Chapter 10 JADE
JADE
The purple crystal burns in my hand as the vision takes hold, pulling me into memories and truths I've been avoiding for years. I see myself as I was, a scared incubus, starving myself rather than feeding properly, convinced that my hunger made me a monster.
But the vision shows me something else. Something I've been feeling but refusing to acknowledge.
Incubi don't exist as a separate species. They're just juvenile demons. Demons who haven't matured into their full power yet.
And I'm maturing.
The crystal shows me my future self. Tall and powerful, with permanent horns curved back from my forehead. Wings that can actually carry me in flight, massive and strong. A tail that's a weapon and a tool. Eyes that see essence directly, that read truth and lies with perfect clarity.
I see myself standing beside my mates, not as the weakest link but as an equal. As a demon who chose love instead of hunger, connection instead of consumption.
When the vision releases me, I'm gasping. My body is already changing. The horns that have been budding are growing more solid. My tail is stronger, more controlled. My hunger is deeper, more refined, demanding more than just ambient emotions.
I need to feed properly. Need to consume and transform and give back.
I open my eyes to find my five mates staring at their own crystals with expressions of wonder and shock. Their revelations happen simultaneously with mine, each one landing like a stone in still water.
"I know what I am," I say, my voice coming out deeper, more resonant. "I'm not an incubus. I'm a demon. A real demon. And it's not wrong. It's what I'm supposed to be."
Stellan reaches for me immediately, his fire warm and welcoming. "Show us."
So I do.
I stop suppressing, stop holding back, stop trying to be small and harmless and acceptable.
The transformation that's been building for days finally completes. What was partial becomes whole, and what was budding becomes permanent.
My body stretches and grows, becoming something more.
My black horns spiral fully, gleaming beneath the light. My eyes bleed completely purple, pupils vertical slits. Wings unfurl from my back, massive and real and powerful enough for sustained flight.
My tail grows longer and thicker, fully prehensile now. My fingers extend into claws and fangs descend in my mouth. And my skin takes on a faint purple sheen as my aura radiates outward in waves of hunger.
I am desire incarnate, hunger given a form. I am a demon, and I am magnificent.
When I open my eyes, I expect fear. But my mates stare at me with awe.
"Holy shit," Stellan breathes. "You're gorgeous."
Harlow examines me with his death-sight. "I can see your true form now. It's been there all along, just compressed."
Rumi's wings manifest in response, his demigod nature recognizing an equal. "Now that's what I'm talking about."
Ambrose smiles, something sharp and approving in his expression. "Welcome to the monster club, Jade."
And Skye walks forward until he's standing directly in front of me, reaching up to touch my horns with careful fingers. "You're beautiful. This is who you were always meant to be."
Their acceptance, love, and pride flow in to me.
The hunger that's been building since my transformation demands attention. Not the gentle feeding I've been doing with Stellan, but something deeper. Something that will cement this new form, make it permanent instead of temporary.
"I need to feed," I say, and my voice has taken on a dual quality. Like two voices speaking at once, one smooth and seductive, the other dark and commanding. "Properly this time. Not just emotions. I need essence."
Stellan steps forward without hesitation. "Take mine."
"Stellan, you don't understand what I'm asking." My wings shift behind me, restless. "This isn't gentle. This is consumption. It might hurt."
"I trust you." Stellan's orange eyes meet mine without fear. "You trusted me when I was learning to be a phoenix. Let me trust you while you're learning to be a demon."
The parallel isn't lost on me. A few days ago, I was teaching Stellan to embrace his fire. Now he's offering to help me embrace my hunger.
I move closer, my new height making me tower over him.
My wings curve around us both, creating a private space in the crowded room.
When I lean down to kiss him, it's different than before.
My fangs graze his lower lip, drawing a bead of blood that tastes like liquid fire on my tongue.
The demon inside me roars with satisfaction.
Stellan gasps, his hands coming up to grip my shoulders. But he doesn't push me away. His fingers dig in, pulling me closer, and his hips roll against mine in a motion that's pure instinct. His fire flares in response, not defensive but welcoming. Offering itself to my hunger.
"More," he breathes into my mouth. "Take more."
I growl, low and possessive, and give him exactly what he's asking for.
I feed without being gentle, drinking down his fire in great gulps, pulling it into myself, letting it fuel my transformation. The exchange is intense, overwhelming, bordering on painful for us both. But Stellan isn't afraid. He's exhilarated. I taste his excitement like honey on my tongue.
And I don't just take. That's what makes demons different from what the Council claims we are. We're not parasites. We're transformers.
I take Stellan's raw fire and I refine it. Distill it. Change it into something new. Then I push it back into him, amplified and controlled. The feedback loop makes us both moan.
His fire feeds my hunger. My hunger transforms his fire. The transformed fire comes back stronger, hotter, more contained. We're creating something together, and the intimacy of it makes my cock throb with need.
