In ancient times, when the high faerie lords tried to conquer all realms and demand worship as 'gods', they faced resistance from Astara, the demon realm.
A prophecy foretold the creation of an indestructible soul that would split into two parts. One with accurate insight and compassion, the other with overwhelming strength and immortality. These souls would inhabit an Astaran man and woman, and together, they would put the high faerie lords and their entire foundation to ruin, ending the era of the faeries.
To avoid that prophecy, the leader of the faeries sent the girl with the power of insight to another world through a portal as a baby. But to his surprise, his son accidentally entered the portal and landed in that world with her.
Chapter 1
Matian Meilin got off the bus, clutching her suitcase. Her silky dark-brown hair gleamed down to her lower back and bounced with every step she took with a smile. Her long eyelashes framed her large, almond-shaped eyes, while her black winged eyeliner complemented the hypnotic darkness of her eyes.
"I can't believe I'm here, Yuming!" Meilin's eyes sparkled with joy as she spoke into her purple headphones. 'I prayed to God for so many nights for this.'
"And you deserve all of it! You worked hard to get there. Just... make sure you don't forget me, okay? Call me whenever you need anything," the reassuring warmth of Yuming's voice crackled through the line.
"Forget you? That'll never happen! I promise to call you every. single. day."
"Okay, maybe not every single day," Yuming quipped.
Meilin laughed, but her smile faded when she gazed at the tall buildings scraping the sky and the shadows that crossed through the morning light. 'I have to make this work... there's no Plan B.'
The smell of fresh ground coffee beans came from the nearby cafés, and she stood by the street vendors who offered mouthwatering dishes.
"You know, Yuming, today might be the best day of my life! If I don't ruin it... But maybe, just maybe, I want to believe I have a chance at something better."
"A chance to live with a gorgeous man like Han?" Yuming teased.
"Han? Really? Do you have eye disease or something?"
"True, you're excited for Ningshun."
"That's not the only reason I'm excited about!" Meilin's face turned a deep shade of pink, setting her hands on her cheeks as chuckles echoed through the headphones.
"Woah, Meilin, I was worried about you—a girl—living in a dorm full of men. But now I think they should be more afraid of you!" Yuming continued the joke in an attempt to alleviate Meilin's veiled worry.
"Sh-Shut up!" Meilin laughed, her blush spreading across her delicate, once-fair cheeks. The people's shouting and the noise of the cars far away became inaudible as a large building came into view. "Oh my God. I see the headquarters! What do I do—What do I DO!" She slapped her temples, her breathing quickening.
"Okay, calm down. We practiced this."
"Yeah, yeah. Okay, I should breathe..." Meilin pretended to shake hands in the middle of the street. "Nice to meet you, Ningshun. I'm such a huge fan. You've been my motivation in tough times."
"Are you... actually doing this in public?" Yuming stifled her laughter.
"Yes, now let me concentrate," Meilin demanded, still extending her arm with her palm open.
A laugh escaped from Yuming. "Okay, but I really have to go now. Remember—you've got this, alright?"
"Yes, thank you. I'll let you know how it went. Bye!" Meilin hung up with a tap on her headphones. Rushing towards the building, she glanced at the tiles beneath her feet and slowly raised her head, murmuring, "What should I say? Should I look him in the eyes—"
Chest.
She stopped dead in her tracks as her gaze landed on a man's bare, muscular chest. A dreamy smile appeared on her lips. "Oh, yes..." she murmured and made a small squeak as she drooled.
A life-size poster of a shirtless swordsman—her favorite game character—appeared before her, holding a long sword that matched the length of his sleek, black hair flowing down to his thighs, set in a vibrant, fantasy world.
"Zayn!" Her eyes widened, sparkling as they reflected his image. The hazel eyes of his—a blend of amber transitioning to olive green—stared with smoldering desire back at her. "I was wrong! I'm always more excited to see you than anyone else." She blew kisses toward the poster.
"What a nutjob," grumbled an elderly passerby, shaking his head.
Blinking, her lips pressed into a thin line as she kicked the ground, hands stuffed into pockets. She had a sheepish grin as self-consciousness boomed in her gut.
"Are you interested in this poster, miss?"
Meilin looked up, and a woman in her mid-twenties smiled at her and gestured to the poster. "I, uh..."
"It's on sale."
Meilin's jaw dropped when she heard the price. "Yes. YES! I'll take it!" It seemed like a steal, a deal she could not turn down. After all, she could never have too much merch of her main champion.
Thanking the woman, she began striding again toward the doors of Ignis headquarters, an infamous Esports company with several legendary players. A whirlwind of emotion swirled inside her. This was her chance—her moment—and as she swung open the doors into the unknown, little did she know, someone waited for her inside, ready to change everything she thought she knew about herself and her purpose.
