In the depths of the Underworld,
Malachi sat hunched over a heavy desk, his eyes scanning a manuscript of state affairs with a bored, lethal intensity.
Behind him, Uphior the King's right-hand man and Commander stood like a silent statue of shadow.
The heavy doors creaked open as a servant hurried in. She dropped to her knees. "Long live Your Royal Highness," she whispered, before leaning toward Uphior to murmur into his ear "She's not there."
Malachi's hands slammed onto the reading table, the sound echoing like a crack of thunder.
His face contorted with a sudden, sharp fury.
"Do you think...?" Uphior began, his voice low.
"She's in the human realm," Malachi spat, his red eyes glowing.
"How audacious," Uphior mused. "How did she know?"
"She sent that shapeshifter servant of hers to monitor me," Malachi growled.
Uphior tilted his head. "She seems very dedicated to the King. Is it lust or love?"
Malachi stood up, his cloak billowing like a shroud. "Which one is it? I don't care."
As Malachi's mind raced toward the image of a certain white-haired boy, he vanished, teleporting instantly through the veil of realms.
At that same moment, in the dark corners of the palace, Mephisa's spies slipped into her chambers to report the chaos in the King's study.
Mephisa leaned back, a cruel smirk touching her lips. "So, he does have a new obsession in the human realm. How very interesting."
Back in the human realm, the sun was shining over a fine restaurant. Zaliyah and Karas sat at a corner table, sipping tea and partaking in delicate sweets.
Zaliyah, however, was in a foul mood. He couldn't stop rolling his eyes, he was exhausted by the way every woman in the establishment seemed to be thirsting over Karas, even though Karas paid them absolutely no mind.
Zaliyah spoke sarcastically "you should be the one wearing this veil "
"Huh ? How so " Karas asked with a confused expression.
Zaliyah was annoyed, Was Karas feigning ignorance or he was just being obtuse? He rolled his eyes.
Karas leaned forward, holding a sweet out for Zaliyah to take. "It's fascinating how your eyes aren't stuck at the back of your head by now," he teased.
Zaliyah just rolled his eyes again while munching on the treat, his movements sharp and sassy.
A few tables away, hidden by the crowd, Ailla watched them with predatory focus.
"Malachi has some tough competition," she murmured to Shakdam.
"I still can't see the face," Shakdam sighed, her eyes narrowed. "I don't like that."
"Then do something," Ailla commanded.
Shakdam smirked. She twirled her fingers beneath the table, and suddenly, the peaceful afternoon was shattered. An unnatural, heavy windstorm engulfed the restaurant.
Tables trembled, teacups banged against one another, and tea spilled across the fine linens.
The gust caught Zaliyah's straw hat, tearing it from his head. His white hair spilled over his shoulders like a waterfall of silk.
Ailla and Shakdam froze. The sheer, ethereal beauty of the boy was a physical blow.
"Skin as pale as the snow," Ailla whispered, her voice trembling. "Slender figure, long white hair, purple eyes..."
"She's not human," they both whispered at once.
"My lady has some tough competition," Shakdam added breathlessly.
Ailla rolled her eyes, but her gaze remained fixed.
"You are right, she is not human," Shakdam corrected herself, sensing Ailla's irritation. "Earlier I sensed some faint energy off her, but I didn't think much of it."
"Demonic or celestial energy?" Ailla asked.
"I can't tell. It was too faint to know the source."
"That's interesting," Ailla mused, her jealousy morphing into a cold, calculated interest. "I need to know everything about her before dusk."
"Yes, my lady," Shakdam replied. But before she could stand to leave, a hand made of iron and shadow clamped around her neck.
Malachi was standing there, his fingers tightening around the Chamberlain's throat. Even in the human realm, the King could not suppress his beastly nature.
The restaurant erupted into horrified murmurs. "Hey! Isn't someone going to do something?" a man yelled,
Another man followed "Someone do something" .
The commotion caught Karas and Zaliyah's attention, but by the time they turned around, the space was empty. Malachi had already released Shakdam and was sitting calmly at the table with Ailla.
Zaliyah tried peeping through his veil again, but he saw nothing but empty chairs.
"Eat up," Karas urged.
"Let's leave," Zaliyah snapped.
"Mmmh, eat up," Karas insisted.
Zaliyah rolled his eyes and continued to eat, though his curiosity was burning.
At the other table, Shakdam straightened her collar, faking a trembling smile. "Long live Your Royal Highness."
"Order some tea for His Highness," Ailla said smoothly.
"I'm not here for tea," Malachi said, his voice a low growl. "Get up. Let's go."
"I don't recall bothering Your Highness when he's out wandering in the human realm"
Ailla countered. "So why this hostility?".
Malachi slammed his hand on the table, drawing more whispers from the frightened patrons. "Ailla, I tolerate you enough."
Ailla's expression softened into something nostalgic. "I came across a beautiful scenery, Shakdam what do they call it again ?"
"A park my lady "
"yes a park, Cherry... let's go to the park."
Cherry was the nickname, given to Malachi by his late mother, it seemed to dull the edge of Malachi's rage.
They left the restaurant and walked toward the very park where Malachi had recently seen Zaliyah
As they walked, the memory of Zaliyah's face kept replaying in Malachi's mind like a haunting melody.
"Hmm?" he answered, realising he had missed something Ailla said.
"I said, isn't it beautiful?" Ailla asked.
"Indeed," Malachi said, a genuine, soft smile spreading across his face.
Ailla felt a sharp sting in her heart. It had been decades since she had seen him smile like that and she knew, with a sickening certainty, that she was not the reason for it.
"What is she?" Ailla asked suddenly.
Malachi looked confused. "She?"
"The girl with the white hair."
Malachi let out a sudden, boisterous laugh. "That's a man." He laughed harder, remembering how Zaliyah had been mistaken for a mistress twice now. Does it happen often? he wondered
At a distance, Shakdam began to cough uncontrollably.
Ailla looked like she might puke.
Remembering Karas feeding sweets to Zaliyah, she muttered, "Disgusting homo..." But the thought stopped short. What did that say about Malachi, who was clearly fascinated by him?.
"Why do you like the human realm so much?" The people are weak and inferior she asked instead.
"It's peaceful," Malachi said, laying back on the grass.
Ailla laid down closer to him. "The Demon Realm is peaceful."
"The human realm has everything the Demon Realm doesn't have."Malachi added
"And what are those? Humans?"
Malachi smiled again. "Yes."
Ailla watched him, stunned. That was the third time he had smiled today. It reminded her of their childhood, a time before the Empress Dowager's suicide had turned him into a monster.
"Don't hurt him, Ailla," Malachi said suddenly, his voice losing its warmth.
"Why?"Ailla asked
"I don't want to destroy you."
"Do you like that disgusting thing?" Ailla spat.
"No," Malachi said. But Ailla didn't believe him. The "thing" had made him smile more in one hour than she had in decades.
"I'm just fascinated, that's all,"
"By his beauty?" Ailla added
"Don't be silly," Malachi laughed, the sound easy and relaxed. In this moment, the King was gone, replaced by a man comfortable in the presence of an old friend even if that friend was currently plotting to kill his newest obsession.