Side chapter: Finding the perfect ring
The mission had taken me deep into one of the oldest forests in the demon realm, a place where the canopy was so thick that sunlight struggled to break through.
My boots crunched against the leaves and twigs that littered the forest floor, and the air smelled of damp moss and woodsmoke.
I wasn't supposed to linger; technically, I had already finished the task I was assigned a simple retrieval mission for Leora. But something about this place made me pause.
That, and the nagging thought that I still didn't have a ring for Aeliana.
The thought of proposing had been swirling in my head for weeks, yet the perfect ring eluded me. It wasn't just about the metal or the stone. It had to be something extraordinary like her.
Aeliana wasn't just any woman. She was a bright, beautiful force in my life who made everything seem a little warmer, a little easier, even when she teased me relentlessly or gave me that annoyed look when I dodged her questions.