me.”

“I’m not the one summoning people in the middle of the night.”

“I did no such thing.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Eden’s chest rose and fell. Prickles of sweat seeped from her pores. His voice was magic itself, pushing against her, cocooning her in its warmth.

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