Her breath came out in a hard pant once he spoke, solidifying himself into the space. He was there, a part of the fabric of her dream now.
“It-it was you. You did this.”
She did not ask it as a question. A whisper again, this time one of quiet conviction. Corviss did not bother denying it.
“You were in no real danger.”
“This is only a dream,” she whimpered, her voice breaking at last.
He could still taste her fear as she fell into his arms, the smoking wreckage behind her tingeing the air with its acrid smell as she sobbed into his shoulder.
He ought to throw her bodily into the flaming remains of the plane, something that would make her scream, something that would terrify her to her core, somethingotherthan what he was doing,anything else! He should have, but he didn’t.
“Shhh, it’s over now, sweet.” Corviss held her close, his wings rising to buffer her from anything more, inhaling the smell of her hair. His mouth moved over her, absorbing the force of her sobs and the rest of her fear, draining her dry, until the world around them was plunged into darkness. She wavered in the water, suspended like a doll, her hands reaching out in vain to hold onto his as he pushed her into the deep.
When his eyes opened, he was still in her bed, the girl unmoving beneath him. He had pushed her off the plane of the dreamscape, down through the water into the dark heart of the sea, where dreams could not penetrate. Her breath was slow and steady, and she would stay that way until she woke. There would be no paralysis from him that night, he decided, pressing his nose to her hair one last time.
He was certain, as he took wing, leaving the sleeping girl behind, that this was not the way the incubus would be handling his time with her. It was not whathewas meant to be doing either.You’re supposed to be leaving her bruised and bloodied. He was filling her with his seed, fulfilling at least that duty, but he was not meant to be comforting her.
But, he thought, crossing through the endless sea of night to his own plane of existence,that’s what they get.Nightmares ended. Fear was the point, and he had fed on her fear. What he did after was no one’s business but his own.If they wanted her hurt, they shouldn't have sent a nightmare to do the work of a demon.
