Jewel House Of Lust [Original ›]

She pressed her palm to the brass door. Whispered, Kaelen.

“The final jewel is free. But to claim it, you must leave a piece of yourself behind. The House will choose what.” jewel house of lust

The door opened. Inside, the air smelled of honey and rust. The Jewel House was a single long corridor lined with alcoves, each containing a gem the size of a fist. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds—but wrong. They pulsed. They breathed. When Lira stepped close to the first one, a deep violet amethyst, she saw herself inside it. She pressed her palm to the brass door

And the fog parted, just a little, as if surprised. But to claim it, you must leave a piece of yourself behind

She walked out into the cold fog of the lower city. Her hands were still scarred. Her hair still white. She had nothing but her name and her aching lungs.

She walked down the corridor. Each gem offered a different flavor of lust. A fiery orange stone showed her a brutal, possessive Kaelen—tearing her clothes off in a rain-soaked alley, claiming her like territory. A pale green one showed her a gentle, sick Kaelen—she was nursing him through a fever, his hand weak in hers, her love as pure as mercy. A black diamond showed her nothing but a bed and a shadow that wore his shape, and the lust there was not for him, but for her own pain.

Lira tore her eyes away. The gem dimmed, satisfied.