We stumbled out of the Pleasure Dome into the perpetual twilight of Ardorkeep, our bodies pleasantly exhausted. My legs felt like jelly, and a warm, satisfied glow radiated through every inch of me. The hours we'd spent exploring the Crimson Chamber had been... educational, to say the least.

  "So?" Aria nudged me with her elbow, her purple eyes sparkling with mischief. "Was I right or was I right?"

  I couldn't even muster the energy to deny it. "Fine," I sighed through my pleasant haze. "You were right. It was... incredible."

  Aria's face lit up with triumph. "I knew it! I told you that you'd love it once you stopped overthinking everything."

  Isabella chuckled, adjusting her clothing which we'd finally put back on before leaving. "Let's just hope Lily doesn't become a second Aria. I don't think I could handle two of you trying to drag me to the Dome every day."

  "Excuse me?" Aria placed a hand over her heart in mock offence. "I do not go every day. Sometimes I go twice in one day."

  I laughed, feeling lighter than I had in weeks. "Fat chance of that happening. I enjoyed it, but I still have other priorities, unlike some people I could mention."

  "Speaking of relaxation," Isabella said, "my residence is closer than the Academy dorms. Would you both like to come over?"

  "I'd love a bath right now," I said, stretching my arms above my head. "My muscles feel like I've run a marathon."

  "Or participated in an orgy pit," Aria added helpfully.

  "That too," I admitted with a small smile, remembering the Communal Feeding Hall and how we'd eventually joined in despite my initial hesitation. The memory of all those bodies moving together, the pure energy exchange, was something I wouldn't soon forget.

  * * *

  Isabella's place always felt like a second home to me. After the Pleasure Dome, its familiar comforts were especially welcome. We'd barely settled onto the plush couches in her sitting area when Brutus appeared, his massive orc frame moving with surprising grace as he carried a tray of refreshments.

  "Perfect timing," Isabella said as Brutus set down glasses of chilled wine. His silver nipple rings caught the light as he bowed slightly before retreating to the corner of the room, his loincloth swaying with each step.

  I took a long sip, savouring the metallic sweetness. My body still hummed with energy from our activities at the Dome, and the cool drink was exactly what I needed.

  "I needed this," Aria sighed, sprawling across her section of the couch. "Who knew sex could be so exhausting?"

  Isabella raised her glass. "To a successful outing. I think we all needed that release, especially with everything happening lately."

  "And to finally corrupting our princess," Aria added with a wink in my direction.

  I couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think you can exactly corrupt a succubus. Isn't that like trying to make water wet?"

  "True," Aria conceded, "but not every succubus has intact memories of her mortal life, especially not a pureblood one." She took another sip of her drink. "You're a special case, Lily."

  I nodded, acknowledging the truth in her words. My situation was unique—a pureblood with memories of a human life. Though lately, those memories had started feeling more distant, like watching someone else's experiences rather than my own.

  "Speaking of special cases," I said, turning to Isabella, "what exactly did you discuss with Nyx? She seemed pretty excited when you agreed to help her."

  Isabella swirled her wine thoughtfully. "Nothing you haven't heard already, really. It was mostly about interdimensional travel. Apparently, she believes it could be possible to create stable pathways to other realms that would bypass dimensional restrictions."

  "Fascinating," I said, genuinely interested.

  "I could go into more detail," Isabella offered, "but that would bore Aria to death."

  "Absolutely correct," Aria agreed, raising her glass in salute. "No academic talk when we're relaxing, please."

  Isabella smiled. "Though I doubt Nyx will succeed where countless scholars have already tried. The results are always the same."

  "So it's been attempted before?" I asked, leaning forward.

  "Many times," Isabella replied. "But having connections with someone like Nyx could prove useful, and this costs me nothing." She shrugged elegantly. "At worst, I waste an afternoon showing her around under supervision."

  Her words reminded me how most connections formed in Hell—not as friendships but as useful alliances. Even after months here, I was still adjusting to the transactional nature of relationships. I was fortunate to have found genuine friendship with Aria and Isabella.

  "I thought you didn't want to bore me," Aria interjected, stretching her legs across the couch. "Let's focus on something juicier. I heard Valentina got quite a scolding from her parents."

  Isabella nodded. "Even they think she got petrified because of her behaviour."

  "Though that doesn't change the fact that if they find the student who did it, they'll be in for a world of pain," Aria added.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I shuddered slightly, knowing that in Hell, "a world of pain" wasn't just a metaphor. Torture here was an art form, practiced with disturbing creativity.

  "You know," I said, giving in to my conspiratorial inner voice, "what if the events with the Second Circle and Valentina are connected somehow?"

  Both Aria and Isabella burst into laughter.

  "Oh, Lily," Aria gasped between giggles, "not everything is some grand conspiracy."

  "Valentina managed to get herself petrified all on her own," Isabella added, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye. "Trust me, she doesn't need any help making enemies."

  I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I was just trying to make conversation," I said, crossing my arms defensively. "You know, something fun to talk about."

  "Sorry, princess," Aria said, though her grin suggested she wasn't sorry at all. "But connecting Valentina's petrification to interdimensional politics is quite the stretch."

  I shrugged, taking another sip of my wine. "Maybe, but my gut tells me there might be something to it."

  Aria's eyes widened dramatically as she clutched her chest. "Oh no, not the gut feeling! Whatever shall we do?" She flopped back against the couch cushions with theatrical flair. "When Lily's gut speaks, we must listen!"

  I rolled my eyes, but before I could respond, Aria sat bolt upright, her expression suddenly serious.

