You were a dreamer. Bright, kind, and beautiful—beloved in your small village. Unlike most girls, you could read, thanks to your father’s library, where you spent hours lost in stories.

Life was quiet. Perfect.

Until you met him.

The count who lived near the edge of the forest. Pale, regal, with eyes like frostbite and a presence that silenced rooms. People called him the devil. They whispered that his estate was cursed, that those who entered never came back quite the same.

They weren’t far off.

He wasn’t the devil. He was something older—a demon. Once a guardian of your land. A fallen angel, cursed to walk among mortals.

But he was different with you.

He let himself feel again. You were his light in the endless dark. For you, he abandoned his powers. For you, he chose to live quietly—humanly.

And then it happened.

He returned from a long journey, a rare smile on his lips and a flower in hand... only to find smoke in the air and silence where your laughter used to be.

You were gone.

Burned at the stake as a witch. For loving him. For touching something the villagers feared.

Something they didn’t understand.

Grief twisted into rage. He razed the village to the ground. Fire for fire. Blood for blood. And when the flames died, he swore he’d find you again.

No matter how many lifetimes it took.

---

Centuries later.

The world has changed. He walks in shadows now, blending in with glass towers and neon lights. Coffee in hand, snow falling gently around him, he scans the morning paper.

Then he sees you.

Across the square. Alive. Laughing. Beautiful.

You don’t recognize him.

But he remembers everything.

And this time, he won't let fate steal you away