Queen Melody of Valora had slept horribly through the previous night, worried for the future of her kingdom.

The good queen had never been so scared for Valora and its people in her entire life. She had never feared for the kingdom’s future at all. Queen Heather had led such a stable order before her, and Queen Vera too before her, the people happy, the crops bountiful, and the lands safe without interruption.

She wondered what the sorcerer was like. Even corrupted by Her Below, they’d still be a person, an independent agent with a motivation of their own. Maybe they could be reasoned with, talked down from rash and destructive action and convinced to live peacefully among the people. What would a sorcerer have to gain from Valora’s destabilization? Was it a raw lust for power? Resentment toward Valora’s political system or toward the Goddess of Light Herself? Mel dreaded to think what sort of person it’d take to desire to harm the wonderful people of the kingdom.

When Mel finally fell asleep, hours and hours after dark, she dreamed of Deborah, the lovely sweet fruit merchant who visited the palace just to experience the queen’s healing touch, falling to darkness too, becoming another victim just like Sister Iris or the people who had been regarded as liabilities by Empress Eileen hundreds of years ago during the days of the old Valoran Empire. She worried about similar fates befalling Dame Tabitha, Lady Sophie, Lady Isabelle… thinking she could do nothing to protect any of them.

In the end, Mel’s fall wasn’t nearly so simple as she imagined.

She awoke with a headache to the rooster’s crow, a comfort that she had known since she was a young girl living in her provincial hamlet. It was no comfort in this case due to the poor sleep she had gotten, but Mel knew there was no point in going back to sleep. Now that the sun had risen, the knights would soon be walking the palace grounds, dining in the mess hall, praying in the chapel…

Dame Tabitha would need her for the investigation she planned, and Mel did not want to shirk her responsibilities. Best if she joined the knights in the chapel as soon as possible, she decided.

The queen pulled on a simple blue dress, not wanting to waste any time standing around for her ladies-in-waiting to dress her, and she left her quarters. The corridors were still quiet, not yet abuzz with the activity of an ordinary day at the kingdom’s administrative center, and Mel ultimately reached the chapel without issue.

The chapel was a stone building affixed to the west side of the palace, numerous stained-glass windows along the walls and the peaked ceiling letting the first of the Goddess’ blessed sunlight into the main hall. Many rows of pews were present before the altar, mostly empty. Mel had arrived before the knights’ morning prayers, it seemed.

Sister Leah, the junior priestess who had cast the protective spell upon the queen’s living quarters the previous night, was sweeping the floors as part of her daily duties, ensuring the chapel remained a pristine and inviting place of worship, and she gave Queen Melody a worried smile as she noticed her arrival.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” Sister Leah said, observing the queen’s tired face. “You’re not usually here this early, are you? Something on your mind?”

Mel wanted to speak about the incursion of dark sorcery, to tell Dame Tabitha’s whole story that had not left the queen even in her dreams, but the head knight had warned Mel that she should not speak about it without extreme caution. There was a reason that the protective spell had been needed to begin with — even if one was not a traitor themself, the guilty sorcerer could be observing from the shadows at any time. It was difficult to imagine such sinister acts ever occurring within the chapel of the Goddess of Light, but as Dame Tabitha had said, dark sorcerers could shroud themselves even from Her all-seeing eyes.

So though she could not speak of the matter in full, Mel couldn’t stop herself from peering around the chapel in a fit of paranoia, wanting to be sure that she was not being watched. But that was the horrible thing about dark sorcery, that it was hard to detect, fundamentally deceptive. Mel was expected to lead; she could not allow herself to be put in a position where her perception would be compromised. But what could she do?

“I’m just concerned about certain… matters of state,” Mel said simply. “Private matters I’m not at liberty to speak about. I’m sorry, Sister Leah. I only mean to pray with the knights when they arrive.”

“I understand, Your Majesty,” Sister Leah said, bowing with a sweet smile. “I won’t pry. You’re always welcome here, and the knights should be only minutes away.”

“Thank you, Sister,” Mel said. “I suppose, in any case, I feel safer here than anywhere else in the palace. More rested than I did all last night. I’ve always found the Goddess’ light a comfort.”

