Staring at the mirror, all I felt was hollow inside.


    Why does no one ever want me next to them?


    Since the general meeting, Finn had kept me in my new routine. However, this new format kept him from me for an entire day. My lips burned from when he kissed me earlier.


    That’s the most forceful kiss you’ve ever given me, and I loved every minute of it.


    I was trying my hardest to adapt to this world, yet nothing I did mattered.


    All that does matter is that my magic is unreliable and dangerous! Why is it taking so long to make my conduit?! Will it even work? Damn it!


    A familiar dread was starting to grow within me.


    What if I can’t do anything, even with an artifact in my hands? What then? Finn, will I still be able to walk in your world?


    The Jack, the blacksmith, hadn’t been able to fuse Finn’s fang into what I wanted. It took too much power, but he didn’t say it was impossible. He was positive he could do it with enough tries.


    “Old Jack is a perfectionist. He’ll get it done.” Finn quelled my worries when the deadline came and passed.


    Yet all it did was leave me useless for longer than I wanted. Even though my magic was spontaneous, it sometimes came when I tried to do something. That usually was my holy magic, but my dark magic was more reactive to my negative thoughts, marking me as a danger.


    The shadows surrounded me, unable to help but respond to my emotional state. Solas was so worried about me, yet I…


    “Can you give me a moment? I want to be alone for a few minutes.” I wipe my cheeks free of tears before gazing at the poor pup.


    His eyes opened wide thanks to my request. “But I can’t.” He shook his head.


    All I needed was a moment to myself; perhaps I could’ve picked myself up. This was all new to me.


    I never… depended on others, so why... is the thought of not having you around so… bad?


    “Please, just for a second.” I was breaking again.


    I hated how useless I was to control any aspect of my life. Nothing had changed since I fell off that roof with Evelyn. Even though I didn’t know what Finn was doing, I wanted to be there with him.


    I knew he didn’t mean what he said in a bad way, yet my heart ached.


    “No, I refused! I don’t want to be away from you!” Solas growled, pushing his head against my chest.


    I couldn’t help but hug him, feeling every wall I ever had break.


    Finn… and you… Solas, you’ll be…


    “Okay, I’m sorry.” I sobbed, holding onto him for dear life.


    His tail wagged side to side, “No need, and don’t cry. I’ll always be with you.” He chuckled, giving me a lick on my cheek.


    A soft smile rose on my lips, cupping his fluffy white cheeks in my hands.


    Ah… At least… have you always, won’t I?


    “Thank—” I began, only to stop feeling someone’s presence behind me.


    My body couldn’t turn fast enough to face them. Before I knew it, I was on the floor. Solas was slammed against the wall, pinned by what appeared like spines. I wanted to scream, but the sudden blow had left me with little to no air.


    “Hush, now, m’lady is waiting for you, honored guest.” A man snickered.


    The following moment, someone covered my face before everything went dark. It was like I suddenly plunged into the darkness, unable to grasp anything around me. Before the light reclaimed my senses, everything was chaotic. The first thing I felt was the pounding of my head.


    After muffled sounds came, and when my lungs filled with air, they felt like they had burned.


    “Ah, m’lady, the human’s coming around.” The same voice from before spoke.


    I struggled to get a hold of myself, unable to recognize it from anywhere.


    “Oh, look at her! She’s like a worm struggling! When do we eat her?” another laughed, lapping his lips.


    “Heh, using Soren to lure Finn out of the castle was a brilliant idea, m’lady!” the previous voice cooed.


    What’s going on?


    My thoughts were complex to organize as I found myself in a place I knew little about. Even though tiki torches poorly lit the place with purple flames, I could identify one of the faces staring at me.


    “Oh look, the little saint is up,” Astred smirked, getting off her the rock she used as a throne.


    What surrounded me appeared to be a cave, and the miasma there was barely noticeable. If I was still in Fathal or somewhere else, I didn’t know.


    Heck, I don’t even know how I got here. All I remembered was getting slammed and seeing… Solas!


