As the first rays of dawn broke, Nerya prepared herself, trying to stifle the frantic beating of her heart. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she felt a tumultuous mix of excitement and guilt. As she stepped out of her room, she bumped into her mother, Elowen. Her mother raised an eyebrow, noticing the unusual care Nerya had taken with her appearance.
"My daughter, what is the reason for this early hour and such elegance? Where are you headed?"
Nerya swallowed the lump in her throat. "Oh, Mother... I-I was going to meet my cousin Fiona. We made a promise to have tea yesterday, and it just slipped my mind. It would be rude not to go; you know how she hates to be kept waiting."
As Nerya climbed into the carriage prepared for her, she noticed her hands were trembling. Upon arriving at the city center, the guard knight assigned to protect her began to follow close behind. Nerya had to make a move. She knew a knight could not enter the most private of domains: the ladies' dressing cabins.
"Oh, I remembered just in time!" Nerya said, putting on a face of artificial surprise. "That shop over there has just received the new season's dresses. I want to try a few on. Would you mind waiting here at the door? It's very crowded and cramped inside; a man in armor like you would only get tired and draw unnecessary attention."
Though the knight hesitated, he saluted. "As you wish, My Lady. I shall be right here." Nerya slipped into the shop, vanished into the crowd, and like a shadow, escaped through the back door toward the designated square. There, standing by the fountain where artificial waterfalls cascaded down a massive stone monument, she saw him.
Abaddon stood there like a monolith. Nerya reached him, breathless. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long..."
Abaddon turned with a gentle smile. "Waiting for you, My Lady, is the most beautiful form of respect one can pay to the passage of time. Welcome... Today, you look so radiant you could cast a shadow upon the sun itself."
Nerya's cheeks flushed crimson. "Thank you... You are new here; you might not know the kingdom well. I'd like to take you to a place I love dearly."
In a small, secluded cafe, they spoke for hours. Abaddon described the pitch-black yet honorable lands of the Demon Realm, while Nerya spoke of the wind-swept valleys of the East Kingdom.
"Tell me," Nerya asked curiously. "How do you hide those massive wings? I mean, don't you feel like they're about to burst out at any moment?"
Abaddon gave a bittersweet smile. "Hiding them is a matter of will, Nerya. If I walked the streets with great wings, people would rightfully be terrified. The ashes of the wars between our kingdoms are still warm... Humans are right to be hostile toward our kind; history was written in blood. Do not misunderstand me; I am not one who advocates for war. Perhaps because I am a demon, you see me as someone 'evil' by birth..."
Without hesitation, Nerya placed her hand over his on the table. "I don't think you are evil, Abaddon. If you were, you wouldn't have protected me that day."
Abaddon exhaled, looking relieved. "Thank you. We are all born with a destiny; demon or human... We do not choose our birthplace or our race, but we choose who we become. I hope I've explained myself clearly."
Nerya smiled. "I know you not by your race, but by the honesty in your eyes, Abaddon. For me, that is enough."
Suddenly, Nerya remembered the knight waiting at the shop door. "Oh no! I had some unfinished business—I mean, I must return. My apologies."
Abaddon stood up immediately. "Would you like me to accompany you?"
"No, no! I cannot put you in such danger. But..." A spell her mother had taught her came to mind. "Abaddon, would you lend me your hand?"
Surprised, Abaddon extended his hand. With the tips of her fingers, Nerya gathered a fine mist of wind and mana, etching an elegant seal onto his palm. "This is a communication seal. It allows us to stay in contact even when apart. Its use is limited and I'll need to renew it eventually, but for now, it binds us together."
Abaddon looked at the cold yet peaceful sting in his palm. "This is not just a spell," he thought to himself.
When Nerya returned to the carriage, she found her knight drenched in sweat and panicked. "My Lady! Where were you? I searched everywhere! When you didn't come out of the shop, I thought something had happened to you! If any harm came to you, Lord Vaelmon would have my head!" The knight looked so desperate his hands were shaking, unable even to wipe the sweat pouring from under his helmet.
Nerya's heart sank. "I am so sorry... My business took a bit longer than expected. I went to the other shops around the back without telling you. Please, forgive me."
Months passed in this manner. Secret letters, whispers shared through the seal, and brief encounters in hidden corners... The two had become bound by an unbreakable tie. Yet, no secret could stay hidden from the High Mage of the East Kingdom forever.
One evening, the manor's corridors shook with Vaelmon's roar. "NERYA! I demand an explanation! Tell me these foul rumors I've heard are lies!"
Nerya stood firm before her father. "Father, I will not lie to you. What you have heard is true."
Vaelmon's body vibrated with wind mana; the curtains in the room began to billow. "Nerya Valeriana Krowell! You are a girl soon to be betrothed! Do you have any idea how much it humiliates me to have the daughter of the High Mage seen with a stranger, a... monster?"
"Father, I told you before; I will not marry a man I do not love like a political pawn!"
Vaelmon raised his hand in fury, but just as he was about to strike, her mother Elowen stepped between them. "Vaelmon! Stop! She is our daughter! Are you going to raise a hand against your own child because of what others say?" Her mother then turned to Nerya, her voice trembling with worry. "My daughter... who is this man who has stolen your heart? Does he come from a known lineage?"
After a short silence, Nerya whispered: "His name is Abaddon... Abaddon Val-Tenebris."
The faces of Vaelmon and Elowen turned deathly pale in an instant. "I told you clearly that day," Vaelmon said, his voice no longer shouting but coming out ice-cold. "You cannot be with a demon, especially one from that lineage! This is madness!"
"Being a demon does not mean he is evil!" Nerya cried.
"You don't understand, Nerya! You underestimate the wars between the kingdoms. If the people learn the High Mage's daughter is with a demon, there will be an uprising! This relationship ends immediately!"
The argument lasted until midnight. Elowen eventually calmed her husband and sent Nerya to her room. But peace had abandoned the manor.
A week passed. One morning, six magnificent, pitch-black carriages pulled up in front of the manor. Nerya walked outside, driven by curiosity, and froze at the sight before her. Massive knights in black armor surrounded the garden. At the front stood a dark, imposing man whose aura seemed to suppress the entire manor.
And right behind him... was Abaddon.
Vaelmon appeared at the manor door. A strange, stern smile was on his face. "Lord Mezrathus... I have been expecting you. Please, come inside."
Nerya and her mother could only stare in shock. Her father, without consulting them, had pulled back the curtain on a very large and dangerous game.