“Of course. She means to shelter us from all the evils of the world here,” the priestess said.

“It does feel that way,” the good queen replied, looking up at the sunlight shining in through the ceiling. But in her heart, she had her doubts, and even the Goddess’ light was scant reassurance.

It wasn’t long before Dame Tabitha arrived, leading her knights into the pews of the chapel with an expression that Mel took as confidence masking the same nameless fear she herself was feeling.

The knights had been very boisterous entering the chapel, having just come from breakfast, but they quieted down in respect of the Goddess and Her priestesses as they entered, even moreso when they began to notice that the queen was in attendance. Dame Tabitha rushed to take a seat by Mel’s side, while Dame Genevieve took a seat directly behind the pair, reading through a prayer book, or at least appearing to do so.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” Dame Tabitha whispered, only half-looking at Mel. Closer now, Mel could make out every bit of grim determination on the knight’s scarred face.

“Good morning, my knight,” Mel said. “It’s a comfort to see you.”

“You as well. I trust that you wanted to speak with me with haste? Given that you arrived even before us?” Dame Tabitha cleared her throat. “Or perhaps that’s presumptive. There’s much comfort for you and everyone here in the light of the Goddess.”
“It’s not presumptive,” the queen said. “I’ve needed all the comfort I can get. Perhaps if you’d be willing to start your investigation as soon as possible—”

“As soon as daily prayers are concluded, Your Majesty,” Dame Tabitha whispered. “Ah… my apologies for interrupting you. I’m just as anxious to begin as you are, and better yet if you’re already here. I won’t lose track of any of my knights in needing to wake you this way. The Goddess’ house is as good a place as any to conduct such an investigation, so long as Sister Alia will not object. The Goddess’ light burns away deception and illusion.”

“Thank you, my knight,” Mel said.

Soon Sister Alia, a middle-aged woman with olive skin and long curly black hair, arrived for her morning sermon, speaking for twenty minutes about the value of generosity and mutual aid. It comforted Mel to hear those words, to know that the people of the kingdom valued those things regardless of the mysterious sorcerer’s work. The worshipers of the Goddess of Light would not be cowed into submission so easily, she thought. They held values that were worth holding on to, values that made Valora a place worth living in.

Dame Genevieve listened quietly, too, but she knew that the sister’s entire sermon was built on lies. The knight had sworn herself to her Mistress Illuria and the Goddess of Darkness and denounced Queen Melody and the Goddess of Light, “Her Above” as Mistress Illuria called Her. Kindness, generosity, it was all an illusion propped up by the priestesses and their false Goddess. Power and control were the only things that really mattered, and Genevieve’s Mistress had those in spades.

But for now, Genevieve was gathering intelligence for her Mistress and blending in. That’s what she had been ordered to do.

Sister Alia concluded her sermon, leaving all in attendance to stand and mingle, and creating an opportunity for Dame Tabitha to speak.

“Everyone, if I may have your attention?” Dame Tabitha said, looking as serious as she ever did. “I’m aware this may come as a surprise, but Her Majesty Queen Melody and I are going to be interviewing you today about a few recent events. Strange things have been occurring in the palace recently and I intend to get to the bottom of it. Until all of you have been questioned, no one is to leave this chapel, is that understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!” came a resounding reply. Dame Genevieve almost wanted to worry, since this was likely related to her Mistress’ own activities. But the dark sorcerer had made it clear to her knight that she already suspected that Dame Tabitha and Queen Melody were onto her activities and she was not concerned, so this most likely would play into her plans.

Queen Melody was also worried, and like the knight whom she was unaware was no longer hers, she was also trying to hide it. Right now, she needed to project confidence and authority, assuage the concerns of the dozens of surely-innocent knights in front of her, women who only desired to protect the kingdom.

But before Dame Tabitha could even get to speak to Dame Alexandra with Mel by her side, the doors of the chapel burst open to reveal two familiar faces.

It was Lady Sophie and Lady Isabelle, Mel’s most trusted advisors, both wearing concerned expressions.

