“No, still no sign. We have people watching from every tower looking for her. If she comes back here, we'll know.”

“Right. Thank you.” Jade nodded her head to the castle guardsman. It had been three days since her companion, April, had gone missing. The two of them had been tracking a succubus for weeks. She had been seen a number of times in and out of the city, leaving victim after victim behind. The vast majority of them had been completely drained, requiring hospital stays and rituals to stave off demonic corruption. A few unlucky ones had been found too late, empty husks unable to recover.

The trail had gone cold until five days prior. They had seen the succubus fleeing the city after taking her most recent victim, and the pair gave chase. It took half a day to finally catch up to her. The succubus had naturally tried to tempt and seduce the both of them. And then… nothing. When Jade awoke, she found herself back in the city being treated for exhaustion. No one had seen April since the two of them left in pursuit of the succubus. The medical staff told Jade that a passerby had found her on the outskirts of town, passed out. There had been no sign of demonic corruption, but she'd been asleep for two days in the hospital before waking.

Jade began the walk to her home, full of worry. She had a vague memory of the succubus talking to the two of them, letting them know just how good it would be if they stopped chasing her and simply gave in to their desires. Jade and April had stood firm.

Or so she'd hoped. It was hard to remember what exactly had transpired beyond that. She didn't remember how she'd been subdued or returned. While she was well enough now to go back to her own home and recover there, the ache in her limbs hadn't faded.

She approached her home on the outskirts of the city and shivered. There was something in the air that felt…wrong. There was no other word she could think of to describe it. Jade looked to each side, though nothing seemed out of place to her naked eye. She gripped the hilt of the sword at her side tightly and pushed forward, taking slow and deliberate steps toward her front door. The windows were still dark. As she approached, she noted that the door didn't appear to have been tampered with. Jade sighed and let her fingers relax, though she kept her hand on the hilt just the same.

Another deep breath. She pushed the door open. It swung quietly on the hinge. She looked left, then right. Nothing seemed to be out of place. With yet another sigh, she took her hand off the hilt of her blade, then closed the door behind her. She unbuckled the belt the scabbard was attached to and set it down near the door.

“You're finally home!”

Jade whipped her head around to look down the hall. After a moment's hesitation, she realized who the voice belonged to. “April? Please tell me that's you,” she said, taking a cautious step forward.

“Of course it's me! You weren't home so I decided to let myself in.”

The voice was still coming from another room. Jade kept moving, gingerly moving down the hall, trying her best to control her breathing. “Where have you been? Where are you now?” She looked into the kitchen. Empty.

“I'm here now. Does it much matter where I've been?” April asked.

Jade furrowed her brow. “I'm glad you're here. Are you hurt? What happened?”

“Come back here and I can tell you!” April called. “I'm in the bedroom. Why are you acting like this?”

“Like wh– I've been searching all over for you!” Jade said in disbelief. “I've been worried sick. Can you blame me for my caution given what we've been through?” Jade reached the end of the hall and entered her bedroom. She didn't see April anywhere.

The door shut behind her. Jade jumped in surprise and pressed her back to the wall behind her. The light turned on and she saw April on the other side of the room, a smile on her face. “What's got you so scared?” she asked.

Jade didn't move. “You were gone for days after we confronted that succubus. What happened? Why was I found outside of town? What happened to me? What happened to you?”

“Okay, okay, I can explain. What's the last thing you remember?” April asked. She sat down on the bed, legs crossed at the ankle and hanging over the edge.

“I… Just some nonsense about giving in to one's desires. To stop caring about our morals and simply indulge,” Jade said. Her eyes were locked onto April's as she spoke. Something was different. She just needed to figure out what.

“Ah, of course. We'd finally cornered her in an abandoned building. Then she started talking. You had made a bold declaration that nothing she said would change our minds, that we were there to right all of the wrongs she'd done. And then suddenly, you were no longer there at my side.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“The succubus was even stronger than either of us had anticipated. She had you captive faster than I could blink. Show me your wrists.” April said. Jade raised an eyebrow but complied. “See? You can still see the aftereffects of the binding magic.”

Jade flicked her eyes toward her wrists. She didn't know how she hadn't noticed it before. There were markings on both. “I… I guess that explains why I'm so sore,” she said. “And then what?”

“You were in danger. I stepped forward to save you, but the succubus had a blade to your throat. I knew that you wouldn't want that to stop me, but… I couldn't. The thought of losing you was unbearable,” April explained. “I didn't know what to do. And… Well. I couldn't disguise those feelings.”

“April, I… I'm so sorry,” Jade finally took a step forward, closer to the bed. “I truly had no idea. I never meant to leave you alone–”

“There's nothing for you to apologize for. We both knew what this hunt meant.”

Jade frowned and nodded. “I know. What happened then? How did you get me away from her?”

