CHAPTER 5: THE SECOND CLAIM – THE INCUBUS KING

The chamber shifted. The air thickened, heavy with something dark and carnal, pressing into Seraphina's skin like invisible chains. It wasn't just a presence. It was a force. A slow, deliberate invasion that seeped into her bones, curled around her lungs, and coiled low in her belly.

It was a suffocating embrace, a promise of hidden pleasures and dark desires.

Seraphina stiffened, her senses sharpening, every nerve ending tingling with awareness.

It wasn't Kier this time. No. This power was different, a subtle, insidious force that whispered promises of forbidden delights.

Where Kier was raw dominance—brute strength and the clash of wills—this was something else entirely. Something far more dangerous. A seductive dance of the senses, a slow burn that ignited a dark heat within her.

A chuckle slid through the darkness.

"Oh, little queen…"

The voice was like silk, dark and teasing, rich with amusement and something deeper—something dangerous, something that made her breath catch in her throat. A shiver ran down her spine, a primal awareness of something predatory.

She turned—and there he was.

Rael. The Incubus King.

Leaning lazily against the obsidian throne, his golden eyes gleaming like molten sin, drinking her in with the kind of gaze that made her skin burn.

And his smirk… gods.

It was the kind of smirk that ruined lives. That whispered promises of pleasure so sinful, so utterly depraved, it left a mark on your soul.

His presence was pure temptation, a walking embodiment of forbidden desires.

A body sculpted for pleasure—tall, lean muscle wrapped in dark silks, his crimson skin gleaming in the dim firelight. The sharp cut of his jaw, the wicked curve of his mouth. A smile that promised ruin.

He looked like a god of debauchery. Like he belonged in the shadows of some forbidden temple, worshipped on an altar of writhing bodies.

His violet eyes dragged over her, slow and savoring.

"You look…" Rael's eyes raked over her slowly, taking his time, savoring the sight of her like she was something he planned to devour, a slow, deliberate caress that made her skin burn. "Wrecked."

Seraphina stiffened. Her fingers curled into fists, her nails digging into her palms. "Get out of my head, incubus."

Rael grinned, a sharp, predatory smile that sent a shiver down her spine. "Why would I do that, when you're so delicious like this?" His voice was a caress, slipping beneath her skin, dragging wicked sensations through her body without him even touching her, a phantom touch that made her breath catch in her throat.

Her breath hitched, a mix of fear and fascination gripping her.

She could feel it, a slow, ghosting heat between her legs, a phantom touch against her throat, a whisper-soft press of lips at the curve of her hip, a teasing torment that made her want to scream and beg all at once.

"Stop."

Her voice was too breathless, too weak, a traitorous whisper that echoed in the charged silence of the chamber.

Rael's grin widened.

"Why?"

The heat grew, spreading through her veins like wildfire, igniting a dark, forbidden desire. A pulse of pleasure spread low in her belly, an ache she couldn't stop, a desperate, primal response that she couldn't control.

"You like it, don't you?" His voice was inside her, a seductive whisper that echoed in her mind.

His hands weren't on her, and yet—she felt them, everywhere, a phantom touch that made her skin burn. A teasing drag over her nipples, a possessive grip on her thighs, a sinful stroke over the slick heat of her cunt, a teasing torment that made her want to scream and surrender all at once.

Seraphina gasped, her body betraying her, a traitorous heat spreading through her veins. No—No, she wasn't—

"Mm." Rael tilted his head, his golden eyes gleaming with lazy amusement. "Your body is so much more honest than your mouth."

Her knees almost buckled, a wave of dizziness washing over her.

She hated him. Hated him for making her feel like this. For making her ache. For making her want to fall into his touch. To surrender to the dark, forbidden desires that he ignited within her.

"Poor thing," Rael murmured, his voice pure, indulgent sin, a seductive whisper that echoed in her mind. "Kier made you fight. Made you suffer. But me?"

He took a step forward. Then another. Until he was too close, too intoxicating, the scent of him—spiced wine, smoke, and sex—making her head spin, a heady mix that made her senses reel.

"I just want to make you feel good."

Seraphina's breathing was ragged, her chest rising and falling too fast. Her body was betraying her, a traitorous heat spreading through her veins.

The moment he touched her, she knew—she would be lost, consumed by the dark, forbidden desires that he ignited within her.

And he knew it too.

"Tell me to stop."

Rael's voice was soft, almost gentle, a seductive whisper that echoed in her mind. But his golden eyes burned with wicked promise, a predatory gleam that sent a shiver down her spine. "Say the words, little queen, and I'll leave you aching. Desperate. Ruined with nothing but frustration."

His fingers brushed her hip. A simple touch. And yet it sent fire streaking through her veins.

Seraphina sucked in a sharp breath, her nails biting into her palms. She knew this game.

Incubi thrived on desire, fed on it, used it as a leash. Rael wasn't just trying to seduce her. He was trying to own her.

"What's wrong?" His voice was a low purr. "You wanted power, didn't you? I can give it to you. I can make you stronger than Kier ever could."

She lifted her chin. "I don't need power from you."

Rael tsked, tilting his head. "No? Then what do you need, little queen?"

His fingers skimmed up her waist, light as air, tracing the curve of her ribs.

Seraphina's pulse pounded in her throat. She refused to move. Refused to give him the satisfaction of flinching.

His touch was unbearable. Not because it was rough—but because it was gentle. Teasing. Infuriating.

Her breath stuttered as his fingertips brushed just beneath her breast, hovering, waiting.

"You're trembling," Rael whispered.

"I'm restraining myself." Her voice was sharp, steady—despite the heat coiling in her gut. "You should be grateful."

His smile was slow, wicked. "Oh, I'm absolutely fucking grateful."

"You're fighting so hard," Rael mused, reaching up, tracing an invisible line through the air—and gods, she felt it, a featherlight touch down the center of her stomach, stopping just above her navel.

"Tell me, little queen…" His golden eyes gleamed.

"Are you fighting because you don't want it?"

The touch disappeared.

Seraphina swallowed. Her body clenched. Or because you do?" A soft exhale left her lips before she could stop it.

Rael grinned. "You do," he whispered. "gods, you do."

"Fuck you," she hissed.

He laughed.

"Not yet," he murmured. "But if you beg nicely—"

She swung. A pulse of magic shot toward him—sharp, furious.

Rael stumbled back, eyes widening. For the first time, his smirk wavered.

Seraphina exhaled, her chest rising and falling.

She steadied herself, rolling her shoulders, forcing her pulse to slow. Then—she smiled. Sharp. Unyielding.

"Nice try, incubus." Her voice dripped with defiance.

Rael straightened, brushing a hand down his silks, exhaling a slow, low laugh.

"Oh, little queen…" His golden eyes darkened, glittering with something even more dangerous than before.

Desire. Challenge. Hunger.

"You're going to be so much fun to break. And gods, I will enjoy every second of it."

END OF CHAPTER 5