SIA’S POV

Finally,

Everything was going right.

Graduation was guaranteed for me and with my thesis alone, I could probably pass even if I submitted it blank just because of the credit load I've managed to gather.

Job offers were already stacking up like I suddenly became someone important and even St. Margaret’s Teaching Hospital wanted me.

HUMAP in New Orleans wanted me and even my university, after years of treating me like background noise, was suddenly offering me a lecturer position to my surprise.

Me, an actual lecturer.

The universe was either correcting itself after all my years of bad luck or it was setting me up for something catastrophic.

But when I think about my boyfriend, I brush the doubt of life away.

My boyfriend and soon to be fiancee, Zach.

The ring was already ready. All I have to do is just pick it from Macary & Co.

I even planned the proposal already.

A skyline dinner with soft lights and her favorite music three days from now.

I was going to ask him to marry me and turn my life around.

Which, in my experience, usually meant something was about to go horribly wrong.

—

I was at my usual spot selling lemonade outside the edge of the rich people block with the brutal sun in my skin.

Today the business was extremely slow and I'd only gotten twenty nine dollars by noon.

Pathetic.

On a good day, I made nearly ten thousand before lunch but today, I was being disrespected by the weather and money.

I leaned back in my chair, fanning myself with a flyer I probably shouldn’t have stolen when I heard a call.

“Bus girl!”

I sighed without looking up.

Sharleigh Stevens.

I raised my head slowly to see the walking advertisement of plastic wealth in her plastic car.

“What do you want, Charlie?” I asked lazily.

Her face twitched with annoyance. “My name is Sharleigh.”

“And mine is Sia, nice to meet you.”

She narrowed her eyes like she was deciding whether I deserved to live.

“Whatever. My mother is hosting a charity fundraiser today with free food. We got ice cream and lemonade, real lemonade.”

That got my attention.

“Real lemonade?” I repeated.

She smiled like she had just won something.

“You should come, you know? You might learn how it’s actually made.”

Then she turned and drove away leaving me angry and pissed off.

“Oh,” I said quietly. “So that’s how it is.”

Fifty minutes later, I went not because I cared but I wanted to see the reason for my sabotage.

The venue was loud and expensive.

It all screamed money laundering disguised as charity for orphaned disabled children.

I stopped walking to see people crying already with influencers pretending to be humans.

I felt my mood shift as I heard their fake tears of sympathy.

It is right there and then I hear it inside my head.

‘Fake.’

I froze in fear as I saw a small shadow on the railing beside me.

A bird.

Or well my bird, seeing as she's been following me for years now.

She tilted her bird head at the crowd like she was judging.

Three years ago, she started appearing in front of me and spoke with words so I had to train myself not to reply and be the weird orphan that talked to birds.

I looked back at the stage to see everything all prim and polished… something felt wrong.

It's all too staged and rehearsed.

Maya gave a single statement..

‘It’s not real.’

I was furious about it, but there was nothing I could do, especially not against rich people like them who had the money to hire young children to act as disabled orphans.

Maya grew startled as she warned me with a small warning.

‘Alert, danger Sia.’

Before I could even react, I saw movement at the edges of the crowd before the venue erupted in shouts and chaos.

Rats and birds in dozens attacked the venue as all of their fake smiles and sympathy turned into genuine screamings of horror.

Someone dropped a tray as they started leaving in chaos.

While I wasn't involved, I stood still and watched because oddly enough, I got the same feeling from them as I got from Maya.

By the time I understood what was happening, it was already over as the charity collapsed into panic and terror.

And I?

I walked straight to the buffet because if it's all going to be bizarre and crazy, I might as well eat.

---

Fifty minutes later, I was walking home dragging my lemonade cart behind me.and eating a chicken thigh of the bone like I just survived a war.

“This,” I told Maya proudly, “is called justice.”

She landed on my shoulder giving me a side eye.

“I don’t want to hear it,” I said. “You helped.”

