Page 39 of Where the Dark Knelt (Worshipped by Darkness #1)

His shadowed head turned towards me, though his face remained hidden within swirling black fog. He paused, as if realising he wasn’t alone here. That there wasn’t just a nightmare demon feasting tonight… but also me.

A succubus.

His form rippled with dark amusement.

And for the first time in centuries, I felt true unease crawl down my spine.

I didn’t even have time to think. I lunged forward, trying to grab Eveline, but she was already sobbing hysterically over the kitten in her arms — except it wasn’t a kitten anymore. Somewhere between the dream’s twisting layers, it had turned into a full-grown cat, trembling and crying out in pain.

The nightmare demon bent down beside her, his smoky silhouette flickering with an inhuman grin as he spoke softly, almost sweetly:

“You need to put the kitten back inside the cat so that it survives.”

Eveline’s eyes were wide and vacant with shock, tears running down her cheeks as her lips trembled. “What? How… how will that help… what…” Her voice cracked under the weight of her horror. The cat writhed and meowed desperately in her shaking hands.

From somewhere within the rippling darkness, the demon produced a scalpel. Its cold steel glinted in the dim moonlight filtering through the dream forest.

“Hold her fucking tight,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

Before Eveline could react, he plunged the blade into the cat. A wet, snapping crunch echoed around them, mingled with the cat’s last tortured screams and Eveline’s raw, blood-curdling cries. The sound was so piercing it ripped me out of her dream entirely.

I landed with a shuddering jolt into the waking world, finding myself standing silently in the corner of her bedroom.

Moonlight streamed across the bed, illuminating the terror on her face.

She was thrashing, trapped between sleep and waking, her body paralysed.

And sitting on her chest was that same nightmare demon, his smoky fingers coiled tight around her throat as he fed on her terror, drinking down her energy like poisoned nectar.

“Damn it… you’re a filthy scum.” Rage boiled through me, low and feral. I snarled and leapt at him, my form rippling and expanding as horns twisted from my skull, wings split open behind my back, and my tail lashed the air in fury.

He turned to me, his black fog shifting with indifference, ignoring my presence.

That only enraged me further. With a guttural roar, I tore into his smoky body with claws and teeth, ripping apart the fibres of his essence.

His scream pierced the room like shattering glass as he released Eveline, his shadow hands melting away from her throat.

She woke with a strangled squeal, her eyes wide in the dim room, flicking between me and the writhing demon mass.

We were locked together in a violent dance of shadows, twisting into each other like smoke caught in a hurricane.

I sank my fangs into what passed for his throat and devoured him, ripping his soul apart piece by trembling piece.

His final shriek reverberated through my skull, vibrating down my spine until it nearly blinded me.

Absorbing a demon’s soul was always draining, far more than feeding on human energy. As the last of his essence burned through my veins, I stumbled forward, shifting back into my human form with ragged breaths.

“What the fuck…?” Eveline whispered, tears pouring down her face as she pressed herself into the corner of the bed, knees pulled to her chest, trembling so hard the mattress quaked beneath her. Her eyes darted around the room in wild terror, still half trapped in the nightmare.

I crawled onto the bed and pulled her gently into my arms, holding her tight against my chest as she sobbed. Her tears soaked through my shirt as she clung to me, desperate for an anchor back to reality.

“The demons… what… God… save me…” she whimpered through choked sobs.

I stroked her hair, whispering softly against her temple. “Shh… it’s okay, babe. You’re okay.”

“So many colours… my eyes…” she whispered, squeezing them shut as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Sleep, ashpetal,” I murmured, wrapping my power around her trembling mind. Her body relaxed instantly, going limp against me as she slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I held her there for a long moment, staring at her peaceful face in the moonlight. This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go. This was my territory… my feeding ground. What the hell was that demon doing here?

And what about Eveline… what did she see in reality, beyond the veil of sleep?

I didn’t know what would happen to her now.

I just prayed she would wake up in the morning thinking it was nothing more than a strange nightmare.

Because in all my years feeding on dreams, I’d never seen two demons take over the same person like this. Not like that.

I didn’t know what it would do to her mind.

But time would tell.

I just hoped… I fucking prayed… that she wouldn’t go mad after everything I’d seen. After everything I’d done.

Because if she broke… if her mind shattered…

I didn’t know what I’d become in the ruins of her sanity.