Seraphina

Deeper into the forest, the air grew heavy, saturated with the scent of burning resin and damp earth. Trees loomed tall, their bark blackened as though scorched by an unseen fire, and the silence pressed down, broken only by the crackle of faint embers glowing where Seraphina’s steps touched the soil. She was neither mortal nor fully demon, born of two worlds, cursed to wander both. Her presence bent the forest around her, twisting vines and awakening shadows, yet she walked with purpose, crimson eyes scanning the unseen. Hunters had entered her domain days before—arrogant men who believed her nothing but rumor whispered in taverns. Their armor and steel could not withstand what lived here, nor the fury of the hybrid who guarded it. In Seraphina’s veins burned a fire not of hell, but of vengeance, and the forest itself seemed eager to obey her will.