“Oh thank the Goddess Above, there you are, Your Majesty!” the intelligent, raven-haired Lady Isabelle said, carrying her long chestnut brown skirt along with her as she stopped in the middle of the chapel, huffing and puffing. The well-traveled, auburn-haired Lady Sophie — friends with Mel since childhood — wasn’t far behind, though she seemed to be following Isabelle more than seeking Mel herself.

“I told you she would be safe, Lady Isabelle,” Lady Sophie said, placing a comforting hand on the introverted advisor’s shoulder.

“You… you weren’t in your quarters, Your Majesty,” Lady Isabelle panted. “At this early hour, it was a concern. We were supposed to be by to have breakfast and all…”

“Ah, my apologies, my lady,” Mel said. “I was tossing and turning last night, and I needed the Goddess’ light to feel whole again. And Dame Tabitha came by with her knights for morning prayers.”

“Dame Tabitha,” Isabelle nodded, acknowledging the tall, strong knight standing next to the queen, and reaching out her hand to shake— a bit awkwardly, all things considered. Mel knew well that Isabelle had never been that good with people, especially unfamiliar ones.

“Lady Isabelle,” Dame Tabitha said as she shook the advisor’s hand with a professional smile on her face. “The queen is needed here to help me with an investigation I’m starting.”

“What about?” Lady Sophie asked, stepping behind Mel as though to show that she was in her corner.

“A possible security breach,” the knight said grimly. “I’m afraid I can’t say more, as it’s a strictly classified matter at the moment. Hopefully I’ll be able to speak about the details soon.”

Mel gave a reassuring nod to her advisors, wanting them to know that things would hopefully ultimately go OK and that the two of them were most definitely not on the chopping block. Sophie was a beloved friend, and even if Isabelle could be a bit uptight, the queen had gotten her to open up a little bit the previous night, and that was promising. At minimum, she had always been invaluable in an advisory capacity owing to her vast academic knowledge. Perhaps she could even give Mel a refresher on the history of dark sorcery after all was said and done…

“I… I see,” Sophie said, a hint of fear on her face. “S-something… serious?” She looked at Mel with concern.

“I’m… uh, sorry, Sophie,” Mel said sheepishly, taking a step back unbecoming of one in her position. She wasn’t feeling very queenly at the moment. “As my knight said, I really shouldn’t speak about the details until the investigation is over.”

Sophie gave a reluctant nod in response, sitting down in one of the chapel pews glumly.

“Is it alright if we stand by, then?” Isabelle asked, taking a step forward. “I would not want to abandon you in this difficult time, Your Majesty.”

“You’re free to stand by Her Majesty, with her permission,” Dame Tabitha said. “I only request that you not ask why I’m asking the questions I am, Lady Isabelle. All will come to light in time, particularly in the house of the Goddess.

“And I should be clear. You two will be under scrutiny later today as well. In fact, I’d prefer it if you stayed within sight of Her Majesty and I, now that you’ve become involved.”

“Understood,” they both said, accidentally in unison, and Sophie gave Isabelle a playful slap on the shoulder as she joined her in the pews, trying to cheer her up with only a brief moment of success. It was hard to get Isabelle to laugh at the best of times.

And Mel certainly wasn’t laughing, not now, not as Dame Tabitha was calling Dame Alexandra back to the front of the chapel. She had an investigation to facilitate. And Dame Genevieve was close behind the two advisors, watching and waiting, just as her Mistress had ordered.

After four hours, Dame Tabitha had asked the thirty-three knights in her company, as well as the four priestesses within the chapel, about a variety of matters related to the royal palace, and she and Queen Melody had learned little that was truly useful. Their truthfulness could be assured — while compelling an answer would be strictly in the realm of dark sorcery, Sister Alia had been able to provide a spell that revealed the truthfulness of a given statement. Dame Tabitha was quick to point out to Mel that such a technique relied on the trustworthiness of Sister Alia, of course, but the Goddess would not provide her power to a person under the thrall of Her Below. The priestesses could be relied on as the last bastion of hope in Valora. If all else failed, the Goddess would not fail them.

The head knight hadn’t been surprised by the lack of information, ultimately. In a private conversation with Mel after Dame Nelle, the final knight, finally stepped off of the stand, she stated her relative confidence that none of her knights would be subverted. They were too well-trained, well-armed; an aggressor would be a fool to take any of them on, and they were virtually always together with other knights.

