Princess of Hell

The familiar red glow of the Den of Debauchery's pulsing walls greeted us as we approached. Even from outside, I could hear the rhythmic bass and catch hints of that intoxicating aroma that had overwhelmed me during my first visit seven months ago.

"Oh, they've changed things up a bit," Aria observed as we stepped through the entrance. She gestured toward the bar area. "New lighting arrangement, and I think they redid some of the seating areas."

Faith paused just inside the doorway, her red eyes scanning the dimly lit interior. "The atmosphere feels… heavy," she said, her voice uncertain.

I nodded, remembering my own reaction that first time. "I felt the same way when Aria first brought me here. All those pheromones and magical energy concentrated in one place."

But this time, instead of the apprehension that had gripped me months ago, I found myself enjoying the atmosphere. The familiar warmth spread through my body as my senses responded to the environment. The scent that had once seemed overwhelming now felt welcoming, like coming home.

"Drinks!" Aria announced with enthusiasm. "For old times' sake, we absolutely must complete the journey properly."

Faith straightened her shoulders. "I suppose I should experience the full… cultural immersion."

I nodded my agreement, curious to see how Faith would react to Hell's signature beverages.

We made our way through the crowd toward the familiar volcanic glass bar. The same muscular demon with crimson skin worked behind it, his golden eyes lighting up with recognition as we approached.

"Back again, beauties?" he rumbled in that honey-warm voice. "What can I get you tonight?"

Aria leaned against the bar with practiced ease. "What'll it be, girls?"

I considered for a moment, then smiled. "I'll have a Burning Desire."

"Ooh, good choice," Aria grinned approvingly before turning to Faith. "What about you? Maybe something your other, non-vampire half would enjoy?"

Faith raised an eyebrow. "My other half?"

"Your succubus side," Aria clarified with a wicked smirk.

I couldn't help but smirk myself. It was time for Faith to properly experience Aria's brand of hospitality.

Faith nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll trust your judgment."

"Excellent!" Aria turned back to the bartender. "Two Heaven's Delights and one Burning Desire, please."

The bartender moved with practiced efficiency, preparing our drinks. The Burning Desire arrived first—a deep amber liquid that flickered with actual flames dancing across its surface. Then came the two martini glasses filled with that familiar silvery-white liquid that shimmered in the hellfire light.

Aria raised her glass as soon as all three drinks were placed before us. "A toast! To new experiences and—"

"Wait." Faith stared at her drink, tilting her head. "This is what I think it is, isn't it?"

Aria blinked innocently. "I don't know what you think it is, but it should taste absolutely divine. Literally. It's made from Angel's Essence."

Faith's gaze immediately snapped to me, those red eyes holding a mixture of disbelief and accusation.

"Don't look at me like that," I said, holding up my hands defensively. "I warned you about Aria's ideas of hospitality. Besides, you're bound to experience it sooner or later if you're planning to stay in Hell."

Aria gave me an enthusiastic thumbs up from behind her glass.

Faith continued staring at the silvery liquid for another moment, then lifted the glass to her lips. She took a cautious sip, her eyes widening almost immediately.

"Oh fuck," she breathed, then took a longer drink. "This is better than any drink I've ever tasted before."

Aria beamed with satisfaction. "See? I told you it would be divine. The essence gives it this incredible complexity—sweet but with these subtle notes that just…" She gestured vaguely with her free hand. "It's like drinking pure pleasure."

Faith took another sip, her expression shifting from surprise to genuine appreciation. "I can see why this place is so popular. Though I have to ask—how exactly do they harvest angel essence?"

"Oh, you really don't want to know the details," I said quickly, remembering my own shock when I'd first learned the truth. "Just enjoy the drink."

The warmth from my Burning Desire spread through my chest. I watched Faith savour her Heaven's Delight, noting how her posture relaxed as the drink worked its magic.

* * *

Aria drained the last of her Heaven's Delight and set the glass down with a satisfied sigh. "Alright, enough standing around." She grabbed both my hand and Faith's. "Time to dance!"

"Aria, I don't think—" I started, but she was already pulling us toward the crowded dance floor.

"No excuses! Faith needs the full cultural experience."

The music pulsed through the floor, vibrating up through my feet. Without conscious thought, my hips began moving to the rhythm, my body responding to the beat with that same natural grace I'd discovered months ago. My arms rose above my head as I let the music guide me, every movement flowing seamlessly into the next.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Not bad, Lily!" Aria called over the music, spinning gracefully beside me. "Glad to see you haven't gotten rusty."

Faith stopped mid-step, staring at me with wide red eyes. "I didn't know you could dance."

The comment hit me oddly. Of course she wouldn't know—As Liam I had never danced like this. Hell, I had barely danced at all. These movements, this fluid sensuality, belonged entirely to this body. The instincts that flowed through me now had never existed in my male form.

"I'm full of surprises," I said, continuing to sway as Faith tentatively began moving to the beat.

She picked it up quickly, her movements growing more confident as the song progressed. Her white hair caught the hellfire light as she moved, and I could see some of the tension leaving her shoulders.

"This is actually fun," Faith said, genuine surprise in her voice as we danced together. "I expected something more… sinister."

Aria laughed, executing a particularly provocative spin. "That's the beauty of Hell—we know how to have fun."

