Chapter 17: When Her Light Started to Burn

Chapter 17: When Her Light Started to Burn

The sky wasn't just split anymore — it was bleeding.

A long red seam stretched across the horizon like a vein too full, pulsing with light that didn't belong to this world. It vibrated through the air, down into the cracked pavement, into Aria's bones. She couldn't breathe. She wasn't sure she needed to.

"Aria," Selene said, voice sharp but calm, crouched in front of her, fingers brushing her shoulders. "Look at me."

Aria looked — but not with her usual eyes. Her irises were gold now. No, not just gold — glowing. Radiant. Almost metallic. Her pupils dilated wide, catching light that didn't exist. Her skin shimmered faintly, veins glowing beneath the surface like living circuitry.

Selene's breath caught.

It was beautiful. Too beautiful. And that was the problem.

Aria was beginning to glow from the inside out. Her power had started to surface, not in slow waves, but like it had been bottled too long and finally cracked through the seal. Her body arched slightly, back off the ground, breath panting like it was too hot to stay in her skin.

"God —" Aria choked, clutching her stomach. "It's — too hot — it's — Selene —"

Selene moved instantly, wrapping an arm around her, pressing their foreheads together.

"Listen to me. You're waking up too fast. You need to breathe. You have to slow it down."

"I can't." Aria's voice broke. "I feel like I'm on fire — why is it so hot — what's — happening —"

Selene knew. She knew.

Her succubus bloodline.

The part Aria had always hated. Always fought. Even in past versions of herself, in lives long gone — Aria had tried to deny that half. The heat, the hunger, the way desire twined into her divinity like roots into stone.

And now it was waking too.

"Aria," Selene said gently, pulling her in close even as the heat from her body scorched her hands. "You're not ascending — yet. Your body's trying to, but it's split. That's why it's not complete. Your succubus blood — it's activating too."

"No," Aria whimpered. "I don't want it — I don't —"

"I know. But it's part of you. You don't have to fight it right now. Just hold onto me."

Aria's skin was practically burning, her glow too bright. She cried out softly, body tensing again as the light pulsed out from her in waves. Her fingernails dug into Selene's back.

Selene didn't flinch. She only wrapped her arms tighter, then lifted Aria off the ground.

"Hold on to me," she whispered again.

She carried her fast through the deserted streets, her boots pounding against the pavement. The air still buzzed with that otherworldly frequency. Lights flickered. The sky pulsed red. Somewhere distant, a streetlight exploded in a shower of sparks.

Selene didn't stop.

They found a building — an old apartment complex, long evacuated, doors left half open, bags dropped on the stairs. She kicked through one of the doors and immediately shoved a dresser in front of it. The apartment was dusty but untouched. Safe enough.

Selene carried Aria straight to the cleanest room, laying her gently on the bed.

Aria's glow had dimmed just slightly. Her breathing was still erratic, chest rising and falling in panicked stutters. Sweat drenched her shirt. Her lips were parted, cheeks flushed, body trembling like it was still overheating.

Selene brushed her damp hair from her face.

"Breathe. You're okay. You're safe. I've got you."

Aria's eyes fluttered open — still gold, but unfocused.

Then, like a switch flipped, she grabbed Selene's collar and yanked her down into a kiss.

It was desperate, starved, almost unthinking. Her lips crashed into Selene's with so much need it left them both breathless. But Selene didn't hesitate. She kissed her back instantly, deepening it with a low sound in her throat as she slipped her hand behind Aria's neck and took control.

Their lips moved fast, rough, hot and cold. Selene coaxed Aria's mouth open, brushing her tongue along Aria's bottom lip until she gasped — and then Selene kissed her deeper. Lips, tongue, teeth — each movement fluid, urgent, full of heat and hunger that had nothing to do with survival and everything to do with need.

The rhythm built fast, bodies shifting, breathing tangled. The sounds of their mouths meeting, the soft sighs, the way Aria clung to her like she was the only thing holding her together — it all echoed faintly through the room.

Selene's lips moved to her neck, sucking gently at the sensitive skin just below her jaw. Aria whimpered. Her hips arched without thought. Her skin, while still hot, felt less searing now — more like fevered want.

Selene didn't stop. She left soft, blooming kisses across her throat, her shoulder, her collarbone. She nibbled at Aria's ear, kissed the spot behind it that made her shiver, then trailed her mouth down to her chest.

Aria moaned softly, her voice thick with heat and confusion and need. She couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't do anything but melt into the touch, the rhythm, the way Selene moved like she knew every inch of her by heart.

Selene kissed her again — slow this time, lingering. Their mouths moved like music, over and over, matching heartbeats. When they finally pulled apart, Aria was breathless and blushing, her lips tingling.