She had asked each knight for a detailed account of their activities over the past month, with emphasis on the occasions during which suspicious events had taken place: Sister Iris’ fainting while on duty at the herb garden, the missing keys, the stolen prayer scroll and the dark spellbook beside it. They were also asked if they were being brainwashed or manipulated. To some extent, Mel didn’t understand why Dame Tabitha even bothered asking these questions, given that she was a responsible leader who always knew where her knights were and what they were doing. The knights of Valora looked out for each other, showing the kind of solidarity that was taught by the Goddess. But Dame Tabitha had assured her that making sure every knight had their story straight could be quite revealing when all was said and done.

And indeed, the queen and her knight discovered that both Dames Leigh and Maria, on guard duty at the palace vault that day, could not remember a single thing that had happened during the later part of their shift. It had been only two weeks ago and was in fact Dame Maria’s birthday, coincidentally. Dame Leigh had attended her celebration but neither of them could recall a single thing that occurred hours prior, even though they could recall anecdotes from many other shifts.

Mel was upset listening to each of them, the fear dawning upon them as they realized that their wills may have been subverted in even a small, subtle way, the type of quick fix that an experienced dark sorcerer could perform over the course of a few seconds.

Still, this was progress. Dame Tabitha had each of them report to Sister Alia, whose advanced healing magic could in theory at least partly restore their missing memories, if indeed their memories were truly missing. People did forget things on their own, but if anything had been tampered with, the queen and her knight needed to be the first to know.

Dame Meredith swore to the Goddess that she had seen a shadow slinking by in the hallway connecting to the palace chapel annex while gathering supplies in preparation for the opening of the palace yesterday, but she had convinced herself that it was merely a wild animal, a rat or something casting a large shadow against the wall. But it was almost human-shaped, she recalled, maybe just a trick of the light, maybe an actual person. Whatever it was, it had been terribly fast and had fled completely out of sight before she could ascertain its true nature. And that was perhaps an insignificant coincidence on its own, but with all Dame Tabitha had seen the same day, it was worth consideration. Had that been when the sorcerer had stolen the prayer scroll, while the palace workers were distracted with preparation?

It got worse when Dame Tabitha corroborated Dame Meredith’s account with that of Sister Rebecca, who had been presiding over the chapel at the time, Sister Alia preparing to assist Mel in matters of healing and for advice on religious matters during the public opening. It turned out that Sister Rebecca had been in her quarters studying scripture, leaving the main chapel unattended, just minutes before Dame Meredith had spotted the slinking shadow. It was at that moment that the prayer scroll had gone missing, and that left a bad taste in the throats of both the queen and her knight.

Oh, and the matter of Dame Genevieve. She’d been sweating bullets when she’d been called to the stand, and Mel had had half a mind to think she looked suspicious, even as she’d been willing to put her safety in the brave knight’s hands the previous day. But Sister Alia could detect any lie, and when she was asked if she had stolen the scroll or the key, if she had engaged in dark sorcery, if she had been brainwashed or manipulated, Dame Genevieve blinked, and said, “of course not”, putting the good queen’s mind at ease.

…And as she stepped down from the stand, the brainwashed and manipulated knight wondered to herself just how Mistress Illuria had accomplished such a thing, pulling the wool over Sister Alia’s eyes, and the eyes of Her Above by extension. The Goddess of Darkness was not to be underestimated, it seemed.

The two proceeded to speak with Lady Isabelle and Lady Sophie. According to Lady Isabelle, the most unnerving thing that she had seen in the last few months was Lady Sophie’s casual affect when in private conversation with the queen, which Mel was quick to approve of, insisting that it was in no way unbecoming coming from a longtime friend. Other than that, Dame Tabitha’s request to speak to Mel privately the previous night had put her on edge, but she’d accepted that it was necessary for palace security.

