The Incubus Prince

CASSIAN

Nightmares always came to me before dawn. Sometimes I thought it was my blood, some rotten thing in my veins that kept old ghosts close. Sometimes, I knew it was my fault for letting myself remember.

It started the way it always did. With her laughter echoing through the candlelit room, warm and melodic, like silver bells dancing on summer air. My ethereal form solidified as I materialized beside her bed, drawn by the familiar pull of mortal desire that had sustained me for centuries. But tonight felt different. Tonight, something was wrong.

Elena turned toward me, her dark eyes reflecting the flickering flames, and for a moment I saw not love but fear. "You're taking too much," she whispered, her voice already growing weak. "I can feel myself fading."

I reached for her, my supernatural beauty unmarred by the horror of what I was. "I cannot help what I am," I said, though my voice cracked with something I had never experienced before—remorse. "You knew what I was when you welcomed me."

Her skin, once flushed with life and passion, had grown pale as parchment. The vibrant woman who had laughed just moments before was withering before my eyes, her life force flowing into me like water through cupped hands. I tried to stop, tried to pull away, but the hunger was too strong, too deeply woven into my infernal nature.

"Please," she gasped, her fingers clutching weakly at my chest. "I love you, but you're killing me."

The room began to spin around us, reality bending as dreams do, and suddenly we were no longer in her cozy apartment but in a vast, empty cathedral made of shadows and regret. The stained glass windows depicted not saints, but moments of our time together—her first shy smile, our hands intertwined, her head resting on my shoulder as we watched the sunrise I could barely tolerate.

Blood began to seep from her lips, crimson against her pallid skin. "This is what love means to creatures like me," I said, though I fought against the words even as they left my mouth. "Destruction. Consumption. I warned you."

But even as I spoke, I was gathering her failing form into my arms, cradling her against my chest as if I could somehow hold her soul inside her body through sheer will. Her heartbeat, once strong and steady beneath my ear during our quiet moments, now fluttered like a dying bird.

"No," I breathed, the word tearing from my throat like a prayer I had no right to utter. "Not you. Not because of me."

Elena's hand found my face, her thumb tracing the sharp line of my cheekbone with infinite tenderness. "It's not your fault," she whispered, though we both knew it was a beautiful lie. "You are what you are. I chose this."

The blood was flowing freely now, staining her white nightgown, pooling beneath us on the cathedral floor. Her breathing came in short, desperate gasps, each one potentially her last. I pressed my forehead against hers, my own breathing ragged with grief I didn't know I could feel.

"I'm sorry," I said, the words foreign on my tongue. In centuries of existence, I had never apologized for my nature. "I'm so sorry, Elena."

She smiled then, even as crimson trickled from the corner of her mouth. "If reincarnation is real," she said, her voice barely a whisper now, "if souls really do find each other across lifetimes... I'll find you again. I promise."

Her hand slipped down to my palm, her thumb making one final, gentle circle against my skin: a gesture so human, so full of love and forgiveness that it shattered something fundamental inside me.

"I'll find you," she repeated, her eyes growing distant, "and maybe next time... maybe next time we can love each other without it meaning death."

Her hand went limp. Her chest stilled. The cathedral fell silent except for the sound of my own breathing and the steady drip of her blood onto ancient stone.

My scream tore through the dream like thunder, raw and primal and filled with a grief that echoed off the shadowed walls. I held her lifeless body against me, this mortal woman who had seen something worth loving in a creature born of darkness and hunger.

I woke up tangled in sheets that smelled of sweat and old incense. My hands gripped the mattress so hard my knuckles hurt. Sunlight pushed through the gap in the curtains, thin and gray. I dragged myself out of bed, wiped the sweat off my forehead, and stood in front of the cracked mirror. My eyes looked haunted. Same as always. My hair was a mess, but I didn’t care. The face in the mirror was a stranger. Some days, I hated him.

I got dressed. Black slacks, white shirt, tie knotted loose, jacket over my shoulders. Assistant Professor. Big title for a man who taught the children of fellow monsters how to play nice with each other. I tied my hair back, splashed water on my face, and stepped into the hall.

Nocturne Prep at six in the morning was a quiet place, the only time it didn’t feel hungry. The students were still sleeping off last night’s mischief, and the staff kept their voices low. I nodded at the night porter, who gave me the same suspicious look he always did, and made my way to the staff lounge for coffee.

The lounge was empty, thank the gods. The coffee was cold and bitter, but it did the job. I sat in the window seat, watching the crows pick at the rubbish in the courtyard. It should have felt peaceful, but my nerves were shot. The dream clung to me, sticking to my skin like cobwebs.

