Story 745: The Widow’s Seize

The paladin gasped, his body suspended in the suffocating dark. The last thing he saw was Selene’s twisted grin, the smirk of a predator savoring the moment before the kill.

The black abyss around him pulsed, tightening like a cocoon. His limbs refused to move—his holy aura flickering, dimming. He tried to summon a prayer, but his breath hitched as the air grew thick, humid, foul.

A whisper. Soft. Sweet. Poisonous.

"You should have left well enough alone, little knight."

The shadows peeled away like withered flesh, revealing Selene Nocturna standing before him. Her golden hair clung to her damp skin, streaked with blood and decay. A gleam of amusement danced in her eyes, but something deeper lurked beneath—a hunger, an amusement laced with cruelty.

He forced his voice steady. "You will not break me."

Selene chuckled. A slow, indulgent sound.

"Oh, but I don’t need to break you. I just need to… weave you."