"Jade." Stellan's voice breaks on my name. "I can't... I need..."
I know what he needs; I can feel it in the fire we're sharing, in the desperate way he's clinging to me, in the press of his hard length against my thigh.
"I've got you, firebird."
My tail winds higher around his thigh, the tip teasing along the inseam of his pants. His whole body jerks in response, a desperate sound escaping his throat.
"Is this okay?" I ask, even though I can taste his desire on my tongue. "Tell me to stop and I will."
"Don't you dare stop."
Permission granted, I let my demon instincts take over.
My claws make short work of his shirt. The fabric falls away in shreds, leaving his chest bare and burning beneath my hands.
I map every inch of exposed skin with my palms, drinking in his fire through every point of contact.
When I drag my claws lightly down his sides, he arches into the touch with a whine that goes straight to my cock.
"You're so responsive," I murmur against his throat, fangs grazing his pulse point. "So perfect for me."
"Please." He's begging now, hips rolling against mine in a rhythm that's making it hard to think. "Jade, please."
I reach between us and palm him through his remaining clothes. The sound he makes is almost a sob. I stroke him through the fabric, feeding on the pleasure that radiates off him in waves, letting it fuel the transformation still happening inside me.
"That's it," I croon. "Let go. Give me everything."
His fire explodes outward as he breaks, wrapping around us both in waves of white-gold heat. I follow him over the edge moments later, the combined essence of demon and phoenix filling the room in swirls of purple and orange.
We stay tangled together, panting and trembling, his fire still flickering weakly across both our skin.
When I finally pull back, Stellan is flushed and glowing, his eyes completely orange from within. But he's smiling, bright and satisfied.
"That was incredible," he breathes. "I can feel the difference. My fire is more controlled than it's ever been."
I examine him through my new demon sight, which sees essence directly instead of just sensing it. He's right. His fire burns brighter but more contained, like I've helped him compress it into something denser and more powerful.
"Did I hurt you?" I ask, running my clawed fingers through his hair.
"A little." His smile turns wicked. "But in the best way."
Rumi laughs from across the room. "Get a room, you two."
"We're in a room," I point out, not taking my eyes off Stellan.
"Fair point."
I finally turn to look at the others, taking in their transformed states. Because they've all changed too, I realize. The crystals showed them their true natures, and they've stopped suppressing.
Harlow is more translucent than before, his body flickering between solid and ghostly. His eyes have gone completely white, pupil-less, seeing things the rest of us can't. Death clings to him like a cloak, visible and tangible.
Rumi's wings are fully manifested, massive golden appendages that fill half the room. His eyes glow with divine light, and his skin has taken on a faint luminescence. He looks like what he is, a demigod walking among mortals.
Ambrose has green flames dancing along his arms, contracts writing themselves in the air around him in languages I can't read. His eyes glow with an inner fire that speaks of deals and bargains and fate being reshaped.
And Skye stands at the center of it all, his pink aura blazing so bright it's almost blinding. The power radiates from him in waves, marking him as something ancient and powerful and completely unique.
We are monsters, all of us, the very creatures that Dmitri's system was designed to eliminate or suppress.
"We can't hide this anymore," Skye says quietly. "Even if we wanted to, even if we tried, this is too big. Too powerful. The moment we step out of this room, everyone will know."
"Good," Rumi says fiercely. "Let them know. Let them see what we really are. Let them see what Dmitri has been trying to destroy."
Ambrose nods slowly. "This changes the demonstration. We weren't just going to show them a phoenix with perfect control. We're going to show them six impossible creatures standing together, unified, powerful, and completely unashamed."
"They'll be terrified," Harlow points out.
"They should be," I say, and my demon voice makes the words sound like a promise. "Because we're not backing down. We're not suppressing ourselves. We're not making ourselves small to make them comfortable."
Stellan looks around at all of us, his orange eyes bright. "So what do we do now? We have three days until the test. Three days until the hunters arrive. How do we prepare for this?"
Skye takes a deep breath, his power pulsing outward. "We train. Together. We learn to harmonize our essences, to work as one unit instead of six individuals. Because that's what Mother Nature showed me in her vision. Not six separate creatures, but one unified force."
"A demonstration of harmony," Ambrose says slowly. "Not just control, but cooperation. Unity. Everything Dmitri's system says is impossible."
"Exactly." Skye's smile is fierce. "We're going to show them what real power looks like. Not suppression, not control, but acceptance and unity."
Rumi cracks his knuckles, his demigod nature practically vibrating with excitement. "I'm in. When do we start?"
"Now," Skye says. "We start right now."
The six of us stand in a circle, our essences visible and manifested. Pink and orange-white and purple and blue-white and gold and green, all swirling together in the air between us. The connection starts to strengthen and deepen, something more than just romantic attachment.
We are mates and family and a unit, bound together in ways that transcend any single definition.
And in three days, we're going to show the entire Magila world exactly what that means.