Aiden stood slowly, legs unsteady—not from dizziness, but from the weight of it all.
The magic pulsing through his veins.
The Purity Eye throbbing in his skull.
The moaning mirror, its afterimage seared into his mind.
And Selene, watching him with the lazy amusement of a cat toying with a cornered mouse, her violet eyes gleaming with lethal intent.
"Right," he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Well, this has been deeply traumatizing. Great meeting you. I'll just…" He pointed at the door, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "…repress everything and pretend I dreamed it."
Selene didn't stop him.
She didn't move at all.
Which, somehow, made it worse.
Aiden reached the door, fingers brushing the brass handle—
—and jerked back with a hiss.
The metal was burning hot.
A faint shimmer rippled across the frame.
Runes ignited—slowly, sensually, like silk sliding off skin—revealing a chain of sigils curling around the doorway, glowing with an erotic pulse that made his cock twitch involuntarily.
"What the—!?"
"It only opens," Selene said, her voice smooth as velvet, "if you leave changed."
"You're locking me in here?!" Aiden spun, fists clenched, his face flushed with equal parts anger and arousal.
"No." She stood now, her presence commanding the room. "The curse is."
"This is bullshit," he snapped, his voice cracking as the heat from the door lingered in his palm.
"This is Lustcraft." Her tone softened, but only slightly, like a blade sheathed in silk. "You triggered a magical contract when you entered. Accidental, yes. But binding."
"You're insane."
"I'm efficient." She stepped toward him, each click of her heels a countdown.
Her skirt hugged her hips, the silver sigils on her thighs glinting with every movement.
"Lustris has become corrupted. Rituals warped. Students cursed. Girls vanishing. Lust siphoned for power."
"So report it—"
"To who, Aiden?" She stopped inches away, her scent—roses, sweat, and something sinfully sweet—flooding his senses.
"The faculty? The Church of Purity? They're either blind, bribed, or worse—involved."
Aiden didn't answer.
His eyes flicked to the mirror, where the girl's orgasmic echo still shimmered faintly, then back to Selene's unrelenting gaze.
She held up her hand.
A rune materialized—not on her skin, but in the air.
Floating. Pulsing.
Its glow traced the curves of her fingers, beckoning like a lover's whisper.
"You want to leave? Fine. Solve the first case. Earn your key out."
He looked from the rune, to the mirror, to her eyes—violet, cold, and yet burning with promise.
"And if I don't?"
"Then the door stays closed."
She leaned in, her breath brushing his lips, warm and teasing. His body reacted before his mind could, a flush of heat pooling low.
"And you die untouched. Unloved. Unspent."
"…You're serious."
"Deadly."
Aiden swallowed, his throat tight, his pants tighter.
The weight of her words, the mirror's images, and the pulsing runes pressed against his resolve.
Then… he nodded.
"Alright," he said, voice low but steady. "I'll play detective."
"Good."
The rune in her hand flared, drifting forward.
It touched his chest, sinking into his skin like a brand.
His Purity Eye blazed, a white-hot pulse behind his right eye.
Lust Threads sparked around him, binding, tightening, claiming.
Contract bound.