Chapter 13: In the Pale Arms of the Night

Rein woke with a gasp.

The scent hit him first—sweet and cloying, like overripe fruit soaked in perfume. He was lying on soft silks, far too soft. The lighting was dim, tinted pink by a veil of enchanted rose-colored glass that covered the windows. Everything in the room glowed warm and gentle, but it was a lie. He felt it in his gut.

He sat up.

Bodies.

Some huddled. Some still. A few shifted weakly in their sleep—or in whatever dream was holding them hostage. Boys, all of them. Naked, thin, covered in bruises and kiss marks and dried tears. Their skin was pale, like they hadn't seen sunlight in days. Weeks. Maybe more.

And some… weren't breathing anymore.

His breath caught.

It was a bedchamber. No, a throne room of lust—pillows scattered across the floor like offerings, velvet curtains hanging from the ceiling like webbing, soft moans echoing from the walls like a lullaby of ruin. The air was heavy with magic. Old, corrupt, and hungry.

Then he saw him.

Curled near the base of a mirror—barely a boy anymore, just bones and skin.

Evan.

At first, Rein didn't know why he felt the ache. But then… the birthmark. A faint crescent moon on the left side of his chest, exactly as his mother had described, her voice cracking under the weight of grief and hope.

He stumbled toward him, heart pounding.

"Evan…?"

No reply.

He knelt, placing a trembling hand on Evan's shoulder.

The boy stirred, barely. His eyes blinked open, but they were cloudy, hollow. Not a flicker of recognition crossed his face.

"Help…" Evan rasped. "She's coming back… please, run…"

His voice was so soft it was almost a whisper in Rein's bones.

"It's me. It's Rein. I—"

But he stopped himself. Because Evan wasn't really seeing him. He wasn't seeing anything.

Evan's eyes drifted to the ceiling like he was watching something only he could see.

"She said… the next one's ready…"

Rein's heart clenched as a low sound echoed through the room.

Footsteps. Slow. Confident. Dripping with anticipation.

A shadow spilled into the room before her form even entered.

Evan's eyes widened.

Rein turned—

—and saw her.

The Succubus, haloed by the soft light, her curves wrapped in black silk, her eyes gleaming like twin blades.

"Awake already?" she cooed, voice like a song wrapped in poison. "I was hoping to undress your soul slowly, but you boys are always so eager."

The succubus's gaze flickered back to Evan, still barely conscious in his weakened state. She walked over to him with a slow, deliberate stride, her lips curling into a seductive smile. She brushed her fingers gently across his forehead, and before he could react, she leaned down, whispering softly in his ear.

"I'll be back for you soon, darling," she murmured, her voice laced with an eerie sweetness. "But first, I want to taste him."

With a soft press of her lips against his, Evan's body relaxed entirely, his eyes closing as his consciousness slipped away. The succubus straightened, her smile never faltering as she admired her handiwork. Evan's limp form slumped against the bed, utterly unaware of what was about to unfold.

Turning away, she slowly paced toward Rein, her presence shifting as the weight of the room seemed to tighten around him. Her focus was now entirely on him, her desire to claim him evident in every movement. The rest of the room seemed to fade into the background, his mind too focused on the impending encounter.

Rein's body trembled, his heart hammering in his chest as the succubus approached him slowly. Her eyes glowed with an almost predatory satisfaction, as if she could already taste his fear. The room was thick with an intoxicating blend of sweetness and heat, the air pressing in on him like an oppressive weight.

He scrambled backwards, his legs weak, his mind racing, but his body betrayed him. One wrong move, and his back hit the bed. He gasped, his pulse erratic, trying to push himself off the mattress but finding it useless. The succubus leaned closer, her smile predatory, her presence smothering.

"Don't be shy now," she cooed, her fingers brushing against his chest, the touch as soft as silk but laden with a strange, unrelenting pressure. She leaned in, her lips hovering dangerously close to his ear, her breath hot against his skin.

Rein's mind screamed for him to run, to push her away, but his body felt like it was locked in place, heavy and unwilling to obey. He could feel his own heartbeat echoing in his ears, and with every second that passed, the suffocating tension built. His body's response to her nearness was almost involuntary—an awareness of her proximity, the warmth that radiated from her skin, the slow, deliberate movements that made his breath catch in his throat.

As her hands unbuttoned his shirt, he couldn't tear his gaze away from her—his thoughts a mess of confusion, fear, and something else he didn't want to acknowledge. The succubus seemed to sense it, her smile widening as she leaned in closer, feeling the heat of his skin beneath her fingers.

Rein wanted to resist, wanted to push her away, but the sensation of her touch felt almost too powerful to fight. She moved over him, her weight sinking him further into the bed, and for a fleeting moment, he was caught in a sea of confusion—his body betraying him in ways he couldn't control.

The succubus's lips found the side of his neck, and her breath tickled his skin as she whispered, "Let go... just for a moment." Her teeth grazed against his skin, and before he could react, she sank them into his neck with a sharp, precise motion.

A sharp shock of pleasure, too intense and too foreign, flooded his system, making his vision blur for a split second. Her venom—a slick, almost intoxicating aphrodisiac—coursed through his veins, pulling at him in ways that defied logic. It was too much. His body reacted in ways he couldn't fight, and his breath hitched as warmth spread through him, disorienting and overwhelming.

He couldn't focus. Couldn't think. All he could feel was her, the overwhelming pressure, the confusion, the growing desire he couldn't control.

The succubus pulled back for a moment, eyes gleaming with satisfaction as she observed him, her lips stained with the mark of her bite. "You'll be mine soon enough," she purred.

Rein tried to pull himself together, to ignore the wave of heat washing over him, but it was no use. Her power was too much. She was getting to him. And as her hands moved again, pressing him further into the bed, he knew that there was no escape. Not from her, and not from the dark, twisting path that awaited him.