Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!

Melisa left the palace with Isabella, her mind a tornado of thoughts about Koros, Vira, and Queen Aria. The whole situation was fucked. Vira was counting on her to save her murderous brother, but Aria had a literal kingdom to run. And honestly, Melisa wasn't even sure if saving Koros was the right call.

"You're being awfully quiet," Isabella said as they walked through the palace gates.

"Just thinking."

"About the hot queen after her 'ritual'?"

Melisa's face burned.

"No! About Vira and what I'm going to tell her."

Isabella snorted.

"Sure, sure. I totally believe you weren't checking out Her Royal Hotness."

"I need to go to the Full Moon Inn," Melisa said, changing the subject. "Vira's staying there, and I should let her know what happened."

"Want me to come with you?"

Melisa considered it. Isabella wasn't exactly known for her tact. More like being the type who would say shit like "nice rack" to grieving widows.

Yeah, no.

"I... think I should go alone. This is... personal for her."

Isabella shrugged.

"Suit yourself. I'll head back to the Academy then. Come find me when you're done. I've got some ideas for how to take your mind off all this political bullshit." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Melisa rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling.

"I'll see you later."

They parted ways and Melisa headed toward the merchant district where the Full Moon Inn was located. She'd only been there a handful of times before, but Vira's directions were clear enough. It was a modest two-story building with a painted sign showing a full moon over a forest.

When she pushed open the door, the smell of ale and roasted meat hit her. The common room was about half full, mostly with travelers and a few locals enjoying an early dinner. What caught her attention, though, was how many nim were present—both as patrons and staff. Like the Drunken Dragon, this seemed to be another nim-friendly establishment.

But unlike the Drunken Dragon, where she'd always felt welcome, the atmosphere here shifted when she walked in. Several nim glanced her way, and their expressions weren't friendly. A few whispered to each other, and one even spat on the floor.

[Great. I'm a celebrity for all the wrong reasons.]

It wasn't hard to figure out why. Word had spread about her involvement with the royal court and probably her role in Koros's capture. To many nim, especially those sympathetic to Koros's cause, she was a traitor to her own kind.

She spotted Vira behind the bar, serving drinks. The other nim woman looked up and froze when she saw Melisa. For a moment, Melisa thought Vira might pretend not to recognize her, but then she said something to another bartender and came out from behind the counter.

"You came," Vira said, her voice neutral. "Let's talk over there." She pointed to an empty table in the corner, away from most of the other patrons.

Melisa followed her, feeling the hostile stares burning into her back as she crossed the room. They sat, and a serving girl brought them two mugs of ale without being asked. Vira must have arranged it.

"So?" Vira asked once they were alone. "What did the queen say? Will she spare him?"

Melisa took a deep breath.

"She... didn't give me a definite answer."

Vira's face fell.

"What does that mean?"

Melisa sighed.

"There was an attack by darian raiders at one of the border outposts. The queen had to deal with that emergency, so our conversation was cut short."

"So you failed," Vira said flatly.

"I didn't fail," Melisa protested. "She said she'd consider alternatives to execution. She just couldn't give me a final decision because of the attack."

"The execution is in three days! What good is 'considering' if she doesn't actually do anything?"

"She has a kingdom to run, Vira. People died in that attack. Besides, I still haven't decided whether I want to help you or not."

Vira's eyes narrowed.

"Be that as it may, more people will die if she executes Koros. My brother may be misguided, but he's fighting for our people."

"By killing innocent humans?"

"Are they innocent? Are they really?"

Melisa leaned forward.

"Not all humans are the same, just like not all nim are the same. All this violence Koros did will only serve to create more violence. It's stupid and..." Melisa trailed off, realizing she was getting heated.

"That's easy for you to say," Vira hissed. "You're the princess's fucking advisor. You live in the Academy. You've got it made."

The words stung because there was some truth to them.

She went to the fancy school. She hung out with royalty. She had human friends who didn't treat her like shit.

"Do you care about our people at all? Or are you just playing both sides?" Vira's voice rose, drawing attention from nearby tables.

"Of course I do," Melisa answered quietly.

"Well you've got a funny way of showing it. The queen-the woman YOU sit around and chat with-sits in her palace while nim suffer in the streets, and when one of us fights back, she orders his execution! You might as well be-"

Vira finally stopped yelling when she saw the look in Melisa's eyes.

Melisa was about two more syllables away from reducing this whole place to ashes.

Melisa put her mug down with a thud that made the nearby tables go quiet.

"Listen to me very carefully," she said, her voice low but sharp. "I came here as a favor to you. I went to the queen as a favor to you. And I'm seriously considering helping your brother—who, let me remind you, tried to burn my family alive—as a favor to you, for no other reason than because I like you."

Vira's angry expression faltered.

"So maybe, just maybe," Melisa continued, "you should think twice before calling me a traitor to my people when I'm literally the only reason your brother might not have his head chopped off in three days."

The tension at their table was thick enough to cut with a knife. Several nim at nearby tables were openly staring now, though at least they had the decency to look uncomfortable rather than hostile.

Vira swallowed hard.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm just... scared. He's all I have left."

Melisa's anger deflated slightly.

"Look, I get it. But yelling at me about how bad of a nim I am isn't going to help your brother."

"I know." Vira took a deep breath. "But you have to understand. If Aria executes him, he'll become a martyr. Every nim in Syux will see it as proof that humans won't listen to reason, that violence is the only answer."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Melisa rubbed her temples.

That earned a hopeful little smile from Vira, which felt like progress.

"So you'll try again with the queen?"

Melisa sighed.

"I'll try. But I can't promise anything. And for what it's worth, I don't think Aria wants to make him a martyr either. She's smarter than that."

"I hope you're right." Vira hesitated, then reached across the table and placed her hand over Melisa's. "Thank you. Really."

The touch sent an unexpected jolt through Melisa's body. Even now, after everything, there was still something there between them. A spark that hadn't quite died.

She pulled her hand away, perhaps a bit too quickly.

"Don't thank me yet," she said, standing up. "I haven't done anything."

"You're trying, at least."

Melisa didn't know how to respond to that, so she just nodded.

"I'll let you know if I hear anything from Aria."

She left the inn with a knot in her stomach and a head full of conflicting thoughts. The cool evening air was a relief after the stuffy tension of the inn, but it did little to clear her mind.

As she walked through the merchant district, she caught glimpses of her reflection in shop windows. The black horns. The red eyes. The unmistakable signs of her nimhood.

[Am I really a traitor to my people?]

No. She couldn't let Vira's words get to her. She wasn't a traitor for wanting peace. For believing there were better ways to achieve equality than burning down houses with families inside.

"I'm not a fucking traitor," she mumbled to herself, increasing her pace. "I'm trying to help everyone. Humans, nim, everyone."

A passing darian gave her an odd look, clearly wondering why the strange nim girl was talking to herself in the street. Melisa ignored him.

She had to focus.

Three days to convince Aria to spare Koros's life. Three days to prevent him from becoming a martyr for the nim cause. Three days to avoid a potential bloodbath if Vira decided to take matters into her own hands.

And somewhere in there, she needed to figure out how to offer her services fighting darian raiders without getting herself killed in the process.

[Fuck my life. Seriously. Just... fuck it all.]

Maybe Isabella's offer to take her mind off things wasn't such a bad idea after all. A couple of orgasms might be exactly what she needed to clear her head.

Or at least to stop her from marching back to that inn and telling Vira exactly where she could shove her accusations.