“I asked her to let you go,” April said simply.

“You– how could that possibly work?”

April locked eyes with Jade once again. “It didn't. But in asking, I revealed my greatest weakness to her.”

“April, what do you–”

“Please, Jade. Let me tell you the story.”

Jade nodded. She was tense, watching her partner. “Okay.”

“As I was saying. In that moment she knew that I would do anything to protect you. To save you from her. She asked to make a deal.” Jade opened her mouth, but April glared at her. “I asked her what kind of deal she meant. She said she didn't need much, she just wanted to talk with me for a bit. She wanted to tell me where she was coming from, what she wanted.

“So I agreed. As long as you were going to be safe, I told her that I would do that much. She snapped her fingers and you disappeared. I assume that's how they found you here. And…” she paused for a moment. “And so we got to talking. She told me that I was wasting my time trying to chase her down. That she wasn't doing anything that anyone didn't want her to. That if I had asked any of her victims, they would have told me to leave her alone.

“She said that all any of us want is to finally give into desire. Indulgence. All of it, every carnal pleasure we could take. I told her that it wasn't true. That I would never stoop to that level. But she looked at me with those piercing green eyes, and… We both knew I was lying. I mean, you saw her. I know you felt the same things I–”

“April!” Jade cried, hands balled into fists. “Please, please, you can't have– we weren't going there to listen to that creature!”

April stared daggers at Jade. “You think I didn't know that? I saved your life.”

“I know, I just–”

“And I'm going to save it again.” April stood and began to approach her.

Jade finally realized what it was about her eyes that was wrong. Those were the eyes of a woman who had been overtaken by demonic corruption. Jade stepped back, only to find herself pressed up against the wall again. She cursed at herself for leaving her sword behind, though she knew she could never wield it to harm April. She reached for the door, but April grabbed her by the wrist.

“Why are you so scared, my love? Am I so fearsome now as to scare my brave knight?” April was looming over her now, her voice low and sweet.

“W-we… We need to get you help. Purification. There must still be time, surely–” Jade was stopped by April's finger pressed against her lips.

“That's the thing,” April purred. She put her other palm against the wall and leaned over Jade, finger still on her lips. “I didn't finish explaining. She knew that I was curious about her. You were too, weren't you?” She pulled her finger away slowly, letting it gently tug on Jade's lip. “Don't. Lie.”

Jade's cheeks flushed, and she glanced away from April. “I… I…” She could barely speak. “Yes. I was.”

“Thank you,” she said, her smile coloring her voice. “She knew. And I tried, foolishly, to hide it. To resist her advances. I acted much like you are right now. With fear. Apprehension. An inability to accept what was staring me in the face.

“And when she had me pinned against the wall, she whispered, ‘Just let me touch you. Only once. Prove to me that your resolve is true.’

“I was trembling, and if you'd asked me then, I would have told you it was fear. And I was scared. But it was more than that.” She leaned forward again, her lips against Jade's ear. “It was also anticipation.”

Jade was paralyzed, prey pinned against the wall. She racked her brain for anything that was in the room she might be able to use to fend April off without hurting her. It just had to be long enough to incapacitate her for the ritual– though she wasn't sure which ritual would be able to purge this. April seemed to be very far gone. She feared that she was already beyond saving, but she couldn't think about that.

“Have you ever thought about why we do what we do? Why we feel the need to ‘purify’ these beings?” April asked, continuing on. “It's only because we're told they're bad. That they're evil. But they're a natural part of this world like you and I. They're just like us. They are us.”

“Please, April, I… I need to help you. Please, trust me, let me–”

“No, Jade, I need you to trust me. I'm here to help you.” April placed her free hand on Jade’s shoulder. She traced her fingers down her collarbone, until her palm was pressed against Jade’s neck. She tightened her fingers slightly. Not enough to do harm, but enough to keep her in place. “The succubus showed me. I've been so scared of these so called demons for so long, but now… Now I understand. They didn't want us to know how good it feels to give in. They didn't want us to know how freeing it would be.

“But look at me, getting ahead of myself. When she whispered that to me, I knew I wasn't going to get away. I nodded, bracing myself for her worst. But when her fingers met my skin I knew that any resolve I had would never be enough to resist this. Pleasure lit every nerve wherever she touched, every inch of skin.

“She giggled at me. ‘You knights are always so tense. It never takes much.’ I should have been insulted, ashamed that I couldn't resist, but I wasn't. I just wanted more. I whimpered and she laughed again. ‘Do you need something?’ she asked. I nodded. I did. I couldn't lie to her.

“I undressed. She took me then, bringing me to heights of pleasure I never imagined possible.” April squeezed Jade’s neck, making her gasp. She kissed her captive’s cheek.