Faith's movements became more fluid, more natural. The rigid control she usually maintained began melting away as she lost herself in the rhythm. I found myself mesmerized watching her transformation, the way the music seemed to unlock something in her new demonic nature.

We danced through several songs, the crowd pressing closer around us. The heat from so many bodies, the intoxicating scents filling the air, the rhythm pounding through my chest—it all combined into something almost overwhelming in its intensity.

Then suddenly, Faith stopped.

"We should leave," she said abruptly, her voice tight.

Aria paused mid-movement, purple eyes questioning. "Why? We were just getting warmed up."

"Just… please."

Something in Faith's tone made me stop dancing immediately. I exchanged a glance with Aria, who shrugged but nodded toward the exit.

We pushed through the crowd and out into the cooler air of the street. Faith led us away from the main thoroughfare into a quieter alleyway between two obsidian buildings.

"What's going on?" I asked, concerned by the tension radiating from her.

Faith leaned against the wall, running her hands through her white hair. "I was actually having fun in there. Really having fun. And that's the problem."

"How is that a problem?" Aria crossed her arms, looking genuinely confused.

"The atmosphere was getting to me," Faith continued, her red eyes fixed on the ground. "All those pheromones, the energy, the music… and then I looked at Lily dancing and for a second, I wanted to pounce on her. Just grab her and devour her completely."

"So you wanted to fuck Lily," Aria said matter-of-factly. "That's totally normal. I want that all the time."

"Aria," I scolded, recognizing this was more serious than her usual casual observations.

Faith shook her head. "It's not just that. Seeing Lily dancing like that…" She gestured helplessly. "She was so… sensual. Erotic. And I knew her as Liam, and now seeing him in this body, moving like that…" Her voice cracked slightly. "I can't explain the dissonance I felt. I know you're still the same person underneath it all, but seeing you move like that, it felt like I was looking at some twisted version of who you used to be."

She looked up at me, her red eyes bright with unshed tears. "And the worst part is, I loved it. I loved watching you dance like that, loved seeing this side of you that never existed before."

* * *

I stepped closer to Faith, my voice gentle but firm. "Things are different now, Faith. We're both different."

She looked up at me, those red eyes so foreign yet so familiar. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said. I'm a succubus now, fully and completely. And you're half of one yourself." I gestured at myself, then at her. "The people we used to be… they're not coming back."

Faith's face tightened. "Don't say that."

"It's true though." I leaned against the opposite wall, studying her carefully. "Liam is dead, Faith. Metaphorically, but still dead. The memories are there for now, but what happens in a hundred years? A thousand? A hundred thousand? Do you think I'll still remember what it felt like to be human after an eternity of this?"

The words felt strange coming out of my mouth, but they carried a weight of truth I couldn't deny. Each day I felt more like Lily and less like the engineer I'd once been.

"People change," I continued. "Especially when they have forever ahead of them. And the same goes for you now."

Faith wrapped her arms around herself. "So what, I'm supposed to just forget everything? Pretend the past never happened?"

"Not forget," I said carefully. "But you can't cling to it either. What you felt in there—those urges, those desires—they're now an integral part of who you are."

She shook her head violently. "I… I can't accept that."

"You have no choice, Faith. Fighting it will only end badly in the long run. Trust me on this." I thought back to my early days, the constant internal war between Liam's morality and Lily's instincts. "I tried denying what I was becoming. It nearly drove me insane."

"But how can you function feeling like that all the time?" Faith's voice was plaintive, desperate. "How do you focus on anything else when you constantly want to…"

"Fuck every attractive person you see?" I finished with a wry smile. "You want the honest truth? I still feel that way. Right now, looking at you, part of me wants to pin you against that wall. It's basically a constant for succubi."

Faith's eyes widened. "Then how—"

"Once you accept your nature, it will understand that you'll satisfy those needs eventually. The feelings become less intense, more manageable. They fade into background noise that you barely register."

I pushed off from the wall, moving a step closer. "Think of it like hunger. When you know a meal is waiting for you, you can ignore the sensation for hours. But if you try to starve yourself, it soon becomes all-consuming."

Faith was listening intently now, though I could see the conflict still raging behind her eyes.

"And if you deny your nature for too long," I continued, my tone growing more serious, "at some point it will start making decisions for you. That's in every demonic studies textbook. At some point you'll go feral, lose control completely."

"So what you're saying is I need to just… give in to these feelings?"

"I'm saying you need to accept them." I reached out tentatively, touching her arm. "You don't have to change completely. But you can't pretend to be someone you're no longer, either."

Faith stared at my hand on her arm, then back up at my face. "Is this really the only choice? To abandon everything that made me human?"

"You're not abandoning anything," I said softly. "You just need to be honest about what you're now instead of pretending that nothing has changed."

The alley fell quiet except for the distant sounds of the club behind us. Faith looked lost, torn between accepting reality and clinging to memories of who we used to be.

"Give it some time," I added gently. "You don't have to decide everything tonight."

Faith nodded slowly, though uncertainty still clouded her features. "I suppose you're right."

I squeezed her arm gently before letting go. The truth was there was a way out for Faith. But such a process would require sacrificing another person's humanity in exchange and she'd rather suffer than harm an innocent.

Faith already knew that reversing her transformation wasn't impossible, but what I didn't tell her was that plenty of people would volunteer willingly—cultists, the desperate, those seeking power. Afraid that she might change her mind.

I didn't want Faith to go back to being a human. Not when I could finally get her back.