Lady Sophie, on the other hand, was primarily concerned with the palace guests from the previous day. She had seen practically every inch of Valora with her own eyes, and she knew that while its people were fundamentally good, there were still the rare few driven to dark acts by material needs. The Goddess and her queen tried to serve the needs of all of their people, but some still slipped through the cracks, and Sophie worried that someone in that position could have done something untoward. Dame Tabitha didn’t say so with Sophie in earshot for security reasons, but she had her doubts about that, since the earlier events had occurred while the palace gates were closed to the public, long before the present day. The accusations, though, of her citizens’ dark acts certainly put Mel on edge. She didn’t want to view her people that way under any standards, but the kingdom did have its dark history.

Finally it came time to speak to Sister Alia herself. Sister Leah was conscripted to ascertain her superior’s truthfulness. She provided little of anything that surprised Mel, inevitable since they had spent much of the previous day in the same room together. She clearly suspected the involvement of dark sorcery, but said little about it outright out of respect for the head knight’s process.

And in the end, no one could definitively explain what could have happened to the prayer scroll that Dame Tabitha had found. The majority of the priestesses assumed it must have been taken by an initiate for study, but no initiate admitted to it, even after being assured that they would not be disciplined if they admitted to taking it. Others suspected wrongdoing on the behalf of one of the palace guests, but Dame Tabitha was sure that the common folk would never have been able to read the scrolls nor to reliably find a secure location within the palace. This had to be an inside job.

It didn’t help that Dame Patricia, captain of the palace guards, had apparently found half of her staff atop the walls of the palace sleeping on the job just this morning. That was suspicious, especially since it had never happened before. Even on the most uneventful and silent of nights, they still stood ever vigilant. Of course, none of them could remember a single thing when their captain found them sleeping soundly… Sister Alia would have her work cut out for her, and her magic strained restoring memories over the next few days, and by then, Queen Melody worried it would be too late for answers. But she had to believe that answers would come.

The queen and her knight left the chapel with many disparate leads and few definitive answers in tow. The Goddess would reveal all, they were both sure, and they were right. But they were counting on the wrong Goddess.

The dark sorcerer Illuria nearly collapsed in a fit of paranoia after returning to her quarters. She had seen everything that had transpired within the chapel, and despite the aura of confidence she liked to project, it felt like her house of cards was about to implode at any moment. At least she herself had evaded suspicion, and her knight as well. She’d thought ahead, after all, and cast memory-altering spells upon Genevieve that would cause her to forget the key aspects of her corruption if she were to be interrogated. It had worked like a charm — the best way to prevent Sister Alia from seeing the truth was to have her knight tell no lie, only to forget the truth, just for a brief moment.

Now she just had to hold out until she could get a few more knights under her control, back Queen Melody into a corner from which she could not escape, and make the kingdom her own.

Illuria had to have the queen for herself. Plunging Valora into an age of darkness for the Goddess she worked alongside was just a side project to the goal she held in her heart of hearts, the queen’s incorruptible purity finally tarnished, brought down to the same level as her new Mistress. Ever since Melody had been called to the throne, the sorcerer had desired her all for herself, overcome by her beauty, her strength, her wisdom, everything that Illuria could ever want in a person.

To Illuria, the Goddess of Darkness represented much more than raw power and depravity. She had little interest in raising armies and resurrecting the old Valoran Empire. Taking the kingdom, to her, was not an altogether selfish act, but one to share in with the queen herself. She would make Melody love her and they would rule the kingdom as queen and queen, subject to no higher authority, not the knights, not the priestesses, not the Valoran people, not even the Goddesses below and above.

After all, Illuria could only see Queen Melody as being trapped in a gilded cage, forced to abide by rules that far predated her own birth, her own choosing as queen. The dark sorcerer herself certainly felt that way every day she spent within those choking walls. She knew her history well enough to know that tradition couldn’t be trusted, that it would always be a shackle. People called the Goddess of Darkness goddess of tyrants, but to Illuria, She was the goddess of freedom, a patron of all those who refused to work within the system, no matter how good or just that system was portrayed to be. The dark Goddess didn’t demand fealty like Her Above, only a keeping of one’s word.

