"I would rather embrace the hand of death than hold yours," Jullian murmured, his voice laced with sharpness and his eyes betraying a hidden fear, no matter how hard he tried to conceal it.
Delrune's steps were measured, calmly striding towards Jull...
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"Sir, is there any way for us to differentiate mystical creatures when they are disguised as humans?" Jack questioned, with furrowed eyebrows.
"My precious child, there is," the wizard responded.
"How?" Jullian asked with widened eyes.
The wizard stared at Jullian before averting his gaze and answered Jack.
"Through their unique scents, mythical creatures possess the ability to masquerade as humans. However, with a little bit of study, you can easily distinguish between them."
Jullian hated this.
He hated it so much.
It doesn't matter if it's the smell of blooming lavender or rotten eggs; he can't smell anything. Jullian doesn't have the sense to detect smells.
And he hated it, to the extent that he has started hating himself for it.
Why did God make him like this?
Is he cursed?
Will he never be able to smell anything?
Will he die one day at the hands of a creature?
These questions were killing him from the inside.
Sighing deeply, he glanced up at the sky. A breathtaking sunset was painting the horizon. Wisps of clouds were dancing across the canvas, adding a touch of whimsy.
Jullian raised his eyebrows as his eyes caught sight of a glossy black bird with a sharp beak and dark eyes.
Is it a crow?
The bird was a little too big for a crow, and its tail was shaped like a wedge. It wasn't a crow.
It was a raven.
Jullian's jaw dropped, his eyes widening as, in a single heartbeat, the raven veered off course and crashed into a distinct tree, causing a flurry of leaves to scatter in the air.
Jullian looked ahead, watching his brother and the wizard walk away, unaware of his presence.
They left him behind, again.
Without a second thought, he hurried towards the fallen raven hidden deep within the bushes.
Jullian's heart pounded as he ventured deeper into the forest.
He could feel the prickly branches brushing against his arms as he pushed through, leaves rustling with each step.
The air inside the thicket was cool and damp, rays of sunlight filtering through the canopy above, casting dappled patterns on the forest grass.
Jullian's eyes darted around, scanning the area.
A flicker of movement caught his attention. His eyes locked onto the black figure, its wings beating rapidly against the air, struggling to regain balance after the fall.
His heart pounded. Not knowing what to do, he simply stared at the raven.
He wanted to help the raven, but he didn't know how.
He bent down to ground level, his fingers gently brushing against the soft feathers of the raven.
Before he could react, the raven's wings stretched out, growing longer and more majestic by the second.
Feathers transformed into lustrous strands of hair, flowing in the wind like a cascade of silk. Its beak softened, revealing a chiseled jawline and a pair of piercing black eyes.
Jullian's heart skipped a beat as he fell backward onto the ground. Every nerve in his body screamed for him to run, and his trembling hands clutched his cape, turning his knuckles white.
It wasn't just a raven, By the black blank eyes, Jullian can tell.
It was a demon.
A demon that could reach out and grab his neck, yanking his head off his body with a powerful pull.
As soon as he got near the bird and sensed its smell, he realized it was a demon and ran.
"You're scared of me, but you still decided to follow? That's brave, kid," the demon said quietly, his voice deep and husky. His hands reached out for a dry leaf beside Jullian, causing him to hastily crawl away.
"I didn't...didn't know you were a demon... I just wanted to help the bird," Jullian mumbled.
"And why didn't you know that?" the demon asked, crushing the dry leaf, making it flee.
"Because...I..."
"Because you?" the demon asked, his hand slowly reaching out towards Jullian.
Jullian's eyes darted between the demon's hand and his face. But as Jullian looked into his eyes, he saw something unexpected.
Kindness?
Understanding?
Jullian finally reached out and grasped his hand, standing up and brushing off the dust from his regal red velvet cape, shaking it away with a flick of his hand.
"I can't smell anything. I don't have the ability to smell," Jullian told him, letting out a large breath.
"By the way, who are you?" the demon asked, leaning forward towards Jullian.
Jullian smiled lightly, stretching his back and standing on his heels. He exclaimed, "I'm Jullian, the crown prince of Yunia!"
"Oh," the demon responded.
Jullian pouted, saying, "Aren't you going to bow to me?"
"Do I have to?" the demon questioned, a smug smile tugging at his lips.
"Everyone does when I tell them that I'm a prince," Jullian confessed, scratching his neck.
"Well, I won't," the demon declared.
Jullian didn't say anything, simply staring with wide eyes at the demon.
"Do you know that our smell isn't the only way to identify us?" the demon asked.
"Is there any other way?" Jullian whispered.
"Yes," the demon replied.
Jullian was about to ask what it was when the demon leaned down to Jullian's height, their eyes meeting.
"Our eye color keeps changing when our mood changes," the demon explained.
"How?" Jullian asked.
"Like this," the demon pointed at his left eye, which turned from black to a shade of purple and back to black again.
"Wow," Jullian exclaimed, his lips parted.
"But it only lasts for a moment, and you have to keep your focus on the eyes."
Jullian was about to ask something when he heard his brother shouting his name.
Jullian's eyes widened as he swiftly turned his head back to the demon, whose form dissolved into a mesmerizing display of black sparkles.
With each passing moment, the demon faded away, leaving behind a captivating dance of twinkling particles in the air.
The black sparkles kept swirling and twirling, slowly forming a stunning black bird-a raven. Its feathers shimmered in the fading sunlight.
"Where were you? I was so scared," Jack exclaimed, looking at Jullian.
"Are you alright?" Jack asked, pulling Jullian into a hug.
Jullian didn't say anything.
He stayed quiet, keeping the encounter to himself, locked away in a silent vault.