~*~
Meilin stepped into the company building, her beige trenchcoat offering protection from the cold nipping at her cheeks. 'I can't wait for summer!'
In the bright light coming from above, she discarded her headphones, went across the lobby, and found the information desk. The place was empty.
She glanced back to the two men who lounged about in the hall and smiled in their direction. "Hello, can I ask you a question?"
They looked in her direction, eyes wide and mouth agape as she walked up to them. Both men could not help but stare at her. Their eyes followed the lines of her body from head to toe.
The shorter guy stuttered, "Y-Yeah?"
"Hello yourself, gorgeous." The taller of the two men winked. "You a fan?"
Blinking, she took a step back. "What?"
"Don't be shy. What's your name?"
"I, uh... I'm just looking for the team Solaris. What floor are they on? Could you please tell me?"
The mere mention of Solaris pulled them from their fantasies with the force of an industrial-sized wrecking ball smashing through glass.
"Wait, so you're not... You're here for them!? Are you their fan or something? You do realize you can't just barge in like this!"
"Oh no, it's a misunderstanding. I'm here to join the team! It's my first time here, so I'm a bit lost..."
"Solaris, huh? THE Solaris?" The taller one chuckled and sneered down at her. "I guess this will be the last time we hear of them."
Their sideways smirks made her jaw clench even as she maintained her unflinching smile. How she longed to punch them... and maybe even more. 'Calm down, Meilin. You knew this would happen at some point. Stay calm.'
"Esports isn't for girls. You should be at home doing something more suitable for your kind."
She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. Standing firm, she shot back, "I don't remember you competing in last championship to be talking like this."
"Watch what you're saying, rookie." The tall guy came forward and peered down at her with an arrogant face. "If you weren't flirting with me a minute ago, I would've—"
"Excuse me? Do you think every girl who talks to you is hitting on you? YOU were the one flirting with me!"
"Don't get any ideas. You're way too loud and aggressive. I prefer girls who are modest and know how to behave."
Her lips wobbled, her heart sinking like an anchor in a sea that slowly breathed in her memory:
"Why haven't I confessed to Meilin yet? Knowing her, she'd probably be all over me before I even got the words out!" A young man chuckled, and his laughter built up. "Yeah, she's fun, but she's also... aggressive... vulgar... I like proper girls, and she's not... the kind of girl I'd want to introduce to my parents or even consider marrying."
Meilin grounded herself in the present and swallowed the lump in her throat. 'If only I were perfect. If only I weren't the way I am, Yichen wouldn't think of me like that and embarrass me...' She swore to never show her true self again to anyone. 'What's the point... Fictional men are better anyway...'
"I can't believe this company is trying to hire women now," the shorter guy muttered.
'These jerks! No more. If I turn the other cheek, I'll never earn respect.' Meilin cocked her chin up, narrowing her fox-like eyes while sending a sneer that could easily chill them to the bone with a voice lowered into almost a growl of intimidation. "You know what? How would the company feel about its players discriminating against girls? It'd be a shame if someone were to speak to them about this... And not just that. You'd be canceled, and no other company would want to work with you two."
The two stared at each other, backing away and swallowing their attitude as the realization that their careers could be on the line began to sink in.
"Alright, princesses, less talking, more practicing," boomed a deep voice through the lobby.
"Ningshun!" their voices trembled.
Ningshun, Solaris' Mid Laner, was a well-known Esports figure and his team's best player. With sharp accuracy and a confident yet calm attitude in matches, he earned the respect of many opponents.
Meilin whirled, breath lodging in her throat when she met the man's gaze. 'Wow, he looks gorgeous.' Her cheeks heated up as the tall, twenty-year-old man stood in front of her.
The place smelled of his musky cologne. His luscious lips turned up into a smirk that lingered in her eyes. He pushed a hand through his jet-black hair, now slicked back to the line where his neck and broad shoulders met to reveal piercing, pale green eyes.
"I see you've met Meilin."
Their eyes widened, nodding, forcing nervous laughter. "Is she really joining Solaris? But she's... a girl—"
"Yes, and?" Ningshun did not hesitate to rebut. "Besides, I was the one who chose her for the team. She's my concern, not yours." He took a step forward, causing the men to flinch, and leaned in, terrifying them with his eyes now as cold as ice. "You have a problem with that?"
They shared a look of doubt, knowing they had to go home before things got worse.
'He was the one who chose me? I'm on the same team as this breathtaking man, and HE was the one who picked me?' Meilin, unwilling to look away, openly displayed her admiration. Every word that fell from his lips felt like music to her ears. 'Thank you, God, thank you!'
There was something about the look she gave him. Ningshun could not tell whether she was admiring him or gazing at him like a wolf ready to hunt for a piece of meat.
Ningshun smirked.
