“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 royal palace was built at the very end of the capital, it was surrounded by majestic tall mountains and was in the center of a large placid lake.


As the sun sank beneath the horizon, it spread a dreamy lilac shade through the skies.


Despite the lingering warmth of the day, a certain palace chamber carried a chilling aura. It was covered in shadows of the setting sun and the darkness of blood.


Azrael indifferently wore back his gloves as the crimson of his eyes dimmed and melted into the soft hazel hue. 


"You should kill him," a solemn voice spoke from the doors.


The duke paused but only for a second as he raised his eyes and smiled softly, warmly as if he had not just caused a man to be eternally silenced.


Lorelei stood there grimly but didn't say anything more as Azrael calmly left the room.


"That would be too merciful," he replied.


A Penny for Thoughts