[[COMPLETE BUT CURRENTLY UNDER MAJOR EDITING]]
She's an anomaly. He's a vengeful demon. Both haunted by what they are. Together, they must race against time to protect the realms.
Desperate to escape her past, seventeen-year-old Ashley Morgan has be...
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Ten years later...
Richard stood barefooted on the balcony of his two-floored villa. A cool wind brushed his face and slapped against the green leaves of the trees that grew around his house. The sky lit up with a fiery orange color as the sun slowly descended towards the horizon. Richard lifted a glass half-filled with red wine that was sitting on a white table. He bestowed his lips upon the brim and took a sip of the sweet liquid, staring at the glittering ocean waters.
Almost a year has passed now, he thought. It was surreal. Ethan— his greatest enemy— had been defeated. The past year had been the most peaceful Richard ever experienced and now... he was finally ready to live a normal life.
He almost laughed at that thought. Normal. As if he of all creatures could be described as such.
With a smile, he placed the glass back on the table and jumped off the balcony. Landing softly on his feet, he put his hands in the pocket of his white slacks and began walking along a wet grassy clearing, heading towards the beach. Dry leaves and branches cracked underneath his feet when he entered the woods. . The chirping sounds of birds and other critters echoed around him. Large fully-grown oak and maple trees engrossed these woods, their black shade absorbing most of the light. Humans rarely wondered here; making it a perfect place for him to live.
Richard made it out of the trees and his bare feet later felt the warm caress of the beach sand. A sharp stinging sensation sliced through his eyes when he gazed at the glowing red sun. He instinctively ran his left hand over the silver ring on his right middle finger. The ring had a trident engraved on it. It was once a gift from his father but now it was the only thing that kept him from turning into ash under the light of the sun.
The rhythmic percussion of waves on the sand was music to Richard's ears. He stopped moving, out-stretched his arms, and closed his eyes— enjoying his thoughts. He bent his head and looked into the water, staring at a distorted reflection of himself. No one would ever guess that he was over fifty thousand years old. To any human, Richard looked like an average teenager with blonde hair and blue eyes.
But he wasn't. Ethan had made sure that all those years ago. Since the day he was cursed, Richard never aged. For thousands of years, he had walked among the living, growing fond of some, and developing a hatred for others. One thing remained a constant; he always outlived them. There was no one left alive for him to call a friend— allies maybe but not friends
"Wherever you go. Every time you think of moving on... Your friends, happiness, love... I will be there to take it away."
Like sharp daggers, Ethan's fifty-thousand-year-old words pierced through his mind. He had said them the day he cursed Richard and they felt as real as they had back then. Ethan had given his word that Richard would always be alone; and Ethan never broke his promises. He had taken away Richard's parents-- taken away everything from him.
