A Hazardous Game

Chapter 15: A Hazardous Game

In front of Evelina, Kaelen stood, his features masked in a disinterested mask, while ripples in the red of his eyes betrayed some unreadable emotion. The fingers that grazed her cheek were now curled into a fist at his side, belying the battle waging within him. She had seen that flicker in his eyes before, the merest hint of something more, something which would unravel all the walls he had built around himself. Yet, he was doing everything he could to suppress it, and Evelina could feel it.

"You're not ready for this," Kaelen said, his voice low and serious, as if trying to convince himself more than her. "You don't understand the world you're walking into."

Evelina swallowed the lump in her throat, but she refused to look away. She couldn't. "I understand more than you think. I know you're not just a demon, Kaelen. I know there's more to you."

The silence that fell between them hung heavy with tension. Kaelen stepped back, his gaze hardening as he looked away from her. "You think you understand, but you don't," he muttered under his breath, so softly that Evelina almost missed it. "I don't have time for this. for you."

His words stung, but they didn't break her resolve. Evelina squared her shoulders and stood tall, her eyes locked with his as a storm raged inside her. "You don't get to decide what I understand, Kaelen. You don't get to decide anything for me."

A flash of surprise flickered across his face but was gone in an instant. "You're wrong," he said, his tone cutting. "I do get to decide. You don't belong in my world. You're a princess, bound by duty, by expectations that you can never escape."

"I've already decided," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, but it held the weight of her conviction. "I want to know you. The real you."

Kaelen stared back, his face impassive. For one long moment, neither of them shifted so much as an inch. Her heart racing within her chest, Evelina hauled in shallow lungfuls of air. The silence shimmering between them was fraught; the air a heavy, throbbing mass charged by the tension simmering between these two opponents who stood with taut muscles-never recognizing and giving into their undeniable connection that was palpable and electric there.

Finally, Kaelen spoke, his voice colder than ever. "You don't know what you're asking, Princess. The moment you step into my world, there's no turning back. You think you can handle it, but you can't. You'll be swallowed whole, just like the rest of them."

Evelina's heart constricted at the bitterness in his words, but she didn't bend. She could not afford to. "Then let me decide for myself," she said, firm. "Let me see for myself."

Kaelen's eyes hardened, and for a moment, Evelina thought he might snap, that he might finally break under the weight of her persistence. Instead, he simply turned on his heel and started walking away. Evelina's stomach twisted with something between frustration and desperation. She couldn't let him walk away like this-not again.

"Kaelen!" she called louder this time, more insistent. "Please, don't shut me out."

He paused but didn't turn around. His broad shoulders tensed under his cloak, and Evelina could see the muscles in his back stiffen as if he were fighting a war within himself. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, almost imperceptible.

"You're making a mistake."

"I'm not afraid," Evelina replied, stepping forward despite the gnawing fear in her chest. "I don't want to be afraid anymore."

Kaelen turned to her then, his eyes glowing like molten lava. There was so much intensity in that gaze it ran a shiver down into her bones, yet she didn't budge. His expression was unreadable-a perfect mask of control. Yet she could see the crack in the façade, if she looked hard enough. She had seen it a moment ago; she saw it again now.

"You should be," he said, no more than a whisper. "You should be afraid of me, Princess. I am not like other men. I am not like your betrothed. I am a demon, and you are a human. You cannot survive in my world."

Evelina's chest tightened at his words. She wanted to argue, to tell him that she didn't care about the difference between their worlds. But deep down, she knew he was right. His world was dangerous; it was filled with shadows and fear, with demons who enjoyed chaos and bloodshed. It was a world she had never been prepared for, wasn't sure she was ready to enter.

But despite everything, despite the fear and the uncertainty gnawing at her, Evelina found herself unable to look away from him. There was something in his eyes, something raw and vulnerable she couldn't ignore. Something that made her want to fight, to push past the walls he had so carefully built around himself.

"I don't care," Evelina replied, the steady quality of her tone a contradiction to the racing beat of her heart. "I'm not afraid of you, Kaelen. And I won't let you push me away."

Kaelen's expression darkened then, and for a moment, Evelina actually thought he would strike out. Instead, though, he just stood there, staring at her with such a probing intensity that took her breath away.

"You should go," he rasped out. "While you still can."

But Evelina refused to back down. She took another step closer to him, narrowing the space between them. "No. I won't leave. Not without understanding you. Not without knowing why you're so afraid of me."

Kaelen's gaze softened for just that tiniest instant, but long enough to have Evelina's heart stumble a beat. And then, just that fast, the softness vanished, swallowed by the usual coldness.

"You don't understand," he whispered, his voice no more than a whisper.

"I will," Evelina said resolutely. "I will understand. I won't give up on you, Kaelen. Not now. Not ever."

And with that, she stepped a step further into the room toward him. And for the first time, she saw in his eyes-a glint of something, shining almost menacingly like hope.

But before either of them could utter a further word, there was a resounding of loud footsteps down the hall. Evelina looked up, her heart leaping in her throat, as a form came into view.

King Lysander.

He was here.

This moment that Evelina had known and dreaded in her mind had finally arrived, bringing with it only the stark reality that her feelings for Kaelen would only make it all more difficult.

Kaelen's eyes darkened and he stepped back, his cold mask snapping back into place.

"You should go," he said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. "Before he sees you."

Evelina's heart twisted painfully in her chest. She didn't want to leave-not now, not when she was finally starting to break through to him.

But she knew he was right. Lysander was coming, and she couldn't afford to be seen with Kaelen-not yet.

"Goodbye, Kaelen," she whispered, catching her voice in her throat.

Not waiting for a reply, she turned and quickly walked away, leaving Kaelen to himself among the shadows, staring after her receding figure.