She brushed her red hair back, flexed her immaculate wings, and prepared for war. Lorelei Trixilla Ventrix sprung from her perch with sword in hand and flew towards the sun. She basked in its light, letting it envelope her, and enjoyed how it warmed her tender flesh. On any other day she would’ve stayed up there, enjoying the scenery, no matter how violent, while letting the heat wrap around her. But today wasn’t one of those days.

The War of Mud stretched far and wide beneath her. Humans and succubi, orcs and wolfkin, slaughtering each other on the field of battle. Strange hulking war machines strode the battlements, firing arcane weaponry into the teeming mass of warriors. The casualties were astronomical, never before had the earth been so saturated in blood. Like a thirsty god, the soil drank deeply.

All that blood was the cause of this wars namesake. The ground had become a wet sludge, a dreadful stew of loose clay. Many lost their boots in that filth, many more sank into it, becoming submerged and drowning as they tried to claw back to the surface.

There was no protection in the trenches, it was now merely a mass grave. And as the slaughter reached its zenith for the day, the weather was brewing.

Lorelei looked in the distance and could feel the tingle of magical currents growing. Her eyes narrowed; she could see harpy’s wings coming her way. The mass extinction was fueling the ether, drawing a bountiful current of dread that would soon give birth to nightmares. But before the tornadoes could descend, she would finish this battle.

Lorelei could see it coming, the human behemoth strode on two iron legs, each wider than a city block, and carried the largest array of ordnance than any other weapon system on the plains. On its hulking back stood the monastery, their mobile command center.

“Today you fall!” She rose her sword to the skies in salute, and was surprised to find several others of her kind rising to join her. She didn’t tell her brothers and sisters what she had planned to do, and certainly didn’t expect them to join her. Together they would make the plunge, together they would deliver the killing blow.

Together they descended—

Lorelei turned the page, fascinated by the fictional story. The entire book was written by an esteemed author, a vampiric novelist who died shortly after the shields of the city saved it from the storms. His stories recounted the tales of the great succubi queen Lorelei from the ancient past. The author claimed it was purely a work of fiction, but it was loosely based on old memoirs and historical accounts. Sadly, such records had long since been lost. Regardless, his story remained.

Lorelei hadn’t had access to the legends of her namesake until now, even though her beloved had given her the very name of that beautiful heroine. It warmed her cheeks, just thinking about that.

She adjusted herself while laying in bed, and continued reading. It was perhaps luck that it was the ‘Fables of Lorelei’ that she plucked from the library when she slipped and fell. It was bound in leather, with pristine gold trim, and each page was thick but turned loosely with a brush of her fingertips. Even the smell of the pages helped immerse herself into the story.

It was times like this when she loved feeling the most comfortable. Lorelei hated wearing bra’s, bikini’s, or brassiere’s. They were uncomfortable, always rubbing against her sensitive skin. Most succubi hated wearing such padded ensembles, preferring to let things hang freely. Rhelania was an oddity though, she liked to wear cashmere beneath her uniform, the thought of which just made Lorelei’s skin crawl. She didn’t have to think about what Amarille liked to wear.

Things only got worse when it became humid. If it was ever hot enough to make her sweat, the collected moisture would make it difficult to hide. Inside the dorms, it was a cool and comfortable sixty eight degrees, with a mild chill from the air conditioning.

It was almost the perfect temperature, and Lorelei barely needed the blanket. Her pink skin was warm, and after ingesting some Allucia, her flesh appeared more flustered than usual. Dark purple and blue veins pulsed beneath her skin, and her cherry colored nipples gleamed a shade brighter. Her eyes shone in the dark, and she resisted the urge to open her window and prey on the lusts of other students outside.

It would’ve been a helpful distraction though. Especially after what she did just yesterday.

She cursed herself, remembering how she so rudely interrupted Theo in class. She was so embarrassed.

Why did I try hiding beneath the desk? What was I thinking? Lorelei laid her book down. Her hands were shaking. “I’m so stupid…”

It wasn’t entirely her fault, or so she told herself. Theo got to class before she did, and there was no way she was going to risk him seeing her, not after he nearly caught her in the colosseum. So she used every ounce of her delicately refined stealth skills to hide and scurry where she couldn’t be seen.

But she couldn’t see him while curled in the corners underneath the lower rows of desks several feet away, so she had to carefully make her way closer to Theo. She was almost caught multiple times by other students as she crawled, but she eventually found him. Lorelei recognized him by his shoes, and his natural smell.

She had never been that close before, not since they were kids.

Perhaps that’s why Lorelei found herself in a trance. She was starstruck, unable to move or make a rational decision. She should’ve distanced herself, just a little, but if anything, she wanted to be even closer.

When he searched beneath the desk for a lost pencil, Lorelei’s entire world was flipped upside down.

And now, she was too ashamed and embarrassed to even go to class!

While she was lost in her own mind, someone gently tapped on her door.

Lorelei remained silent, although she did pull up her sheets to cover herself.

“Lori, I know you’re in there,” Marci’s voice sounded concerned. “Please come out. You’ve been in there all day.”

“I’m not leaving,” Lorelei answered back meekly.

“Is everything ok?” Marci asked.

“I’m fine, just leave me alone.”

Lorelei could tell her roommate wanted to come inside her private room. Her mind was already leeching off Marci’s lustful desires. They were a lot more colorful now, and Lorelei scowled, knowing the reason.

There were lustful cravings decorating Marci’s sweet and innocent thoughts. All of which surrounded Theo’s roommate.

Theo’s… Roommate…

Wait? A thought occurred to her. Lorelei threw herself off the bed, and jumped to the door. Gripping the door handle tight, she twisted and swung it open.

“Marci! I need your help with something.”

Marci was completely taken by surprised, and she stood frozen in place. “Ok, but you probably should get dressed first.”

“NO TIME!” Lorelei yelled. She wasn’t thinking, there wasn’t time to think. At least, that’s how it was until a man walked outside of Marci’s room.