The cabin was submerged in darkness, save for the dying embers in the hearth that cast a dull, blood-red glow across the floorboards.
Silence reigned, broken only by the rhythmic, heavy rasp of Bram's snoring from the bedroom.
It was a sound that used to bring Lila comfort a sign of safety, of home. Now, it was a ticking clock. A reminder of how close they were to destruction.
Up in the loft, Lila lay wide awake, staring at the thatch roof. Her hand throbbed.
[Contract Alert: Interest Payment Due.]
The burning sensation in her palm wasn't heat; it was a magical compulsion, a hook tugging at her navel, dragging her downward.
"No," she whispered into her pillow, tears leaking from her eyes. "Please, not tonight."
[Contract Penalty: Imminent.]
A wave of nausea rolled over her, followed by a spike of phantom pain in her abdomen, sharp enough to make her curl into a ball.
The message was clear: Service the debt, or suffer.
Lila gasped, throwing the rough wool blanket off. She couldn't take the pain. She was a merchant, she told herself frantically.
She was practical. It was just a transaction. Just... a transaction.
She climbed down the ladder, her bare feet making no sound on the wood, a stealth skill she had learned sneaking out to parties in the city, now used to sneak into her own living room to service a monster.
Kael was waiting.
He lay on the bearskin rug in front of the hearth, leaning back against a pile of furs.
He was shirtless, the firelight dancing over his pale, smooth skin. His eyes were open, watching her descent with the cold patience of a spider.
"You're late," Kael whispered.
"I... I had to wait for him to sleep deeply," Lila hissed, gesturing vaguely toward the bedroom door.
"Excuses equals interest, Lila," Kael said softly. He patted the space between his legs. "Come here. It's time for your orientation."
Lila walked over, her legs shaking. She dropped to her knees on the fur. Up close, the scent of him, a mix of woodsmoke and that strange, intoxicating musk the System generated made her head spin.
"What do I do?" she whispered, terrified.
"You know what to do," Kael said.
"You saw your mother do it. Surely a smart girl like you can replicate a simple task?"
He reached down and untied the drawstring of his trousers.
Lila swallowed hard. She reached out, her fingers trembling so badly she brushed his thigh by accident. She flinched, expecting a blow, but Kael just watched.
She freed him. In the dim light, he looked enormous, intimidating.
"Touch it," Kael commanded.
Lila wrapped her hand around him. She squeezed, trying to be clinical, trying to pretend it was just a handle she had to pull. She moved her hand up and down.
"Too tight," Kael critiqued instantly. "And too dry. You're chafing me."
"I... I'm sorry," Lila stammered. She tried to loosen her grip, but her palms were sweaty with fear, making the friction awkward.
She leaned down, intending to use her mouth as Elara had, but she hesitated. The smell... the reality of it... she gagged slightly, pulling back.
Kael sighed, a sound of profound disappointment.
"Pathetic," he muttered.
"Is this the quality of the Merchant Guild? You can't even handle basic merchandise without gagging?"
"I'm trying!" Lila whispered fiercely, tears hot in her eyes. "I've never done this before!"
"Clearly." Kael looked past her, toward the shadows of the hallway. "Elara."
Lila froze. She spun around on her knees.
Her mother was standing in the doorway to the bedroom.
She wasn't asleep. She was wearing her thin nightgown, her hair loose around her shoulders. She had been watching.
"Mom?" Lila breathed. "Go back to bed. Please."
Elara didn't look at Lila. She looked at Kael. Her eyes were dark, clouded with the System's influence and a simmering, toxic jealousy.
She had seen Lila's clumsy attempts. She had seen Kael's disappointment.
She is failing him, Elara thought, the logic twisting in her mind. She is hurting him. I can do it better. I am the wife.
"She's doing it wrong," Elara whispered, stepping into the room. She moved like a sleepwalker, drawn by the gravity of Kael's presence.
"I know," Kael said, sounding weary.
"She has no technique. No passion. Come here, Elara. Show the apprentice how a master works."
"No!" Lila scrambled back, clutching her chest. "Mom, don't! Dad is right there!"
Elara ignored her. She walked past her daughter, brushing her aside as if she were a piece of furniture. She knelt beside Kael, her movements fluid and practiced.
"Hold the candle," Kael ordered Lila.
"What?"
"There is a candle on the table. Light it. Hold it close. If you're going to be useless, you can at least provide illumination so your mother can see what she's doing."
[Contract Enforcement: Obey.]
Lila's body moved before her mind could protest. She grabbed the tallow candle from the low table, lit it from the embers of the fire, and crawled back.
She held the flickering light up. The golden glow illuminated the scene in high definition.
"Watch," Kael commanded.