    “What did you do with Solas?!” I growled, feeling my temperature rise as my body suddenly felt lighter because of it, too.


    Astred smirked upon hearing his name.


    “Oh, the dark hound? My lovely helper left him back at the castle. He should be fine and none the wiser of what happened to him. Everyone will think you ran away after disappearing like that.” She informed me, leaving me stunned where I was.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    What? No! I wouldn’t ever… No, they’ve been betrayed so many times that… No! I have to get out of here!


    Even though I wanted to bolt out, my body refused to move. From my fingertips to my toes, all of it felt numb. The only thing I could do was sit up, and even that was a struggle.


    What did they use on me? Why can’t I move like I want to?


    Before I could reply to her, I was back on the floor again. Someone’s foot was on my back, triggering me to struggle to keep my face off the ground.


    “How dare you talk to our mistress like that?!” my captor snarled.


    “Now, now, I don’t want her dead. Humans are very delicate, and I need her to be alive for what comes next.” She sighed, walking closer to me.


    Where am I? All I need is some type of clue!


    Sadly, there was only one way out, and two other demons stood in its way.


    “Yes, m’lady!” he gushed over her.


    A second later, I found myself dangling from the room from one of my feet. Thanks to the room’s lighting, I could barely tell what was holding me, but it appeared to have tentacles.


    “Ah, I want Finn to finally realize how humans aren’t to be trusted, and he will once he sees his beloved saint betray him,” Astred smirked, walking towards me.


    Never!


    “I’ll never betray him! Fuck off, you sicko bitch!” I snarled, dangling like a piece of meat over the fire.


    The light got brighter in a snap of a finger, allowing me to see the fleshy black tentacle holding me better. It had spikes coming out of it, which were dangerously close to penetrating my calf.


    Before I could see who it was, Astred grabbed my face, forcing my gaze onto her emerald eyes. Her pale white skin was almost ghastly, and I couldn’t help but glare at her.


    “Nicola, hold her right. Like this, I can’t do anything and place her down gently.” She sighed, waving her hand at him.


    A second later, I was upright again. The beast''s tentacles now held my arms. Everything was happening too fast for my senses to catch up, which was disorienting. An unprepared human was nothing in comparison to these beasts.


    “Is this better, m’lady?” the demon holding me asked.


    A sharper smirk formed on her lips, noticing my dazed expression.


    “Hey, little saint… I’ll make you wish you never came into this world.” She declared, shoving her hand down my pants.


    A gasp left me as I snapped back into reality.


    “It wasn’t my choice!” I growled, wanting to move away from her but couldn’t.


    Sadly, I was at her mercy as my eyes widened when I felt her trace my vulva.


    “What are you—” I quickly was interrupted.


    It only took her a second to invade my walls, triggering a sharp gasp to leave me. The shock froze me where I was.


    This feels nothing like when Finn does it. No, this is utterly disgusting.


    My entire body went cold as her eyes were lifeless.


    “Eh, I don’t see the rave about you. There isn’t anything special about this hole. I can’t see why he would only hold you when I can make him see the stars.” She huffed, tugging away from me before bringing her fingertips up to her lips and licking them.


    “Ah, you do taste sweet.” She smirked.


    Shivers ran down my spine as I felt my body tremble in ways I had never felt it go. When I saw her reach for me again, I flinched.


    “Get away from me!” I screamed, closing my eyes.


    My plea was unheard as, a second later, she stuck her hand into my pants again. This time, instead of her fingers going into me again, something burned on my pubic region right below my navel. It caused throbs to rush through me as a gasp left my lips.


    In an instant, my body warmed differently from the previous anger that had flowed through me.


    You… what the hell did you do?!


    Air suddenly became more challenging to come by as my world changed around me.


    “This little hex will make you succumb to your cardinal desires. You won’t care what you fuck if it feels good.” She announced, followed by a smirk.


    My breath was shaking, yet…


    “Keep your fucking hands off me!” I snarled, feeling like tearing those emerald eyes off her sockets.


    My rage emerged victorious over the new sensation that was building within me. All my bravado did was make Astred laugh.