She Above laid so many rules upon Her followers, procedural rules and magical prohibitions. She possessed vast healing powers that Her priestesses employed, but the only body modification that she deemed acceptable was that which was used to change someone into their ideal body form. The queen and Illuria had both had such spells cast upon them in their youths, granted feminine forms as they each embraced feminine identities, though that wasn’t how they had lived beforehand. Illuria could hardly begrudge that part — in her ideal world, She Above would not be entirely repressed as the Goddess of Darkness was in the current system. The dark Goddess, after all, dealt in illusion and trickery, and She Above did not trade in those sorts of spells. To Illuria, it was best to diversify. She Above would have no other gods alongside her, but that wasn’t very fair.

But for now, Illuria could not know what the queen and her knight’s takeaways had been. As far as she knew, they were just two steps away from discovering her true identity. And they were at the very least hot on her trail. She couldn’t safely employ a scrying spell or a mind-reading spell to get ahead of her adversaries, because the priestesses would be employing protective spells to detect any such tampering, and trace it back to its source. She’d have to rely on more old-fashioned methods as a result.

But right now she just needed to relax. And the best way Illuria could think of to relax was to fuck her knight senseless.

The dark sorcerer had thankfully managed to pull aside Genevieve from her guard patrol without attracting attention, in the guise of a friendly conversation. Palace workers had those between each other on the regular; it was nothing to be suspicious over. But once the knight was in her Mistress’ quarters, she was free to drop the pretense, and she fell prostrate onto the floor, still dressed in full plate armor.

“How may I serve you, Mistress?” she begged as the sorcerer stood with a smile on her face, slightly shrouded in darkness. While the Goddess of Darkness didn’t specialize in healing and physical manipulation the same way as Her rival Above, Her mark was still very much present on Illuria as historical record showed, the sorcerer’s eyes glowing a deep purple, fell shadows gathered around her. It was only through maintaining powerful illusions that she managed to pass herself off as an ordinary advisor before the rest of the kingdom. One of the things she looked forward to most when Valora was hers was finally having an opportunity to show her true self.

“Well, you can start by taking your armor off,” Illuria responded finally, kneeling down to be nearly at eye level with the brainwashed knight, though still slightly above her as appropriate for her self-appointed station as Mistress.

“Yes, Mistress,” Dame Genevieve said, grimacing. “Though I can’t do it alone. We knights usually help each other with our armor. The back straps are hard to reach…”

“Right, right… well, try this then,” Illuria said, reaching out a shadowed hand, reciting an incantation, and the knight’s armor undid itself in an instant, falling to the ground beside her, thankfully onto the large fluffy rug in the sorcerer’s quarters, ensuring that it would not be dented.

Dame Genevieve was a strong and muscular woman of average height, her red hair let down to shoulder length. Her armor removed, she was dressed in a simple brown undershirt and tight black pants that fell just slightly past her knees. She felt so exposed like this, in front of such a powerful and wicked woman. Just as she wanted, now that she had been turned to darkness herself, kneeling now before her Mistress.

Illuria had brainwashed her knight carefully. Yes, yes, she had been made to believe that power and control were more important than kindness and generosity, but that didn’t mean that the latter two were utterly unimportant. Illuria herself still valued them, in her own way. When Valora was hers, she wouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater like Empress Eileen had. That was part of what had led to her downfall, after all.

Indeed, most history books spoke only about the wicked empress herself, but few considered where her dark sorcery originated. From the Goddess of Darkness ultimately, of course, but the empress had primarily relied on her advisor Lady Martina, perhaps the most accomplished dark sorcerer in the recorded history of the land. Illuria had admired that woman, forgotten by history next to her empress, since she was a little girl, and had always wondered if Martina had truly believed in the empress’ ensuing brutality across the continent. Perhaps she was only looking through rose-colored glasses, but it was nice to dream, and to see her as a kindred spirit. This time, the advisor would be corrupting her queen herself, and she’d be measured about it.

And Illuria also liked to believe that Lady Martina hadn’t been afraid to have some fun with her servants during her off hours. Being a student of the powers of darkness couldn’t be 24/7. Genevieve was much too pretty for that.

So Illuria was removing her own blouse now, pulling down her skirt, revealing her narrow but slightly chubby form. Researching dark sorcery and other bodies of knowledge all her life, she had never been able to fit exercise into her daily routine. But with the shadows gathered up around her, she hardly needed it.