Elara didn't need to be told twice. She looked at Kael with adoring, hungry eyes. "Let me fix it," she cooed. "Let me make it feel better."
She bent down.
Lila was forced to watch. She saw the way her mother's lips parted. She saw the way Elara used her tongue to wet him first, swirling around the tip with a lewd proficiency that made Lila's stomach turn.
"See that?" Kael lectured, his voice calm, as if teaching a class.
"Preparation is key. She ensures the path is slick. She respects the instrument."
Lila squeezed her eyes shut.
"Open them," Kael snapped.
Lila opened them. Elara was bobbing her head now, taking him deep. The sound was wet, rhythmic, and obscene in the quiet cabin. Schlop. Schlop.
"Listen to the breathing," Kael continued, reaching down to stroke Elara's hair.
"She breathes through her nose. She keeps her throat open. She doesn't gag because she wants it there. Do you want it, Elara?"
Elara pulled off with a loud pop, gasping for air. A string of saliva hung from her lips. "Yes," she panted, her eyes glazed with lust. "I want it. I love it."
"She loves it," Kael repeated to Lila.
"And you? You treat it like a chore. That is why you are in debt, and she is the Queen."
Lila trembled, the candle flame shaking in her hand, casting wild shadows on the walls. "I... I can learn," she whispered, the Contract forcing the words out of her.
The competition was seeping into her blood. The magic was making her feel inadequate. Why is she better than me? Why does he prefer her?
"Prove it," Kael said.
He grabbed Elara's shoulder, stopping her. "Elara, guide her. Let her use her hand, but you control the rhythm."
Elara looked disappointed, but she obeyed. She shifted back, wiping her mouth. "Give me your hand, Lila."
"Mom, please," Lila whimpered.
"Give it to me," Elara hissed, her voice sharp. "Don't make him wait."
Lila extended her hand. Elara grabbed it. Elara's hand was warm, wet with Kael's fluids. She wrapped Lila's small fingers around Kael's hardness.
Then, Elara placed her own hand over Lila's, clamping it tight.
"Like this," Elara instructed.
She forced Lila's hand to move. Up and down. Twist at the top. Squeeze at the base.
"Loosen your wrist," Elara scolded, whispering harsh instructions into her daughter's ear. "You're too stiff. Follow the curve. Yes. Like that."
Lila stared at their joined hands. Her mother's wedding ring glinted in the candlelight as it moved up and down the shaft of the man who wasn't her husband.
It was madness. It was depravity.
And yet... Lila felt a spark.
The friction. The heat. The way Kael's breath hitched when they found a rhythm together.
[Corruption Progress: Lila]
Current Level: 35% (Confused / Aroused)
Trait Developing: [Competitive Spirit]
"That's better," Kael groaned, arching his hips.
"Two pairs of hands. Mother and daughter working together. Bram would be so proud of his industrious family."
The mention of Bram broke Lila. She let out a sob, but her hand didn't stop moving. Elara wouldn't let it stop.
"Faster," Elara whispered, her breath hot on Lila's neck. "He's close. Don't you dare stop now."
"I... I can feel it," Lila gasped. She could feel the pulsing beneath her palm.
"Take it," Kael commanded. "Both of you. Get close."
Elara leaned in, pressing her cheek against Kael's thigh. Lila, trapped by Elara's grip, was pulled forward too.
They were huddled over his groin like worshippers at a shrine.
Kael erupted.
Warm spurts of seed coated both of their hands, splashing onto Lila's wrist, onto the Contract brand.
Lila stared at the white fluid on her skin. It was the physical manifestation of her debt.
Elara immediately began to clean him up, using her fingers to scoop the fluid and licking them clean, humming with satisfaction.
Lila pulled her hand back, revulsion warring with relief.
"Is... is the debt paid for tonight?" she whispered, cradling her sticky hand.
Kael looked at her. He looked at the mess on her hand.
"For tonight," Kael agreed.
"You passed the first lesson, Lila. Barely."
He leaned forward, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look him in the eye.
"Tomorrow," he whispered,
"Bram goes on the long hunt. He'll be gone for two days."
Lila's blood ran cold.
"Tomorrow," Kael promised, a dark smile spreading across his face,
"we won't need the candle. And we won't stop at your hands."
He released her. "Go to bed. And Lila? Don't wash that hand. Let it dry. Let it remind you of who owns you."
Lila scrambled to her feet and fled up the ladder, her heart pounding like a war drum.
Elara remained on the floor, resting her head on Kael's chest.
"Did I do well?" she asked softly.
"You were perfect, Elara," Kael whispered, stroking her hair. "Rest now. Tomorrow... tomorrow we break her completely."
From the bedroom, Bram snorted in his sleep, turned over, and settled back into a peaceful silence, dreaming of the hunt, unaware that the predators were already inside his home.