Meilin's cheeks burned red, and in an instant, she turned away, hiding her face from Ningshun. 'He looked at me... in the eyes... No, I should act professionally! But he's so hot... No, Meilin! Focus! You like Zayn!'
When Ningshun waved goodbye to the two other men, he stopped and jerked his head toward Meilin, his eyes following the tremble in her jaw and twitching of her brows and fingers. He shut his eyes for a second and opened them with almost a gentler look.
With a mischievous smile, he added, "By the way... the 'I didn't see you compete in last championship' was... a bit harsh, Meilin."
She almost jumped. Slowly, she turned her gaze back to the man she had admired for a long time and forced a smile as she ruffled a hand through her hair. "You heard that? I'm really sorry."
"You did well. I'm glad you stood up for yourself... But 'telling the company'? That was terrifying. That was really something!" He burst out laughing.
She folded her arms and scowled as his laughter slithered under her skin like a snake. "Stop teasing me!"
'Wow, feisty.' His laughter softened to a grin. "Now that we've sorted that out, are you ready to meet the rest of the team?"
She huffed and did her best to calm herself. "I'm ready. Lead the way."
As she followed him to their office, the stillness around them tensed her like a live wire. Heat flowed up her neck as each echoing step of his beat a drum in her chest.
"Ningshun?"
"Yeah?"
Meilin stopped. A knot of unease twisted in her gut. "Were the words I said really that bad?"
He halted and took a step back. "Yes, they were." He paused for a second and looked slowly over his shoulder. "But don't worry."
A sense of relief spread over her and the tightness in her chest slipped out like a breath of fresh air as a smile pulled at her lips. "Why?"
Ningshun leaned against the wall and spoke under his breath with a look of intrigue and a sleazy smile on his face as he murmured, "I like bad girls."
It only ever brought a blush to her cheeks that burned the same way a wildfire did. 'Is he serious? It can't be...' She released a breath she had been unknowingly holding.
His eyes clung to her. There was no ignoring the tension between them with the way he stared at her.
She sucked in a sharp gulp of air, as though to cool the wildfire in her veins. 'So, he wants to play like that?' She broke his spell, and a mischievous grin played at her full lips. "Oh, you like bad girls?" She sounded each word as though it were a sweet, scalding flame into every inch of his being.
He opened his mouth to answer, but her bold gaze took him by surprise when she looked right into his eyes and took a step towards him, closing the space until she stood a little more than shoulder-width away.
He found himself stuck between curiosity and something else. "Meilin?"
She leaned in, her warm breath caressing his ear as she whispered, "I'm very bad."
Ningshun's eyebrows shot up in disbelief as he turned to face her and stared at her at a short distance. 'Did she just...?'
"At everything." She pulled back, her eyes daring him to say anything.
'Oh...' He gave a soft laugh, the kind that slowly gets louder.
She gave him one more smug look, then turned and strode away, her steps echoing down the hall, leaving him there standing.
She came to a halt at the dead end of the hallway. 'Wait... why did I leave when I don't even know my way around here?' She turned back to find Ningshun now standing at the start of a new corridor down her right. The smirk on his face spotlighted her blunder and, with a heart that felt so heavy as if it sank like a stone into an ocean of embarrassment, she approached him.
"Lost your way?"
Meilin's laugh stumbled. "I, uh... I meant to go that way!" She indistinctly pointed in some direction, and her cheeks colored.
His smile grew wider as his eyes twinkled like minuscule stars playing a prank. "Suuure." With that, he left her to follow him, turning on his heel.
"H-Hey! Wait up!"
He glanced back at her sprinting after him, then slowed down for her. "You good?"
"Yeah, let's go!" she panted, pausing to smile.
Ningshun's eyes rested on her, a gentle laugh escaping his lips. "You're pretty quick."
However, as they strode down the corridor, all she could focus on was the way his jet-black hair moved with each step, leading to the navy shirt clinging to his muscles. The fabric tightened as it smoothed over the waves moving under it. Her pulse quickened, a rush of warmth flooding her cheeks when she focused her gaze down—and got lost in the sculpted lines of his arms and that perfect shoulder-to-hip ratio.
Stopping at a door, he turned toward her, interest shimmering in his eyes as he trailed the line of her gaze. With a sassy smirk, he teased, "Are you checking out my butt?"
Meilin gasped, her gaze flying to his.
.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Demon King's Love
Copyright © 2023 by Aurora Luxi
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, filmed, animated, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
All rights reserved.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Demon King's Love has been rewritten and revamped from an earlier iteration by Aurora Luxi.
Copyright © 2022 (previous version), 2023 (latest version) by Aurora Luxi
Cover design copyright © 2023 by Aurora Luxi
ISBN: 9798223752325
AuroraLuxi.com/Demon-Kings-Love
~*~
I praise God for being the unbreakable pillar in my life during the most challenging times and for providing me with ideas for a story.