She blinked, causing me to gasp.

“Maya! How rude!”

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By the time I got home, Aunt Carrie was already gone for her night shift leaving me in peace.

And when I laid down, it was then that I see a small velvet pouch on the floor.

“…Maya,” I frowned. “Is it my birthday?”

She said nothing, which means no, so I picked up the warm pouch and opened it to see a beautiful red brooch in it.

It looked like blood frozen in metal.eith black thorns around.

It looked expensive and alive.

“…Where did you get this?” I asked slowly but Maya didn’t respond.

I narrowed my eyes on her. “If I wear this, I’ll get arrested for theft. You know that, right?”

Still nothing.

I sighed.

“Fine. I’ll sell it. Then I’ll buy you that Tom Hardy autograph you keep harassing me about.”

Maya looked offended but my attention was caught on the brooch that seemed to glow.

“…Okay, that’s new.”

Then it pierced my skin sharply causing me to feel a sinking feeling like I was drowning.

“Maya…” I whispered as the world tilted and everything just went black.

The last thing I saw was Maya lunging towards me and just before I hit the floor, I swear I could hear her audibly speak up instead of speaking in my mind.

“Sia–?!”

Turns out, the brooch was worth a fortune.

Like a whole lot.

I found that out a week later at a reputable jewelry store in the city.

The old jeweler nearly fainted when he saw it as he referred to it as a lost artifact.

A cursed blood diamond.

“The Crimson Thorn,” he had whispered, like saying it too loudly might actually kill him.

According to him, it didn’t belong to any single culture but has appeared in it all.

And it always was the same object that caused a disaster.

But I didn't care anyway about the mythology of how people died to create or to even own it.

Even the jeweler looked at me like I should already be dead but I didn’t care.

All I heard was one thing.

Money, money, cha-ching!

And lots of it.

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.

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By the end of the week, I was no longer the broke high school senior as the brooch sold at auction for a crazy price.

Rich people were that eager to die or try fate I guess.

I also graduated with distinctions and now I'm in the university with my amazing boyfriend and a proposal mere days away.

Everything was perfect, and for me, it could mean that something would soon go horribly wrong.

Or maybe it's just nerves.

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That night, I was walking home right after picking up the black diamond ring with the thorned band that screamed goth.

Zach would love it.

And I'm sure he would frown at my spending even though he liked the luxurious things in life.

What a strange guy.

I was smiling to myself when it happened and a shadow of wings covered my vision.

I had a smile on my face thinking it was Maya until I looked to see an owl.

Even worse, I couldn't seem to understand the bird as it looked and felt like… it was dead.

Then it spoke.

“In twilight’s glow, a vessel waits…”

I froze as the voice was coming from inside my head.

“Mystia, the key to shifting fates…”

The owl blinked as the mechanical feel only got worse to me.

“Mystia… the key… to shifting fates…”

It repeated that line three times before flying off into the dark.

I stood there for a long moment with Maya on my shoulder.

“…Okay,” I said slowly. “That’s new.”

Maya was silent, which was this moody bird’s way of telling me not to ask her.

“You’re certain you want to marry Zach?”

She finally speaks after a moment.

“Maya,” I said, “why are you suddenly spiritual today?”

She didn’t answer the question but I continued walking regardless.

“I love him,” I said anyway.

“Not what I asked,” she replied inside my head.

I sighed. “He’s my boyfriend, I’m proposing. That’s how it works.”

“There’s a difference between love and attachment Sia.”

“That sounds like therapy talk from you Maya.”

“It is merely an observation.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re a bird.”

“And you’re emotionally avoidant.”

“Wow, low blow Maya.”

I gasped with a hand to my chest.

We argued for the rest of the walk mostly on my emotional avoidance but I refused to take marriage advice from a bird obsessed with Tom Hardy.

By the time I got to three alleyways away from the bus stop–

“You’re really doing this,” Maya said quietly.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Even after everything?”