“April…” Jade’s head was spinning. “Need to save you, I–”

“No, darling. No. See, you keep thinking there's someone to save. There isn't. I want this now. Look into my eyes,” she said, forcing Jade to make eye contact, “and understand that there is nothing you can do to ‘fix’ me. I'm happy. I'm free.” She took her hand off of Jade’s jaw and stared into her eyes. Jade didn't move, fixed to the spot she stood, staring into her eyes. “It felt so fucking good to feel my humanity slipping away, Jade. And I know you want me. You can't hide your lust from me anymore.”

Jade whined, pressed against the wall. She'd been doing her best to disguise it, but having April this close, the way she was talking to her… She couldn't help it. She was so turned on. “It… It's your magic. Y-You're doing something to me,” Jade sputtered. She felt panicked, but she couldn't move. She was trapped.

April laughed. “All I'm doing is gently touching your face and neck, my love. There's no magic required.” She stepped forward, pressing her thigh between her legs against Jade's wet pussy. “Just what I thought. Do you want more, Jade?”

Jade’s breathing was ragged, desperately trying to keep herself together. “I– I w-want to help you,” she whispered, barely able to form the words.

April pressed harder with her thigh, dragging it back and forth. Jade suppressed a moan, but she couldn't hide her eyes fluttering. “I told you. The only way to help me is to give in. Become like me. I promise you that it feels better than anything you've ever experienced. You just need to trust me.”

“You… I…” Jade babbled, trying to figure out what her next step might be. April's thigh felt so good, and it was getting so hard to deny what April was saying. Maybe there was no saving her. And if she couldn't save April, what was the point of all of this? The fight, the hunt, all for what? To be miserable, to be forced into combat over and over again against these supposed demons who wanted nothing more than a meal?

“You what?” April teased, a grin on her face. She took her hand off of the wall next to Jade’s head and grabbed her hip instead, dragging her forward up her thigh. Jade moaned, unable to keep herself contained. Her head lolled. April put her other hand on Jade’s cheek, reinitiating eye contact.

“I…” she swallowed, staring up into April's eyes. “I-I… want more. Need more. Need you,” she admitted, unable to force her gaze anywhere but April's eyes. They were glowing now, a green shade overtaking their usual blue.

“I know you do. Be a good girl and let me work.” She pulled Jade away from the wall. “Get undressed.”

Jade pulled her clothes off, pulling her shirt over her head, letting her pants fall to the ground and stepping out of them. April sliced through her underwear with a claw and ripped it away from her. When she was naked, April pushed her onto the bed. She didn't know when exactly April undressed, but as she landed on her back, she saw her partner looming over her, a grin on her face. Her cock was hard, and Jade couldn't remember wanting something more than she wanted April in this moment.

April crawled on top of her, eyes blazing, a grin on her face. “There's no going back. Once we do this, you're going to be just like me.” She leaned in closer, warm breath on Jade’s ear. “It's going to feel so fucking good,” she hissed.

Jade nodded. April wasted no time, driving herself deep into Jade. Jade’s vision went white, completely overwhelmed by pleasure. April was immediately relentless, thrusting into her over and over. Jade gripped the blanket beneath her. She could feel something happening to her, fire coursing through her veins. Something about it felt so wrong, but pleasure washed away any apprehension she felt.

Jade was burning up, her whole body getting hotter and hotter. She wanted more. She needed more. It was an undeniable urge now. She never knew how good it would feel if she were to finally give in. She felt her morals eroding. None of it mattered when she could feel this good.

“Do you see now, darling? Do you understand now?” April never stopped, filling Jade’s cunt over and over.

“Yes! Fuck!” Jade felt like her brain was melting. “You were right! Fuck, you were right!” She cried. She wrapped her legs around April's waist, locking her in place. She wrapped her arms around April's neck and pulled her into a greedy kiss. Her tongue forced its way into April's mouth. She tasted incredible, and she could feel how sharp April's teeth had become.

Jade could feel the orgasm coming, and she knew that it was going to be the point of no return. It didn't matter. She needed it. Needed April. Needed to fuck, to give in to her base desires, to indulge in every bit of debauchery she could. She broke the kiss with April and their eyes locked again. The corruption was surging through her body and it felt so incredible.

April's thrusting became more rushed, more frenzied, and Jade knew that it was time. April grunted, then gasped, and she felt her cock spasming inside of her. Jade screamed as she did, her own orgasm tearing through her, tidal waves of pleasure from head to toe. She was changing, she could feel it. The corruption was inside her now, the roots dug deep. She embraced it. It felt too good not to.

A few moments later, April collapsed on top of her. “We're going to have so much fun together, Jade. Maybe I'll take you back to meet our succubus friend, too. I'm sure she'd love to know how quickly you gave in.”

Jade nodded slowly, still trembling. “Whatever you want, my love.”