Compassion, empathy, emotion—these all exist within the context of hope. Take away all hope, and you strip a person of their humanity.

~Arawn, God of the Dead

Everyone was sleeping soundly when Lily appeared and collapsed on Crow’s chest.

*I should never have come out.* Lily groaned, and Crow looked at her in shock. She was naked, and he knew she’d been pleasuring herself based on her appearance, smell, and other things. It was the first time he’d seen her lose composure, leaving him speechless.

*Are you okay?* He asked, unsure what was happening.

*That sigil is evil. I’m bound to your soul, and it affected me, too. Not to the extent it hit you, but I feel humiliated. I’m still horny because my fingers aren’t enough to satisfy me. Now that you’ve finally expelled the sigil’s power, I’ll recover. But… you owe me.*

*That wasn’t my fault! Is… how do I help you?*

*It is your fault—partially. I’m not saying you deliberately turned that beast on those women, but I don’t believe you didn’t at least guess it was a possibility. I won’t believe it never crossed your mind.*

*I thought it might spike, but I never would have predicted a complete loss of control. Something like that could have killed Zoe if it was her alone. And I certainly didn’t expect a Witch’s marriage ritual to be forced on me.* Crow tried to defend himself but was still feeling really guilty. Using a finger, he lightly nudged Lily, and she hugged his finger. Her face nuzzled against him.

*Force? You’ve been fucking for eighteen hours straight. Zoe, that poor girl, has taken in your seed no less than ten times. I don’t know what the fuck sigil she used, but I’m surprised you aren’t dead.* Lily shouted, and every curse word out of her mouth made him flinch.

*Fine. It’s my fault, but there is good news. Six of the coven, aside from Zoe, were virgins, and that beast is slumbering so heavily that I suspect it’ll stay that way for decades.* Crow was too tired to put much enthusiasm into his thoughts but felt Lily was even more taxed than him. *Seriously, is there something I can do to help you?*

*There is, but it’ll need to wait until I have enough energy to evolve.*

*Never heard you talk about evolving. What does that do for you?* Crow asked.

*Evolving is something I only realized recently. I initially thought I needed more Lightning Mana to humanize, but that’s wrong. A human-sized fae is an evolved one. We fae only become aware of this information when we are close to the threshold.*

*Are the wood nymphs evolved fae, then?*

*Yes.*

*What will you become?*

*I don’t know. Lightning fae usually have a lot of potential, so the evolution is chaotic. The bigger question is, what will you do about all these women? They aren’t exactly our allies.*

*They aren’t our enemies, either.* Crow sighed *I don’t know what to do. I’m like a magnet for this kind of stuff.*

*I think you aren’t wrong. I want to be angry with you, but I really can’t blame what just happened on your actions alone. All your planning couldn’t predict the heart of a desperate woman. Even I didn’t expect a marriage orgy. That’s so far outside what I thought would happen down here. When they were carrying you out to perform a ritual, I almost came out to attack them. I thought for sure they were going to sacrifice you.*

Crow chuckled but tried to contain it, afraid his shaking body would wake Zoe.

*You think I really am drawing them in?*

*If we assume that virginal essence is tempering the beast in you—by beast, I mean your raging libido. Then we should assume your body is creating a scenario to survive. The beast in you is producing pheromones or some kind of man essence to attract appropriate mates. Look at the women that come at you like crazy hens—all of them are powerful in their own way. Lesser women aren’t drawn toward you in the same way, and I think that’s because they lack sufficient power to temper the power in you.*

*That makes sense, logically speaking. But do you really think I’m a beast? * Crow asked, feeling somewhat down. Maybe it was a post-coital thing, but he felt terrible for all the women in his life. This wasn’t what he set out to become, and he was initially content just marrying Song Xue.

*You can be one, but I don’t think you are one. Unfated doesn’t mean you aren’t a victim of circumstance. These women knew this would happen when their High Priestess chose a man, so you shouldn’t feel sorry for them. It was something they accepted when they joined the coven. In fact, I’m pretty sure the women that aren’t virgins are only that way because they were raped. In some ways, you might have given them back their dignity because you treated them all equally without judgment. A beast? No. Maybe your problem is that society only respects power, and very few men are powerful and kind. For women, a man like that is something worth fighting for.*

*Lily, always be my light. I know it hasn’t been fair to you, but remember, I will always love you…* Crow mumbled internally before drifting off to sleep. Lily’s tears beaded at the corners of her eyes before she flew up and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’ll never leave you, silly man,” Lily whispered into his ear before disappearing into his Soulverse. She flew closer to the energy stream of Yggdrasil. Lily was determined to evolve and take what she deserved. She needed to be satisfied by her lover and couldn’t wait any longer.

After Lily disappeared, Zoe’s eyes cracked open. She didn’t hear their internal conversation, but she witnessed the affection between Crow and the little fae. A sweet smile adorned her face, knowing what it meant. She didn’t choose wrongly.

Zoe pressed her body tightly against her husband, and her little hand gripped his torso tightly. A lot of things she didn’t know before had entered her mind and something sparked inside her she hadn’t dared have previously—hope.

Don’t let me down, Crow, son of Maddox. Was her last thought before exhaustion finally claimed her.