“There’s nothing wrong with Zach.”

Maya hesitated, that's a new occurrence.

This bird was not one to hold back her thoughts.

“Are you in love with him?” she asked.

I stopped walking.

“…What kind of question is that?”

“The important kind Sia.”

I exhaled with annoyance , praying for patience.“Of course I am.”

“Or you just planned a life with him in your head without thinking that?”

“That’s literally what marriage is.”

“No,” she said softly. “That’s what safety is for you.”

I didn’t respond to that because I didn’t like where that conversation was going.

I play with the ring in my pocket.

“You’re overthinking things,” I told her.

“I don’t think about enough things,” she replied.

I snorted.

“Also,” she added in a teasing tone, “you’re still a virgin.”

I almost tripped from my outrage

“That was unnecessary!”

“It was a factual statement especially if you're about to be married.”

“You enjoy saying that too much.”

“It’s efficient information I need to always remind you of.”

“I hate you.”

“Well you don’t have any other alternatives than me Sia.”

We kept walking as I bristled over my virginity.

I never had the chance to lose it even though I've tried really hard.

I even–

A loud and sharp scream cuts through the silent night coming from the alleyway.

I stopped with Maya also puffing herself up in anticipation.

The logical thing to do would have been to walk away and call the cops.

Instead, I moved toward it.

“Don’t,” Maya warned but I ignored her and kept walking.

“It’s probably nothing.”

“It is never nothing Sia, especially for you!”

“Then I’ll just check.”

“That’s how horror movies start you nitwit!”

“I don’t watch horror movies.”

“That is far much worse!”

I ignored her and walked right into the dark alley.

It's like a fog is lifting from my vision as I finally see them.

Two bright figures that were glowing oddly even without any light.

At first, I thought it was a violence crime until I realized it wasn't, it was something else entirely and I just barged in on them.

The taller one had a hand wrapped around the woman's throat and was lifting her like she weighed nothing with his member.

The only thing that connected the both of them was that.

The much smaller woman was gasping, shaking as se looked like he was caught between pain and something that didn’t look like fear.

It was… pleasure.

Uncomfortable and unfiltered one.

I know now that her shoutings were not one of pain or help, it was of pleasure.

The taller man moved like something possessed in a controlled but hungry pace.

“Nghh–!”

Wow.

With the size of him, I can understand why she was screaming for bloody murder.

I should’ve left immediately when I saw them but like a pervert, I stayed and watched.

Finally, I stepped back slowly.

“…Okay,” I whispered to myself as I turned to see Maya had vanished. “This is not my business.”

A sound came from behind me and I turned around too quickly and collided with something, no someone, who's really solid.

“My eyes are up here, fledgling,” he said as I was staring too long.

“Raise your head,” he said softly. “Let me see the face of my peeper.”

RHYDSTORM’S POV

That fucking piece of shite!

Oh Mateo was going to die when I got my claws on him and I mean it this time.

He had one job, one job to take care of my nightclub and now I was staring at my bar, Eros, with disgusting guy feeders in my bar!

The Alp-luachra were not typically allowed in bars or supernatural hangout spots because if you fell asleep in front of one, they'd crawl into your stomach and feed from you.

They were slow killers that were truly disgusting and now I have a riot of them in my bar!

I exhale sharply as around me, patrons are staggering and vomiting not noticing they are being drained from the inside by these leeches.

Eros was not supposed to look like this, it was supposed to be my feeding ground not an avenue for people with eating fetish.

And now it's useless.

“Mateo…” I mutter under my breath with anger.

“When I find you, I’m going to rip your wings off and decorate the ceiling with them.”

I pinch.the bridge of my nose as the irritation and exhaustion was getting to me.

I haven't fed in days and out here in the human realm, that could be fatal especially with my regeneration slower compared to when I was in hell.

I need release and sex right now.

Without hell’s magic or life force, this is what I'm now reduced to.

