Present Day
"Demon," Elara said, her voice cold with controlled fury as she stood amid the wreckage of her phoenix entrance. Flames still licked at the edges of the room, casting dancing shadows across her uncle's familiar features. "What have you done with my uncle?"
The thing wearing Nicalo's face smiled, no longer bothering with perfect charade. "Your uncle? He's been dead for years, dear niece. I've been taking such good care of his legacy."
The words carried cruel amusement, each syllable designed to twist the knife deeper.
"Where is he?" Elara's voice cracked despite her control, hope and desperation bleeding through her anger. "Is any part of him still..."
"Still hoping?" The demon's expression shifted to mock sympathy. "How touching. No, child. I devoured him completely. Every memory, every skill, every last scrap of his pathetic existence serves me now."
Elara's rage exploded like a solar flare.
