I didn’t know how long we lay there. Time felt strange—elastic, stretched. The ceiling hadn’t changed. My breathing had slowed.

  Aria sat up.

  I turned my head to look at her.

  She stretched, completely unselfconscious in her nakedness. “We should probably clean ourselves up. Tomorrow’s our first class and all that.” She glanced at me with a grin. “Better make ourselves presentable.”

  The words hit me like cold water.

  Tomorrow. Classes. The Academy. Real life continuing as though—as though I hadn’t just—

  Shame crashed through me in waves. What I’d done. What I’d enjoyed doing. The memory of feeding, of that ecstatic rush when his essence poured into me.

  “Good thinking,” I managed, sitting up.

  Something warm trickled down my inner thigh.

  I didn’t want to think about it.

  Aria hopped off the bed and headed toward the bathroom. I followed, my legs steadier than they had any right to be.

  The bathroom’s marble felt cool under my feet. Aria turned on the shower, testing the temperature.

  “So how was it?” she asked, glancing back at me. “Your first feeding. Pretty incredible, right?”

  I really didn’t want to talk about this.

  But Aria wouldn’t stop unless I gave her something.

  “It felt good,” I said.

  The understatement of the century. It had felt transcendent. Addictive. Like nothing I’d ever experienced as human—and that terrified me more than anything else.

  Aria’s grin widened. “Right? Told you. Nothing compares to that first real feed.”

  She stepped into the shower and I followed, letting the hot water cascade over me. It washed away the physical evidence—sweat, fluids, the lingering scent of incense. But it couldn’t touch what had changed inside.

  The hunger had quieted. My mind felt clear, sharp, no longer fighting through that constant gnawing need.

  Which meant I had no excuses left.

  Aria chattered about the quality of Academy facilities compared to wherever she’d been before her transformation, but I only half-listened. The water felt too good. My body too satisfied.

  After we’d rinsed clean, Aria moved to the large marble bath and started filling it.

  “Nothing beats a proper warm bath after sex,” she declared, adding something that made the water foam.

  I slipped into the bath beside her. The heat soaked into my muscles, and something in me just… released.

  The tension I’d been carrying for days melted away. My wings unfurled slightly in the water, responding to the warmth. My tail floated, completely relaxed.

  This body knew how to be satisfied. Knew how to enjoy pleasure. And right now, wrapped in heat and comfort and the drowsy contentment that follows release, I couldn’t muster the energy to fight it.

  Aria leaned her head back against the tub’s edge, eyes closed, a small smile playing on her lips.

  I should have been planning. Strategizing. Figuring out how to maintain this deception, how to find a way home, how to undo what had just happened.

  Instead I just floated, letting the warmth seep deeper.

  Tomorrow would bring classes. More demons. More opportunities to slip up and reveal myself.

  But tomorrow also meant the Library would be accessible. More research opportunities. More chances to find information on planar travel, on escaping Hell.

  Hopefully I’d find a way home before I needed to feed again.

  Before it became routine. Normal. Just another part of existence.

  Before it was too late to go back to being the person I’d been.

  The water lapped gently against the sides of the tub. Aria hummed something under her breath, completely at peace.

  And I lay there in the warm dark, trying not to think about how easily satisfaction had come. How natural it had felt.

  How much harder it would be to resist the second time.

  * * *

  I woke to Aria’s relentless energy filling the room.

  “Come on, Lily! First day of actual classes. We can’t be late.”

  The previous night felt distant. The warmth, the satisfaction, the quiet contentment—all of it had faded with sleep, leaving only memory and a faint unease I didn’t want to examine.

  I sat up. My body felt different. Lighter. The constant gnawing need had vanished, replaced by a clarity I hadn’t experienced since arriving in Hell.

  Aria was already half-dressed, pulling on her Academy uniform—a fitted black skirt and a white shirt that somehow managed to look both proper and provocative. Her tail swayed as she moved, completely unselfconscious.

  I glanced at my own uniform laid out on the chair. Right. Time to pretend I belonged here.

  We dressed quickly. Aria chattered about the day’s schedule while I tried to recall what I’d seen on that parchment yesterday.

  “Seduction first,” Aria said, grinning. “With Professor Moira. Then we’ve got Maths, and after that Basic Magic Theory.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Seduction.

  Of course the first class at a succubus academy would be seduction.

  What did I expect? Calculus and thermodynamics?

  At least Maths came after. Something familiar. Something I could actually do without faking competence I didn’t possess.

  We left the dormitory and entered the corridor. Other students moved in clusters toward the Main Academic Building, wings folded, tails swaying. The conversations around us ranged from complaints about early mornings to graphic descriptions of last night’s activities.

  I kept my expression neutral and followed Aria.

  The classroom wasn’t far—second floor, eastern wing. We climbed the stairs and turned down a corridor lined with crystal sconces.

  Then Aria tensed beside me.

  I followed her gaze.

  A platinum blonde succubus stood ahead, surrounded by four others. Her posture radiated authority—chin lifted, wings partially spread in a casual display of dominance. The succubi around her leaned in whenever she spoke, laughing at her comments with practiced enthusiasm.

  “Wait,” the blonde called out.

  Her voice carried command easily. Students in the corridor slowed, turned, watched.

  Aria grabbed my wrist. “Shit,” she whispered. “That’s Valentina Morgenstern.”

  The name meant nothing to me.

  “Who?”

  “Just—” Aria’s grip tightened. “My mother warned me about this household. Act natural.”

  Natural. Right.

  Valentina’s gaze swept over us. Her eyes were ice blue, sharp and assessing. She took a step forward, and her entourage moved with her like a coordinated unit.

