Chapter 2

As I fell, I saw Gerard standing at the shattered window, his arm wrapped around Emily.

He swirled a glass of red wine as he looked down at me with a smirk. His lips were moving.

The wind was howling, but I could read his lips.

"Goodbye, loser." He mouthed.

Emily leaned into his arms, giggling with delight.

Was this how my life ended? Betrayed by Gerard, humiliated by Emily, and now I was about to end up like garbage in a gutter?

I refused to accept this. If I got another chance at life, I would rip those traitorous lovers apart, piece by piece.

Then, darkness swallowed everything.

*****

It was hot. It felt like I was being dunked into molten lava. Every inch of my skin was on fire.

"Her Majesty…Her Majesty is awake!" A voice yelled.

"Quick, get the male essence!" Another voice buzzed nearby.

I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt like they were weighed down with lead. Something cold and slippery was fed into my mouth, carrying a peculiar, metallic sweetness.

Was that blood? No, it was sweeter than blood, like a pure, high-energy essence.

As I swallowed the liquid, the burning heat inside me slowly faded, replaced by an overwhelming sense of comfort I'd never experienced before.

Raw, unstoppable power surged through my body.

My eyes shot open.

Deep crimson velvet drapes came into view. A gigantic chandelier hung overhead, its black crystals cast a ghostly purple glow across the room.

Was I in hell?

I tried to sit up, but something was seriously wrong.

My chest was ridiculously heavy. Two soft, weighty mounds bounced with every move. They were soft to the touch and even blushed with a light hint of pink.

What the hell were they?

I looked down.

The rough, scarred hands I once had were gone, replaced with smooth and slender hands. My nails were painted a bold, alluring black, and my wrists were adorned with dark gold ornamental shackles.

My gaze traveled further down.

A flat stomach, smooth, curvy thighs, and a black, heart-shaped tail flicking behind me restlessly.

"Your Majesty, you're finally awake!" A maid with a pair of horns on her head dropped to her knees by my bedside.

Tears of joy were streaming down her face. "You suddenly fainted while feeding on this human's male essence. I was so scared!"

Your Majesty? Human?

I looked in the direction she was staring.

In the corner of the grand bed, a naked human man was curled up tight. His skin was ghostly pale, his eyes hollow, like he'd been sucked dry of every bit of life.

"D-Demon..." He stared at me in terror, shivering like a leaf as he stammered.

My mind was spinning. I couldn't make sense of anything.

I jumped out of bed and headed straight for the massive floor-to-ceiling mirror in the room.

But the face that stared back at me did not have Liam's rugged, masculine features.

It was a woman. A woman so breathtakingly beautiful, so dangerously seductive, it was almost terrifying.

Silver hair poured down to her ankles like a shimmering waterfall, and her violet eyes held swirling vortexes. All it took was one look for anyone to be utterly captivated.

Even Emily, who was known as the greatest beauty of the Thalmyr Empire, paled in comparison to this woman.

Her body was so ridiculously perfect. There were curves in all the right places, and every curve was a walking invitation to sin.

The black wings behind the woman spread just a little, giving off the vibe of a fallen angel.

This was me?

[Ding! Soul Fusion complete. Identity confirmed: Lord of the Seventh Abyss, Queen of the Succubi, Lilith Ravencroft. Racial talent system activated,] a cold mechanical voice thundered in my head.

I froze, completely dumbfounded.

Queen of the Succubi? The infamous demoness who devoured male essence, manipulated hearts, and ruined countless heroes?

I had turned into a woman? And not just any woman, but a succubus queen?

"Fuck," I blurted out on pure reflex.

But instead of my old rough bark, the sound was a smoky, magnetic rasp. It was seductive enough to hook the listeners.

The way I said "fuck" now came off more like a tease than a curse.

"Your Majesty?" The horned maid asked nervously, "Do you want to keep feeding on this human? He looks like he's barely hanging on."

I shot a look at the man. This must be what counted as food here.

An automatic feeling of disgust surged within me. But right then, something deep inside me started clawing for more. It was a wild, desperate hunger for male essence. That was the succubus instinct kicking in.

I took a deep breath as I fought to keep that primal hunger under control.

"Throw him out," I said coldly.

"Throw...throw him out?" The maid blinked, clearly stunned. "But Your Majesty, this is an elite knight we just caught. You haven't even drained him yet-"

"I said, throw him out," I repeated, my voice icy and unyielding.