    “I can’t wait until he kills you after finding you fucking everything in sight. If he finds you before you expire.” She continued searing my skin under her palm.


    “Never! I’ll never do anything you want me to!” I snapped before spitting on her face.


    Her green eyes glowed brightly, and wiping her face a second later, I slammed against the floor. Again, the blow knocked the wind out of me, leaving me struggling to catch myself.


    “Nicola, I told you to be gentle.” She sighed.


    Every part of my body throbbed as pain swirled inside with something else. Everything was getting hard to follow as the aches mixed with a tingling sensation from my core.


    “I couldn’t stand how she could treat your touch that way, m’lady. She should’ve been happy to even be in your presence!” He huffed.


    Struggling to sit up, I managed to stay upright, mumbling incoherently to myself. My forehead hurt as I felt something drop down the right side of my face. At least it didn’t appear like I had any broken bones, yet my body still refused to move.


    Ah… I never knew… how disgusting it would be to have anyone other than you touch me. Finn… I really do… love you, don’t I?


    No matter how my feelings shifted, my shadows were nowhere to be seen. This was a first for me.


    “Oh, and before you get any funny ideas, we’ve sealed your magic temporarily. If that’s what got you so confused.” Astred informed, triggering my eyes to lock onto hers.


    “Didn’t you say I’m useless?” I growled, finally getting a grip.


    “Oh, dearie, with you, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Now,  I can''t have a loose cannon break anything important.” She smirked, snapping her fingers.


    In an instant, two other humanoid males appeared next to her. They had horns and tails much like she did, alerting me to being surrounded by incubus.


    “These two will keep you company before dumping you in a human village while I comfort Finn’s rage before he turns it onto the humans.” She smirked, trailing her hands on her thighs. “Oh, the things he will do to me!”


    “Don’t you fucking touch him!” I snarled, finding something else swirling within the storm within my mind.


    A wicked laughter rose from her. “Oh, what a stupid child. Do you know how many times he has held me? How many times he has fucked me and me alone? The only intruder here is you. You took him away from me!”


    The scorn in her eyes was intimidating, yet I wouldn’t waver.


    I refused to be a victim again! There has to be a way out of this!


    Many of Rizak''s lessons rushed me as a Succubi curse coursed through me. It wouldn’t be long until all I thought about was fucking. Spontaneous magic was hard to control, so the murderous king focused on Finn rather than Serah for his grab at power—something Astred was aware of.


    I could see her eyeing me down, wary of my movement, yet my shadows were still nowhere to be seen.


    “Oh! He’s calling us! Well, I’m off to quell Finn! Have fun now!” She announced, turning away from me.


    You want to… No!


    Before I could speak, a pulse went through my body, making me gasp. The desire to court was starting to rush through me as my underwear was getting the brunt of it.


    “Remember, this has to all fall on Soren. His camp is near here, Nicola.” She added, turning away from me.


    “The perfect fall, man. Don’t worry, my lady; I’ll drop her off as soon as they''re done.” The tentacle beast chuckled, walking her to the entrance


    Its touch had left my limbs slimy.


    Utterly disgusting.


    “I’ll destroy you.” I huffed, trying to push aside the desire tingling within me.


    The air was hard to come by as I glared at the two other beasts approaching me.


    “A promise from a bug like you is nothing. See you, saint.” She smirked, disappearing into the shadows and leaving me alone to my fate.


    Finn had told me that once I bonded with my artifact, I could summon it from anywhere I was. Yet Jack hadn’t finished it, referring that bonding the demon king''s fang to the steel was more challenging than expected.


    The steel had my blood in it, which he had come to collect a few months ago personally. This made it slightly incompatible with Finn’s fang, but that didn’t stop the bear from hammering day and night. Demons didn’t sleep, so he had been working on it since he got the request.


    Nyla had gone the previous week and said there had been progress, but that meant I was alone. I wasn’t prepared to face this new danger but would survive it at all costs. No one would take this home from me.


    Finn… You’re mine to have!