  She stopped three paces away.

  Her attention fixed on me.

  “You,” she said, pointing. “Come with me.”

  The words hung in the air.

  Around us, students watched. Waiting.

  What the fuck?

  Aria’s hand on my wrist trembled slightly. “Just do what she says,” she murmured.

  But something in me recoiled at the command. At the expectation that I’d simply obey because this stranger decided she wanted my compliance.

  I’d spent seventeen days pretending. Performing. Hiding.

  This felt different.

  “I don’t want to,” I said. “I’m perfectly fine staying here.”

  The corridor went silent.

  Valentina’s eyes widened fractionally. “What did you just say?”

  “I said I don’t want to.” I met her gaze. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  Students stared at me like I’d just announced my intention to challenge Lucifer himself.

  Aria muttered something under her breath that sounded like “now you’ve done it”—but when I glanced at her, she was smiling.

  Valentina’s attention shifted. “And who is this?” She gestured toward Aria with casual disdain. “You think this common trash is more worthy of your time than me?”

  The contempt in her voice sparked something hot in my chest.

  “Yes,” I said. “That’s exactly what I think. And if you’re calling her trash, doesn’t that make you worse than trash?”

  Aria’s smile widened into a grin.

  Around us, someone laughed. Then another. The sound rippled through the corridor—quiet, quickly suppressed, but unmistakable.

  Valentina’s face flushed. Her tail snapped behind her. “Silence!”

  The laughter died instantly.

  She opened her mouth—probably to say something cutting or threatening—when footsteps approached from behind.

  “What’s going on here?”

  Professor Moira walked toward us, her expression pleasant but her eyes sharp.

  Valentina straightened immediately. The fury smoothed from her face, replaced by a cool mask. “Nothing, Professor. I was simply making an acquaintance.”

  Moira’s gaze swept over the scene. Her lips curved slightly—not quite a smile, but close.

  “I see,” she said. “Well, class begins in five minutes. I suggest everyone find their seats.”

  She continued past us toward the classroom, but not before I caught the definite amusement in her expression.

  Valentina watched her go, then turned back to me.

  “You got lucky,” she said, voice low. “But the Academy won’t protect you forever.”

  She spun and strode toward the classroom, her entourage trailing behind like obedient shadows.

  The corridor emptied quickly after that. Students filtered into the classroom, throwing curious glances back at us.

  * * *

  The moment Valentina disappeared into the classroom, Aria whirled toward me.

  “That was amazing!” She grabbed my shoulders. “Did you see her face? I thought she was going to spontaneously combust right there in the hallway.”

  I blinked. “Why didn’t you want me to do it, then?”

  Aria’s grin faltered. “Because—okay, yes, it was incredible watching you destroy her ego in front of everyone. But Lily, she’s a pureblood.”

  “So?”

  “So you’re a commoner. I’m a commoner. We’re—” She gestured between us. “—bottom of the food chain here.”

  I frowned. “You were angry too. She called you trash.”

  “I was angry.” Aria’s tail flicked. “And I’m thrilled you defended me. Really. But there’s being angry and there’s being suicidal, and what you just did—” She blew out a breath. “We are in deep shit now.”

  “We?”

  “Well.” Aria tilted her head. “I’m in slightly less deep shit than my favourite roommate, but still.”

  Despite everything, I almost smiled. “I’m your only roommate.”

  “Details.” She waved a hand. “Point is, Valentina won’t let this go. Purebloods don’t forget public humiliation.”

  The weight of what I’d done settled over me. Not regret, exactly—Valentina had deserved every word—but awareness. I’d made an enemy on my second day.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll handle whatever comes next.”

  “Awww.” Aria’s expression softened. “You don’t have to protect me, you know. The Academy’s supposed to keep us safe. Mostly.” She paused. “What happens after we graduate is a different story.”

  Right. The Academy enforced meritocracy within its walls, but it couldn’t shield students from the political consequences that followed them into the wider world.

  Still, I couldn’t bring myself to care.

  “Morgensterns aren’t exactly known for being powerful these days,” Aria continued, her tone turning lighter. “So there’s a chance nothing will happen. I’ll just move to a different Circle after graduation. Start fresh.” She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically. “Alone. Friendless. Because my new roommate decided to antagonize the first pureblood she ever met.”

  “Stop performing.”

  “But I love to.” She grinned.

  I shook my head, but something in my chest loosened. “I’m not planning to spend my entire life in this body anyway.”

  The words came out before I could stop them.

  Aria’s eyebrows rose. “What?”

  “I mean—” I scrambled for a recovery. “I’m not staying at the Academy forever. A few years, then I’ll figure things out.”

  She studied me for a moment, then shrugged. “Fair enough. Still, four years is a long time to have a vengeful pureblood watching your every move.”

  Four years.

  The timeline stretched ahead of me like a prison sentence. Four years pretending to be someone I wasn’t. Four years navigating a society built on cruelty and dominance. Four years feeding.

  Unless I found another way out.

  The Library. Planar travel research. Summoning contracts. There had to be something I’d missed, some loophole I could exploit.

  And if Valentina Morgenstern wanted to make my life difficult in the meantime, she was welcome to try.

  What could some pureblood do to the literal Princess of Hell?

  Not that I could tell Aria that.

  “Come on,” I said. “We’re going to be late.”

  Aria linked her arm through mine as we walked toward the classroom door. “You know, most people would be terrified right now.”

  “I’m not most people.”

  “Clearly.” She squeezed my arm. “That’s why I like you.”

  We stepped into the classroom together.