Selene pressed her forehead to Aria's again, her breath cool against flushed skin.

"Feel better?" she asked, voice teasing but warm.

Aria nodded, a little dazed, lips still parted. "Yeah. I… yeah. Thanks."

She paused, fingers curling around Selene's wrist like she was trying to anchor herself. Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"Selene, I don't want to be some kind of m… mons… monster… full of desire and lust. Am I gonna start craving more and more?" Her throat tightened. Her eyes shimmered. "I don't want to lose control."

Selene saw it immediately — the way her strength cracked at the edges, how the question wasn't just about desire, but identity. She wrapped both arms around her and pulled her into a firm embrace, pressing Aria's cheek to her shoulder.

"No, Aria. You're not. You're not broken. You're not becoming some monster," Selene said, low but fierce. "You don't have to embrace your succubus bloodline if you're not ready."

Aria gripped her shirt, holding tighter.

Selene smirked, though there was a tenderness in her voice. "We can pretend it's just me. That I'm the one who wants too much."

Then she kissed Aria again — not soft, not sweet — but hungry. Intense. A claiming kind of kiss. Aria gasped into it, caught off guard by the rush of heat that tore through her. Her body trembled, her mouth parting as Selene kissed her deeper, slower, more deliberate, like she was teaching her something secret with every pass of her lips.

Aria moaned, sound tangled between shock and surrender. "More," she whispered between kisses, breath hitching. "Selene… I want more. Please — kiss me more — your lips — hmm — please —"

The words fell out of her, needy and breathless, and Selene kissed her harder in response, guiding her through the chaos blooming inside. For five long minutes, the world shrunk to nothing but mouths and heat, the sound of breathing and soft, desperate whimpers in between.

When they finally pulled apart, Aria was panting. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glassy, but the tears had dried into something else — something softer. She leaned into Selene's hand instinctively as it brushed her cheek.

"Thank you," Aria whispered, blushing all the way to the tips of her ears. "For… that. For not making me feel gross."

Selene smiled, but didn't mention the heat still rising from Aria's skin, how it pulsed beneath her touch like a fever with no cure. Something ancient was stirring. Not just desire — but bloodline. Power.

She kissed Aria's cheek gently this time, murmuring, "Always."

Aria groaned, draping her arm over her face. "I need a shower. Like, badly. I feel disgusting."

Selene chuckled and leaned back on her hands. "You're literally glowing, but sure. Shower it is."

Aria peeked at her from under her arm. "Don't watch me."

"No promises."

"Selene."

"What? I said I'd pretend it was me who wanted too much."

Aria groaned again, but this time there was laughter behind it.

Selene snorted. "You smell like fire and sin. It's kind of hot."

"Don't —" Aria half - laughed, blushing harder. "Don't say stuff like that when I'm this close to combusting again."

Selene leaned down and kissed her stomach. "I like seeing you melt."

Aria shoved her lightly. "Go make food or something before I drag you into the shower."

Selene only raised a brow. "Promise?"

Aria rolled her eyes, shoved her again, and dragged herself upright. "I swear to every goddess in existence, Selene —"

"— You love me," Selene cut in, standing with a stretch and a smug smile. "I'll find something edible. Try not to burn the tiles off the walls."

Aria showered for twenty minutes with the water running cold the whole time. She let it sluice over her burning skin, washing away the fevered shimmer. The water didn't cool her completely — it never would — but it helped enough to let her breathe.

By the time she got out, wrapped in a towel, the glow had faded to something manageable. She felt human again. Almost.

The apartment smelled like cheap pasta. Selene had found a box of noodles and a couple of cans of sauce in the abandoned kitchen and managed to whip up something that looked vaguely edible.

They sat cross - legged on the floor with bowls in their hands.

Aria took one bite and raised a brow. "This isn't horrible."

Selene feigned offense. "It's gourmet."

Aria looked at her over the rim of her bowl. "Thank you. For carrying me. For… kissing me out of whatever that was."

Selene nudged her with her foot. "You don't have to thank me. You're mine."

Aria blushed again, but didn't look away. "Even when I'm… a mess?"

"Especially then."

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes. The window behind them was cracked, letting in the rust - stained light of the wounded sky. Somewhere in the distance, something howled — a warped sound, like a scream swallowed by static.

But inside the room, everything felt still.

Calm.

Aria leaned back against the wall and let her head rest on Selene's shoulder.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

Selene took her hand. "I know. But you don't have to be. I've got you."

Aria closed her eyes. "I don't want to break."

"You won't," Selene said softly. "You'll become."