A dangerous game

Chapter 20: A Dangerous Game

The days blended together in a blur of royal duties, strategy meetings, and uncomfortable silences. Evelina dove headfirst into her princessly duties, but the ache inside-her budding emotions for Kaelen-never truly disappeared. She couldn't rid her mind of the picture of his red eyes, the way he looked at her-always so far away, unreadable. It was as if he were some sort of taboo mystery, something she wanted to unravel, yet he kept pushing her further away with every step taken.

Despite Lysander's insistence to avoid the demons altogether, Evelina found herself disobeying him more often than not, which included taking walks through the royal gardens with thoughts of Kaelen and his remote manner. He was just that person whom it was impossible to get rid of; there he was in the back of her mind, always.

One evening, after a particularly tense council meeting with her father and the other nobles, Evelina decided to take a walk by herself in the moonlit gardens. The night was still and quiet, the air heavy with anticipation. She needed to clear her head.

Her soft footsteps were the only sound as she made her way down the winding path. With gentle whispering from trees and tresses bending into the air to caress her above, going deeper inside this garden, the weighted pressure inside her chest felt her feelings heavier. No matter how many other times she thought her mind had cleared, drifting, it landed again with the demon named Kaelen. The thought of him stirred something inside her, something she couldn't quite place, but that both terrified and thrilled her.

As she turned a corner, she almost collided with a tall figure, his outline illuminated by the pale moonlight. Evelina froze, her heart racing. It was Kaelen.

He was leaning against one of the stone pillars, his eyes glowing faintly red in the dark. A shiver ran down her spine at the sight, but this time, beneath the fear, was something else altogether: some deep, intractable pull that drew her toward him.

Kaelen straightened, his eyes locking with hers in an intensity that had her breath catching in the back of her throat. "You shouldn't be here," he said, his voice low and smooth, like velvet brushed against her skin. A warning was there in his words, but he wasn't about to stop her.

Evelina swallowed hard, trying to steady the racing heartbeat. "I wanted to see you," she admitted before she could stop herself.

His face was impassive, but his eyes flickered with something-something that for an instant made her think that he might, after all, care. But she pushed the thought aside: Kaelen wasn't like the men of her kingdom. He was a demon, a creature of darkness, and the sooner she accepted that fact, the easier it would go down in resisting him.

You should go back," he said, firm but not malicious. "Your betrothed will be looking for you."

Evelina fisted her hands, frustration stirring inside her. "I don't care about Lysander," she said before better judgment got the best of her. "I care about you.

The words hung heavy and vulnerable in the air. She regretted them instantly, but the look in Kaelen's eyes stopped her from backing down. He stepped closer, closing the distance between them with a single stride. The tension in the air thickened, and Evelina felt her breath catch in her throat as his proximity ignited something inside her.

"You don't know anything about me," Kaelen murmured, his voice laced with a dark, almost bitter edge. "You're playing a dangerous game, princess. You're not meant for someone like me."

The sound of her heart thundering in her chest, Evelina stared up at him, her eyes searching his. His words cut deep, yet there was something in the way he looked at her that urged her to argue. "Maybe I don't care about the rules," she said softly, her voice barely a whisper. "Maybe I'm willing to risk everything for you.

Kaelen's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, she thought he might push her away. Instead, he seemed to soften, though only slightly. "You don't know what you're asking for," he said, his tone low and almost resigned. "This world you live in… it's not for you. You can't handle it. You can't handle me.

Evelina took a step closer, closing the gap between them. "I can handle anything," she said with more conviction than she felt. "I'm not afraid of you."

Kaelen's lips curled into a faint, almost sadistic smile, though his eyes flickered with something deeper—something almost like regret. "You should be," he replied, his voice almost a growl. "I've killed for less."

The words ran a shiver down her spine, but she refused to be consumed by the cold of fear. She was done being afraid-of her feelings, of him, of the expectations that held her in a cage.

"Then perhaps you will kill me," she said, her voice shaking with defiance and with something more. "But I would rather die knowing that I lived, that I wasn't a prisoner of what I was supposed to be."

For a moment, Kaelen was silent, his eyes fixed on her with an unreadable intensity. Then, almost as if he couldn't help himself, he reached out, his fingers brushing against her cheek. Evelina's breath caught in her throat at the touch-gentle, yet with a power that threatened to undo her.

You have no idea what you're dealing with, princess," Kaelen muttered in a low dangerous tone. "I'm not some man you can control. And I'm surely not some man you can love."

"I don't need to control you," Evelina whispered, her heart pounding in her chest. "I just need to be with you.

The silence between them was thick, as if, for a single instant, even the world held its breath. Kaelen's gaze never wavered; his fingers did not move away from her skin, as though he weighed her words, weighing the risk of what it would mean to let her in.

But then, without a word, he pulled away, his face hardening once more. "Go back to your palace, princess," he said coldly. "Before it's too late."

Evelina stood there, staring after him as he disappeared into the shadows, the echo of his words hanging heavy in the air.

She didn't know what she was doing, or what she was even hoping for, but she couldn't ignore the growing connection between them. Kaelen was a danger, a temptation, and yet she couldn't stop herself from wanting him-wanting to know him, to understand him.

And with every step she took toward the palace, her chest was heaving with the burden of her emotions. One thing was clear, though: far from over, it was.