Page 48 of The World Undone

“I was at the lake,” I started, not sure that it really mattered. She had no idea where we were. “Walked to the other side to get some distance. Climbed up a goddamn mountain, but I could still feel her—the bonds, they’re—” I shook my head, unable to find a single word or phrase that could adequately describe how strong the connection had been. Incredible? Terrifying? Neither seemed enough to truly capture how it’d felt. Even now, I could feel myself start to stiffen, just from the memory of it.

Hell, I’d had to jack off three times in the woods, just from the sheer force of that power. And coming in the dark, my jizz disappearing into the snow, while I was alone, wasn’t exactly my idea of a good solo encounter. But I’d still come so hard that my vision blurred, my ears ringing from the intensity of it.

Not that I’d admit that part to my aunt. Succubus or not, I still needed some privacy where my sex life was concerned.

“I must have fallen asleep. I didn’t realize you could reach me across the realm divide.” I scanned the place again—the room was empty, save for two stiff, rather unremarkable chairs. “Not exactly to your usual taste, is it?”

“I can’t,” she narrowed her eyes, “reach you through realms. This isn’t my dreamscape, it’s yours. You brought me here, boy, not the other way around.”

“Not intentionally.”

“Hm.” She pursed her lips, then sat down in one of the chairs. “What’s happened? Are you sure you’re not in the hell realm? This shouldn’t be possible.”

“Positive. And, honestly, a lot.”

Where did I start? With Atlas killing our father? With Max burning down Headquarters? With the Defiance? Our new half-baked plan to take out The Guild council?

Her head tilted to the side slightly as she watched me. “There’s something different about you—your power, it’s strong. More so than usual. Stronger, even, than the girl’s was last time I saw her.” Her tongue wet her bottom lip, as if she could taste it. “How?” She nodded to the other chair. “Sit. Tell me, what’s going on in your world?”

I did as she asked, feeling awkward as fuck as I collapsed in the chair, my arms folded across my chest, as if that could dispel whatever power surge she was feeling. “The bonds have grown stronger.”

Her dark brow arched. “Yes, obviously. Still, I don’t know how you’re able to reach me. Bonds grow strength, sure, but this—” she shook her head, eyes narrowed, “this is unlike anything I’ve ever felt.” As if testing her point, she raised her hand, face contorted in focus for what felt like minutes. “I have no control here, my power unable to even suggest or move the room you’ve crafted.” She leaned back in the chair. “Curious.”

“It’s not just my bond with Max,” I started, not sure how much to share with her, but she was probably the only person who could offer us any clarity. “It’s the entire group. We can hear her thoughts, and she ours, can feel her power, and one of us—” I watched for a moment, considering, “and one of us has even channeled her powers.”

Her face flattened, no longer legible to me. With careful, eerily graceful moves, she stood and walked over to me, crouching when she was a foot away. Her eyes, dark as night, bore into mine, searching for something.

“Um,” I cleared my throat, unsure what to do under her perusal—something about her stare unsettled me, like she could see way more than I wanted her to. Like she could see parts of me that were off limits even to me.

With a hiss, she took several steps back, her movements jilted and awkward as her eyes widened—half shock, half horror.

“There’s a new, deep strength in you. A strength that wasn’t there before—distilled, powerful. I don’t know the details of what Lucifer has planned for her, but I’d dare say she’s nearly ready.”

My stomach clenched at that. I knew that Max’s power was the key to potentially saving the world—from keeping hell from downright combusting, but the lack of details we’d been given made me uneasy.

I trusted Serae, for the most part. But I didn’t trust Lucifer.

“But there’s a darkness growing there too, unsettled and hungry—unlike anything I’ve seen in a very long time. And power. Too much power. Something is off, something is festering, unbalanced.”

“What do you mean?” I hated the fact that I could hear the anxiety lacing my voice.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, clearly focused, though she didn’t come closer again. “It doesn’t stem from you, but you might be the best tool to control it.”

“How so? What is it?”

She shook her head, eyes still pressed closed, like she could somehow sense more clearly without her vision. “I don’t know. But your power is strong, the girl is a siphon and a catalyst between you all. And you feed on energy.

“I feed on lust.”

“Darkness, lust, they aren’t so different. You feed on emotions, on passions. They come from many places. Whatever I’m sensing in you, it calls to me, which means you will feel it too, when you focus. When you search for it. You can draw it out, balance it before it corrupts you, before it corrupts your bond group.”

“How?”

Her lips twisted into a smirk as she found her way back to the chair. “Same as you pull all energy, nephew. What destroys and corrupts others, can feed us. Our connection to shadow magic is unlike that which most other demons have. And the girl’s connection is obviously even stronger. You and her will be the cure. Your bonded group is large, complicated…,” she licked her lips, as if she could taste it, “powerful. It will fall on you two to keep the balance, the stability. It’s a big job, but an important one—if you’re to survive.”

“That’s all you can tell me?”

Serae wasn’t exactly known for her specificity, but this was taking things to another level.

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