My phone buzzed. Headmistress Fox’s name flashed on the screen. My stomach tightened. She never called this early unless something had gone wrong.

“Rhys,” I answered, trying to sound awake.

“Cassian,” her voice was always calm, always polished, “I need you in my office. Now.”

I didn’t bother asking why. I dumped the coffee and walked the empty halls to her office. Every step echoed. Fox met me at the door, her hair pulled into a bun sharp enough to cut glass.

“She’s coming,” she said without preamble.

I blinked. “Who?”

“Alpha Magnus Vale’s other daughter. The bastard.” She said the word like it was a stain on her tongue. “Rae Vale. She’ll arrive today.”

Saraphina’s sister. The words made my gut twist. I pictured Saraphina again—her hair slicked with blood, her body sprawled at the foot of the girls’ dormitory. I’d been the first adult to reach her, pushing through a ring of gawking students. Her eyes had already glazed over.

I’d never really known her. Golden child, troublemaker, one of the Vales, always in the thick of some drama. The school moved quickly to smooth things over, to whisper about accidents, to bury rumors deep. Alpha Magnus wanted the incident forgotten as soon as possible. The House of Vale wanted another daughter in her place.

“She’s enrolling?” I asked, rubbing my forehead. The headache behind my eyes was coming back.

“Yes. Her integration needs to be seamless.” Fox’s tone left no room for argument. “Keep her safe. Keep the students from sniffing out her secrets. And make Alpha Magnus happy. We owe him.”

I wanted to protest, to remind Fox that Nocturne’s “young bloods” weren’t easily tamed. That they circled newcomers like sharks, especially the weak, the alone, the unwanted. But I kept my mouth shut. I was good at that.

“I’ll do what I can,” I said.

“Good. Be in my office in twenty minutes. I want you to show her around.”

I left, walking the halls without really seeing anything. My mind replayed the way Saraphina’s body looked when I found her, the way her blood soaked into the stone, the way everyone stepped back and pretended not to see. We never talked about it, not really. Death was a rumor here, not a lesson.

The rest of my morning blurred past. I graded a few essays, checked on a pair of students who’d nearly poisoned each other in the alchemy lab, and spent too long staring out my office window at the gray sky.

At the appointed time, I headed for Fox’s office. My footsteps felt heavier than usual. I wondered what this Rae would be like. If she was like her sister, or if she was something entirely different. Either way, she’d be walking into a nest of wolves, vampire, demons and anything that went bump in the night. I almost pitied her.

Fox’s door was slightly ajar. I could hear voices inside. I paused, took a breath, and pushed it open.

The first thing I noticed was the scent. Fresh, sharp, with a trace of wildflowers and something deeper beneath. It was the kind of scent that stuck with you, that burrowed under your skin and made your pulse quicken. My incubus senses flared without warning, a whisper deep inside urging me to pay attention.

It was not a warning of old. But it felt familiar. Something old. Something forgotten.

The girl standing in front of Fox was small, dressed in plain black, her shoulders tense like she was bracing for a blow. Her hair was dark and straight, tucked behind her ears, and her skin had that washed-out look of someone who hadn’t slept in days. She clutched a folder to her chest like it was the only thing keeping her upright.

I met her eyes, and the world tilted.

It wasn’t attraction. Not exactly. It was recognition. Something hot and cold surged through me at the same time. My mind was yanked back to the nightmare, to the cathedral where I said my goodbye to my love, the girl with the same wary eyes and haunted mouth.

She looked exactly like her.

My Queen.

My first love. The one who’d died in my arms, her blood on my hands, all those years ago. I saw her face in every dream, heard her laugh in every echo, felt her absence in every empty room. And here she was again, alive, breathing, staring at me like she was waiting for me to remember her name.

I froze. My body didn’t listen to me. My mouth went dry. A thousand memories crashed into each other behind my eyes. Her laughter in the moonlight, her hair tangled in my fingers, the promise I’d whispered against her skin. The way she’d looked at me right before she died, trusting me even as I failed her.

Rae Vale blinked, and the spell broke. She looked away, cheeks burning. Fox didn’t seem to notice my reaction.

“You called me, Headmistress Fox,” I managed, keeping my voice steady, even as my heart slammed in my chest.

“Yes,” Fox said, her tone back to business. “Thank you for coming so quickly, Professor. This is Rae Vale. She’s joining us today. I’d like you to show her around campus. You’re much better at making new students feel welcome than some of their peers.”