“I think I'd miss you even if we’d never met,” Azrael whispered as his fingers trailed the side of her face, leaving an alluring warmth.
Anna’s throat became dry, “We shouldn’t have met then―”
“No,” he said, “Even if it means losing everything, I would rather have you.”
They were destined to fall from the start. A forsaken bond. A hopeless cause. And yet, in that stolen moment, Anna didn’t care anymore, neither did he.
* * * 
Anna is a human in a world where her kind is treated like dust, while Azrael is the demon duke infamous for his ruthlessness and bewitching looks.
On a fateful night, her life gets entangled with him. Azrael takes her as his fiance, however, theirs is a relationship formed over a contract; a marriage of convenience.
In a land where the hatred between humans and demons runs deeper than blood, she can not let her guard down. 
Anna harbors no feelings for the handsome duke, nor for his kind. Though that doesn’t stop her heart from stuttering whenever he’s near, nor the ghost of a familiar fear to surge at the sound of his voice.
But he’s always near.
Telling her what to do.
Making her feel warmer, hotter than he should.
* * * 
To yearn for someone who is forbidden to you is a terrifying feeling. To burn from desire and never speak of it, to have a secret that is horrible to almost everyone, to hide something that could ruin everything.
This is a story carved in hidden desires, inked in blood, and sealed with a fatal sin. Will Anna make it out alive? Or will her heart lead to her downfall?

The Duke's Secret Sin

The governess nervously paced around the room while she fanned herself with a fan. It had always been her dream to rise to a respectable position, and she had to be one of the rare humans who were tasked with teaching a demon. 


She could not be too strict or authoritative and that made her worry about her delayed class. 


Merida wondered if Anastasia was never going to show up. It was hard for her to relax and have faith when the lady had jumped from the window to avoid the classes. 


Speak of the devil, the doors opened just as she had thought about her missing student. 


A breath of relief left Merida as she curtsied. 


Anna awkwardly curtsied back to Merida's horror, "Let's not do this...it's um strange." 


"You are too humble," Merida hesitated, "but this is just proper. Let's start our session, today we shall learn an instrument." 


A Youthful Horror