Feeding like a lowly incubus surviving in carnal pleasure.

Pathetic.

And if I didn’t feed soon, I would stop being selective and become aggressive.

And I cannot risk any aggressive behavior especially not with the Accursed Games coming up really soon.

That is the only reason I tolerate this world. I need to win trials and return back to hell so I can reclaim my heritage and look my bastard father in the eye.

Eros, the demon sin of pleasure that banished me, his son for being born half demon.

Like it's my fault and not his, so I named this nightclub after him in spite knowing he hates humans.

Four hundred years of exile and being called a mistake and a halfbreed abomination.

My horns ached faintly beneath illusion magic on my head like a phantom pain after they were cut off by my step brother as a reminder and a warning.

I will have my revenge but I need to feed first.

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I scanned the bar for options but the population was not satisfying.

Vampires?

No. They were emo parasites pretending sadness was a personality trait for them.

Witches?

Absolutely not! The last one tried to bind my “essence” mid stroke.

I am not ready to be a father.

Werewolves?

Tempting, but with the full moon out, I'm not interested in being bitten mid release.

Elves?

Too much talking.

Dryads?

No, I am not repeating that botanical disaster.

Demigoddess?

I paused as I looked at her once more.

Demigoddess are rare as they come and for one to be here?

A boon for me!

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We are fucking real hard and slow when I catch a scent.

It's warm blooded and… a human?

I slowly inhale as my cock reacts even before I do in hunger.

Who is that?

“…What is that?” I whispered.

The scent isn’t just present, it's alive and thrumming in my veins.

I turned slowly and scanned the alleyway but she's no longer there.

I exhale slowly and focus to find the source.

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Then, I find it!

It's near the alley exit so I move with inhuman speed right in front of her and there she is.

A mortal.

She bumps into me and falls backwards before her eyes widen with shock at the sight of my still stiff member.

Oh right, I was interrupted mid stroke.

I stared down at her before finally asking her something since she's just content to stare at my naked self like a pervert.

“My eyes are up here, fledgling,” I remind this perverted human.

Seriously, who looks at a hungry incubus with desire?

And when she goes red and looks away in embarrassment, I internally regret telling her off.

Her face was definitely pretty too.

“Raise your head,” I say softly. “Let me see the face of my peeper.”

But as she does, the wind carries her scent straight to my nose causing me to stumble in my posture and nearly lose control.

“Who are your parents?” I ask, holding a hand to block my nose.

She e doesn’t answer but instead she's staring at me like I am a mistake or she's hallucinating.

Oh right, the horns and my hooves, I'm still in my partial demon form.

I inhale greedily again as my whole body tightens.

Oh… this mortal is dangerous.

I crouched down to her level on the ground and tilted my head.

“You’re the peeping Tom from the alley,” I say slowly as she finally shows fear and embarrassment.

I inhale again and something shifts wrongly inside me causing me to frown.

“…Impossible.”

Because I now understand what I am smelling now. She isn't just merely a human, she's something else.

Something pure that hasn't been tainted by any other supernatural.

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She is a virgin.

The realization makes me think whether today is my birthday as the odds of a virgin female mortal still having a strong life force is practically harder than finding a celibate incubus.

“…How are you still alive?” I murmur as I assume other supernaturals would have surely tried to have her.

“I–uh–I think I’ll just leave now.”

She tries to sidestep me but I merely hold her in place, careful not to break her as I remember she's a human, and mortal

“Kiss me…”

I command using a tiny bit of the compulsion magic incubus are famous for, wanting to test something.

I already know how this all would pan out.

She'll blink, smile and come closer and closer to me until she kisses me.

I let out a cold smile as she moves closer and closer.

Just as I prepare to kiss he–

A punch from nowhere greets my face with a snarl from her.

“Die and go to hell you pervert exhibitionist!”

She instantly turns and runs for her dear life, running away and leaving me in confusion.

What the hell just happened?!