Chapter 1
Milangela –
Branches tore against my arms as I ran through the forest.
My breathing came in sharp, uneven gasps while dead leaves cracked beneath my boots. Behind me, footsteps followed relentlessly—steady, controlled, terrifyingly calm.
He was still chasing me.
Of course he was.
Kai never lost his prey.
Moonlight slipped through the trees in silver streaks as I pushed myself faster, ignoring the burning pain in my lungs. My wings ached beneath the heavy cloak wrapped tightly around them.
Too slow.
A blade suddenly sliced through the air beside me.
I ducked just in time.
The sword struck a tree instead, wood splintering violently.
“Stop running,” a cold voice ordered behind me.
I glanced back.
Kai moved through the forest like death itself—black armor, dark eyes, sword gleaming beneath the moonlight. Nothing about him looked human anymore.
Just dangerous.
“You’re insane if you think I’m stopping,” I snapped.
“You don’t have a choice.”
I almost laughed at that.
Humans always thought they controlled everything.
I leapt over a fallen log, but Kai closed the distance quickly. He was faster than most hunters I had encountered before.
That was bad.
Very bad.
“You don’t understand!” I shouted. “I’m not going to hurt you!”
Kai’s expression didn’t change.
“That’s exactly what monsters say.”
Anger flared hot inside my chest.
“I’m not a monster!”
“You’re an angel,” he replied sharply, as though the two words meant the same thing.
The forest suddenly opened into a clearing.
I stopped abruptly.
Kai halted a few feet away, sword raised carefully toward me.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The wind whispered through the trees around us.
His gaze traveled over my hood suspiciously. “Take it off.”
“No.”
“Then I’ll do it myself.”
Kai stepped forward—
I spread my wings instantly.
Golden feathers burst through the darkness, glowing beneath the moonlight.
Kai froze.
Finally.
Fear crossed his face.
Real fear.
His grip tightened around the sword as he stared at me like he was seeing a ghost.
“So the stories were true,” he murmured.
I lifted my chin, not sure what he was directing at. “Not all of them.”
The shock vanished quickly from his face, replaced by cold determination once again.
“All angels are monsters,” he said firmly. “The king himself warned us what your kind is capable of.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “You actually believe that?”
“The kingdom wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “The kingdom murdered my people.”
Kai’s jaw clenched instantly. “Careful.”
“No, you be careful,” I shot back. “You hunt innocent creatures while your precious king sits on a throne built with angel blood.”
“Enough.” His voice cracked through the clearing like thunder. “The king protects humanity.”
“The king fears us.”
Kai ignored me completely.
“Angels burnt villages. Slaughtered humans. Destroyed cities.”
“All lies!”
“Lies?” He stepped closer, eyes hardening. “I’ve seen the destruction myself.”
“And did you ever stop to ask who truly caused it?”
Silence.
For half a second, uncertainty flickered across his face. Then it disappeared.
Loyal.
Stubborn.
Completely brainwashed.
Kai lifted his sword toward me again. “You can try to manipulate someone else.”
I stared at him. God, humans are exhausting. “You know,” I muttered, “for someone attractive, you’re incredibly irritating.”
His brows furrowed slightly. “What?”
“Nothing.” I turned away dramatically. “Typical royal dog behaviour."
Kai’s eyes darkened instantly. “Coward,” he said coldly.
I stopped walking. Slowly, I turned back toward him.
“Excuse me?”
“You keep running instead of fighting.” He tilted his head slightly. “Maybe the stories were right. Maybe angels are cowards after all.”
That did it. Energy surged through my veins instantly. Amber light burst across my fingertips.
Kai’s expression changed.
I lifted my hand toward the trees beside him—
—and fire exploded through the forest.
Flames swallowed an entire tree within seconds. The heat crashed through the clearing violently. Kai stumbled back slightly, eyes widening in shock. For the first time since meeting him—he looked afraid.
Good. I stepped closer.
“If I were the monster you think I am,” I said quietly, “you would already be dead, love.”
The fire reflected in Kai’s dark eyes as silence fell between us.
Still—he didn’t run. Didn’t lower his weapon. Didn’t beg.
Interesting.
Fear was there, yes. But so was courage.
Or stupidity.
Sometimes humans confuse the two. Kai slowly straightened again despite the flames raging beside us. Then, unbelievably, he lowered his sword slightly.
“You have two choices,” he said calmly.
I blinked. Was he serious?
“You can fight me,” Kai continued, “and prove whether angels are truly dangerous…”
His eyes locked onto mine.
“Or you can surrender peacefully and come with me to the capital.”
For one second, I just stared at him.