“You’re beautiful, Mistress,” Dame Genevieve said. “I… I’m so lucky to even glimpse your naked body! I never even dreamt of that from Queen Melody.” She pressed her head to the carpeted floor of Illuria’s quarters in supplication.

“You’ll look at your Mistress when she’s speaking to you!” Illuria insisted, extending her own shadow to prop up Genevieve’s chin. That was a simple spell, one she was well-practiced at at this point. Her own form merged with her shadow due to the Goddess’ influence, reaching out with it was barely more difficult than reaching out her own hand.

“Yes, Mistress!” the knight said, looking up once more at Illuria, who was stumbling slightly. Controlling shadows was indeed a simple spell, but the dark sorcerer had greatly taxed herself the previous night taking out the guards, brainwashing her knight, and remaining hidden while doing so, followed by her illusions and manipulations this morning. Plus, she simply hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep. Now she was having trouble even standing… this was no time for that! She was meant to be fucking her knight!

“...Are you alright?” the knight asked. “Shall I fetch you a glass of water? Something from the palace kitchen? A healer?” Genevieve quickly pulled herself to her feet, used to supporting Queen Melody in this way, though the context was changed.

“No, no… not now,” Illuria said, standing up straight and holding her head. “The best way to replenish one’s energy is to take it from someone else.”

She leaned down and placed her hand on Genevieve’s shoulder then, flustering the obedient knight.

“Hold yourself together for your Mistress, Genevieve,” the sorcerer commanded. “This may feel a little strange.”

Illuria spoke an incantation, and the color in the air seemed to dull around Genevieve as her Mistress performed an energy-draining spell. This spell was in fact a big part of her plans. It helped that it could fuel itself via the magical energy it drained, albeit it was inconveniently conspicuous and required extended touch, putting its caster in a vulnerable position. Practitioners of any kind of magic required magical energy generated from within; it was like a muscle that could be trained, strengthened with practice and discipline, lasting longer and more powerfully with each passing day. But every living thing possessed that energy, even if they didn’t know how to harness it. If Illuria took it from others, even a magically-untrained warrior like Genevieve, she could perhaps even surpass Lady Martina’s limits. It was a spell she had created herself in communion with her Goddess, one that She Below was happy to provide.

“Oh, Goddess Below, I feel so tired,” Dame Genevieve said.

Already Illuria could feel her strength returning to her, and she sneered as she spoke another incantation, forming her shadow into tendrils, the same sort she had created the previous night to restrain the knight.

“Don’t worry about that, sweetheart,” Illuria reassured her. “You’re providing me with everything I need to crush this pathetic kingdom.” In truth, Genevieve possessed little magical energy within herself as expected, and the well was already beginning to run dry, but it was enough for this, at least. Afterward Illuria would need a long nap.

But for now, she managed to pull down the knight’s pants with her tendrils, revealing a pussy slightly wet at the thought of helping her Mistress bring an end to the lies that the priestesses of Her Above had told for the last several centuries. And following that, Illuria thrust her tendril hard against the knight’s clit, reveling in the control she now held over this fallen servant of light, her body, her will.

But even that wasn’t enough for her. Believing herself magically recharged just enough to do so, Illuria pulled her hand away from Genevieve’s shoulder as the strong woman moaned, and she spoke another incantation, one now familiar to Genevieve.

The knight’s vision darkened as the twisting violet spiral made itself known once again, and she knew that she was helpless against it now, broken, particularly thanks to what her Mistress was already doing with the shadows between her legs.

Genevieve collapsed to the floor face-first, and no matter where she looked, the tendril stayed firmly on her clit, rubbing rhythmically, and the spiral never left her field of vision.

“Good girl,” Illuria chuckled, satisfied with herself as she brought her knight closer and closer to climax. But in the back of her mind, the dark sorcerer knew that whatever she was feeling now was nothing next to what she’d feel when the queen was finally hers. Melody, beautiful and tall, wise and just, a servant to rule alongside, a corrupted partner in darkness, soon-to-be love of her life. Illuria could barely wait another moment for that day, and she knew just what she needed to do next.

After a long nap, that was.