  "Wait, what if you're onto something?" She leaned forward, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "What if Valentina is actually a spy for the Second Circle? Think about it—her family has been trying to climb back up the social ladder for centuries. What better way than to align with powerful forces from another circle?"

  Isabella snorted into her wine. "If we're spinning wild theories, I have a better one." She set her glass down and straightened her posture. "Valentina is clearly possessed by an ancient entity that escaped from the Eighth Circle. The entity is systematically targeting purebloods to harvest their essence for a ritual to break the barriers between Hell and the mortal realms."

  "Ooh, I like that one," Aria nodded enthusiastically. "But what if it's even more sinister? What if Valentina petrified herself as a cover story? She's actually transforming into a higher demon form inside that stone shell, and when she emerges, she'll be twice as powerful and three times as bitchy."

  Isabella tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Or perhaps Valentina discovered that the explosion was actually caused by a faction of rebellious imps tired of being at the bottom of Hell's hierarchy, and they silenced her before she could expose their revolutionary plans."

  "The Imp Revolution!" Aria exclaimed, raising her glass. "Led by none other than Lily's personal servant, who has been plotting this for centuries!"

  "And Brutus here," Isabella continued, gesturing to her orc slave who remained stoically in the corner, "is actually their secret weapon. By day, a humble pleasure slave. By night, the tactical genius behind the imp uprising."

  Brutus's expression didn't change, but I swore I saw the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth.

  "Stop it, you two," I protested, though I couldn't keep the laughter from my voice. "You're making fun of me."

  Aria and Isabella exchanged glances before turning back to me with identical mischievous grins.

  "Never," they said in perfect unison.

  That broke me completely. I doubled over laughing, nearly spilling my wine in the process. Aria soon joined in, her infectious giggles filling the room, and even Isabella's composed demeanour cracked as she succumbed to full-throated laughter.

  "The look on your face," Aria gasped between fits of laughter.

  "Priceless," Isabella agreed, wiping tears from her eyes.

  Our laughter echoed through Isabella's chambers, momentarily washing away thoughts of petrified classmates, interdimensional politics, and the looming shadow of conflict between the circles of Hell.

  * * *

  The next morning, I woke feeling refreshed despite our late night at Isabella's place. Aria and I had eventually returned to our dorm, stumbling in well past midnight, giggling about our ridiculous conspiracy theories. Now, as sunlight filtered through the crimson curtains of our room, I stretched languidly, my tail swishing contentedly beneath the sheets.

  "Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Aria called, already dressed in her Academy uniform. "We've got Professor Malphas first thing, and you know how he gets when students are late."

  I groaned but rolled out of bed. "Give me five minutes."

  After a quick shower and change, we headed toward the Academy's main building. The obsidian pathways gleamed in the morning light, reflecting the fiery sky above. We met Isabella at the entrance to the mathematics wing, her silver hair immaculately styled as always.

  "Good morning," she greeted us with a small smile. "I trust you both slept well?"

  "Like the dead," Aria quipped. "Though considerably more comfortable, I imagine."

  We fell into step together, making our way through the crowded hallway toward Professor Malphas's classroom. Students parted before us, some nodding respectfully to Isabella, others eyeing us with curiosity or envy. Our friendship with a member of House Lilitu hadn't gone unnoticed.

  Isabella walked slightly ahead, her posture perfect as always. I was mid-sentence, telling them about a strange dream I'd had, when something in the air changed. A whisper of movement, a shift in the magical currents around us—something my human senses would never have detected, but my instincts registered instantly.

  Time seemed to slow. From the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of metal arcing through the air—a dagger, spinning end over end, aimed directly at Isabella's back.

  I didn't think. My tail whipped forward with impossible speed, coiling around the hilt of the dagger mere inches before it would have embedded itself between Isabella's shoulder blades. The weapon's momentum made my tail sting, but I held firm, the pointed end now suspended harmlessly in the air.

  Isabella spun around, dropping into a defensive crouch as she sensed the danger. Aria's mouth fell open in shock, her eyes darting between my tail holding the dagger and my face.

  "What the—" Aria began, but stopped as students around us gasped and backed away, creating a circle of space around us.

  I carefully lowered the dagger, examining it without touching the blade. The ornate hilt, the distinctive curve of the blade, the faint shimmer of magic along its edge—it was identical to the one we'd seen protruding from Valentina's petrified form.

  "Where did that come from?" a student whispered loudly.

  "Did you see anyone throw it?" another asked.

  I scanned the hallway, but detected no obvious culprit. Whoever had thrown the dagger had either vanished or blended perfectly back into the crowd.

  Isabella straightened slowly, her ice-blue eyes narrowed as she took in the weapon in my grasp. "That's the same dagger," she said quietly.

  "Exactly the same," I confirmed, carefully wrapping it in a handkerchief from my pocket. The blade hummed with malevolent magic.

  Isabella's expression hardened as she looked at me. "It seems your conspiracy theory wasn't so far-fetched after all, Lily."

  "Someone's targeting purebloods," I murmured, keeping my voice low enough that only she and Aria could hear. "First Valentina, now you."

  The tension that had gripped my body began to ease, though my heart still raced. I'd moved without thinking, my reflexes operating on a level I hadn't known I possessed. Even Isabella, a pureblood trained from birth, hadn't sensed the attack in time to fully dodge.

  Aria exhaled slowly, her usual playfulness replaced by a rare seriousness. "Looks like I need to trust Lily's gut more often," she said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "That was... impressive."

  "We need to report this," Isabella said, her voice steady despite the near miss. "And we need to be careful. All of us."

  I nodded, still holding the wrapped dagger. Something was happening in the Academy, something connected to the tensions between the Circles. And somehow, we'd found ourselves right in the middle of it.