Page 26 of Once Upon a Demon’s Heart

Chapter Fifteen

ALIRA

With a few more strides we break free from the dense forest and are let out into a vast, almost turquoise-lit field of sweet grass. The wind makes them look like waves, rolling and dipping like an ocean.

The boy falls to his knees and lets out a blood-chilling scream. I slow, tensing up at the harrowing sound. It’s pain. It’s agony. It’s… loss.

The moonlight trickles through the field as the clouds move by. The boy has pointed ears and dark hair that’s matted down with liquid. He’s hunched over and fisting the ground, sobbing.

His voice sounds hauntingly familiar.

I move slowly to the side until I can see the side of his face. There’s a long gash on his left cheek that’s been freshly sealed. Blood is dried along his jaw and chest.

My heart stutters. Kalel?

Who did this to him? I assumed he got that scar as an adult in battle, but he’s only a boy. My chest aches with sorrow, and I have the urge to comfort him.

“Alira. The path you walk will only bring misery to all.” A voice moves through the grass blades and slips into my veins. Echoing behind me. A breath as cold as a winter’s breeze coasts over my shoulder and forces a shudder across my skin.

I turn quickly but find no one behind me.

“A demigod mixing blood with a demon? Preposterous.”

This time the voice is coming from where the boy is on his knees. I whirl, finding a tall figure cloaked in a shimmering beige robe that meets their feet. A wreath of gilded leaves crowns their head.

A deity? Chills crawl up my arms and make me swallow hard.

I blink a few times to ensure this is real—that I am speaking to one of the gods right now.

Although I cannot tell which one it is. King Borlin tore down most of the pictures in the castle after we were abandoned to a gruesome fate.

The statues were left, but they lack the fine details of the immortal beings.

The god grins at my confused expression. “I am Mercury, Messenger of the Gods—” he tsks and shakes his head with pity “—And Alira, you foolish godling, you’ve got one hell of a warning.” His hair is sandy brown, glittery with specks of gold in each strand.

I swallow, wary that after all these years of silence, they only now send a messenger. What have I done that’s so bad compared to King Borlin’s actions? I’m saving what’s left of the kingdom and saving myself from that awful time loop. My eyes flick to the ghost of young Kalel.

Mercury laughs. “Don’t worry about him. He’s only a memory. A vision I want you to see.” He speaks in a riddle-like voice. Mercury’s bubbly demeanor makes me uncomfortable. It’s like a fake smile that people give you when they are actually burying daggers in your back.

“A memory?” I mumble, staring at the boy.

His face is smeared with black blood, and I hardly recognize him. He lifts his head up to the sky with heartbreak. “Why do the gods hate us so? What have we done that’s so unforgivable? Why do they despise us just for existing?” he cries to the stars.

The misery is palpable. I watch as vengeance sows roots deep into his heart. Those watery eyes narrow with rage, and his sobbing halts, transitioning to gritted teeth.

Mercury’s hand is heavy on my shoulder as he leans against me, murmuring close against my ear, “The message is from Jupiter himself, godling. If you marry this demon, there will be no happily ever after for you. Not for anyone.”

“Why?” My voice is low. I can’t tear my gaze away from the hatred that grows across Kalel’s expression. What did we do to him? My chest falls, heavy with grief on his behalf.

“Alira, do you really believe a demon, this demon, could ever truly love a demigod? Look at what the poor thing has been through. He is a merciless man. One who only knows how to take. He will kill you. He was born to kill all half-gods. It’s been written in the stars, and this is your only warning.

” Mercury’s words weigh my shoulders down and make my stomach curl with dread.

Kalel can be cruel and untrusting of me, but I’ve seen how devoted he is to his kingdom. I know he’s kind. Sure, maybe we will never love one another, but my heart is already yearning to be closer to his. I can’t deny that I have no longing for his eyes to gaze upon me.

I lift my chin and glare at the god. “That’s not who Kalel is.”

Mercury’s lips curl into a cruel, handsome grin. “Then you do not know Kalel. He was made from the very ashes of the underworld.”

I’d be lying if I said the god’s words didn’t put doubt into my heart.

“What will you do, daughter of Venus? With this warning from the gods, my job is done.” He slips by me and moves beside the boy. Mercury’s robe fades into a shroud of smoke, announcing his departure.

“Wait! Mercury, please hear my plea. Are the gods responsible for my time loop curse?” I shout. Mercury lets his head fall back as he cackles at me.

“It is a peculiar curse, isn’t it? Powerful. Only a deity can cast one like that, I would think.” He taps his lip mockingly.

I bite back my rage. “What happened to make Kalel like this?” I ask, my tone a little too pleading.

Mercury only winks at me before disappearing altogether.

The vision goes with him, and I’m back in the forest, standing alone against the night itself. Only my labored breaths fill the underbrush. Only a deity. So, I was right, it was a god that placed the curse on me. But why? My brows pinch, and I clutch my hand over my heart.

The ferns rustle loudly and Kalel runs out a second later, flinching when he spots me.

“There you are. What happened?” he asks with a heavy-set frown that makes his scar chisel his cheekbone. I can’t help but stare there, knowing he was so young when he got it. He stops a breath away, too close yet too far away. I want to hug him and console him like I wanted to for his younger self.

My chest caves seeing him after the vision Mercury showed me. How could someone as lovely as Kalel have a bad fate? How could the gods believe that the peace agreement won’t change mine?

Kalel must notice the sorrow in my eyes as my gaze burns into his scar.

He takes one step back, worry flashing across his features.

“What did the wisp show you?” he asks coldly as a guarded look falls over his features.

My fingers curl into the edges of the cloak. I don’t want to lie to him, so I tell him the truth. “You.”

His brows lower, casting shadows over his eyes. “Me? You’ll need to be more specific, little godling.”

I swallow nervously. “I followed you as you ran through the forest and collapsed in a field. You had…” I lift my hand to trace my finger over his scar, but he catches my wrist, and a fractured expression moves over his face.

“You saw what happened?” His voice is darker than his gaze, both making me feel sick to my stomach.

I shake my head. “I only saw you in the field, cursing the demigods for hating the demons.” That seems to put him at ease a little. He lets go and turns, stalking back toward camp without another word, his shoulders slumped.

My mouth opens more than once to ask him what really happened, but I can’t seem to bring myself to ask. An unsettling fog follows close behind us, making me nervous enough not to bring it up again.