For the first time, I hesitated to kill—truly hesitated, even though I knew a demon was involved. It wasn't just any demon; it was Drakar, tangled up with Raphael, their lives woven together in this mess.
I'd always thought demons were beyond redemption, but seeing their final moments, hearing their wishes... it hit different. Raphael, wanting nothing more than to reunite with his family, to live a normal life. Drakar, yearning to live as a human, to experience the world without the curse of destruction. Their dreams were raw, human in a way that made my chest ache. But now, those wishes were ashes, snuffed out by the ironclad plot of this damn novel. No second chances, just the story's cruel path, forcing my hand.
Crunch.
The sound snapped me out of my thoughts, my head jerking up to see Kairos standing there, his coat billowing slightly in the wind that rustled through the trees.