Then I laughed.
Actually laughed.
Loud enough for the forest to echo with it.
Kai frowned immediately. “What’s so funny?”
I wiped beneath my eye dramatically.
“Oh gods,” I breathed between laughs. “Both your offers are dumb.”
Kai stared at me as my laughter echoed through the clearing. The fire beside us crackled violently, sparks flying into the night sky between us.
“You think this is amusing?” he asked coldly.
“Oh, completely.” I shook my head, still smiling. “Fight you? Surrender to you? Hunter, those are stupid choices.”
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
“You’re mocking me.”
“You make it very easy.” I shrugged.
Kai exhaled sharply through his nose, clearly trying to maintain whatever royal-trained patience he had left. “I’m trying to spare your life.”
“And I’m trying to understand why humans think threatening people is a negotiation tactic.”
His grip tightened around the sword. “You’re avoiding the point.”
“No, I’m questioning your intelligence.”
The insult landed. I saw it in the way his jaw flexed.
Interesting.
The mighty angel hunter had a temper after all. “Enough games,” Kai warned.
“Or what?”
His gaze hardened instantly. “Don’t test me.”
I tilted my head slightly, studying him beneath the moonlight. Up close, he looked younger than I expected. Still dangerous, yes—but not cruel. Not like the others. That was worse somehow. Cruel men were easy to hate.
Good men were complicated.
“You really believe all angels are monsters?” I asked quietly.
Kai didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
The answer should not have bothered me.
But it did.
“Even after I spared you?”
“You could still be manipulating me.”
I scoffed softly. “You humans think you’re the centre of every evil plan.”
“You admitted the kingdom murdered your people.”
“Because they did.”
“And maybe they had reason.”
The words hit harder than they should have. The air around me shifted instantly. The fire behind us roared higher.
Kai noticed immediately. “I struck a nerve.”
“You know nothing about us.”
“I know enough to kill you!” He said, taking a step closer, “Angels destroyed human cities.”
I laughed bitterly. “Did you see it happen?”
“No.”
“Then you know stories. Not truth.”
Kai went silent. For a brief moment, uncertainty flickered in his expression again.
Tiny.
Fragile.
But there. I stepped closer carefully. “The king lied to you.”
“That’s treason.”
“That’s reality.”
Kai’s eyes locked onto mine, sharp and searching like he was trying to figure out whether I was insane or simply dangerous.
Maybe both.
“You expect me to betray my kingdom because of a few words from an angel?”
“No,” I replied softly. “I expect you to open your eyes.”
The forest fell quiet again. Too quiet. Even the wind seemed to stop moving. Kai slowly lowered his sword another inch.
“You speak differently than I imagined.”
I blinked. “That might be the strangest compliment I’ve ever received.”
“You’re not acting like a monster.” He stated.
“That’s because I’m not one.”
Kai looked at me for a long moment.
Then—
“You still ran.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Oh, for the love of—”
“You fled instead of fighting.”
“Because you were trying to kill me!”
“You could have defended yourself earlier.”
I laughed dryly. “You called me a monster the second you saw my wings.”
“You hid them.”
“Because humans like you keep murdering us!”
Kai opened his mouth—
Then stopped.
Finally.
Progress.
A smug smile pulled at my lips. “There it is. Thought.”
“Don’t sound so proud.”
“I’m very proud.”
Kai shook his head slightly, almost frustrated with himself. “You’re impossible.”
“And yet,” I stepped closer, “you still haven’t attacked me.”
The realisation visibly hit him. His sword was lowered and his guard was slipping. And worst of all he was listening to me.
Dangerous.
For both of us.
Kai looked away first. “I should take you to the capital.”
I nearly choked laughing again. “Absolutely not.”
“The king would know what to do with you.”
“The king would execute me.”
Silence. Kai didn’t deny it.
Interesting.
“So you admit it,” I said quietly.
His brows furrowed. “Admit what?”
“That your king kills angels regardless of guilt.”
Kai’s expression darkened immediately.
“You don’t understand how this works.”
“No,” I replied softly.
“You don’t.”
For a moment neither of us spoke. Then thunder rumbled overhead. Rain began falling slowly through the clearing. Cold droplets slid against my skin as Kai glanced toward the darkening sky.
“We need shelter for now,” he muttered.
I raised a brow. “We?”
"Yes, or else we’ll freeze out here before I take you with me.”
I stared at him. The hunter who had chased me through the forest was now worried about rain. Humans were absurd creatures.
Before I could answer, a sharp whistle sliced through the air. Kai’s expression changed instantly.
Then—
THUNK.
An arrow slammed into the tree beside my head.
