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Walking towards the conference room, Valentina corrected her posture and quickly straightened her pencil skirt, making sure that there were no wrinkles in sight. She needed to look her best and be presentable as she was about to meet one of her highest profile clients yet. 

As the vice principal of CharmSmith, a company that focused on making custom spells for all sorts of clients, Valentina handled the most important and largest clients, being involved in all steps of the plan, execution and delivery. In addition, she oversaw other major deals that her employees handled, making sure that everything went smoothly and according to the client’s wishes. 

Entering the conference room, she put on a wide, welcoming smile and walked towards the client already sitting at the table. Her client was one woman named Onora Faringray, a member of one of the most famous families of witches in the last few centuries. As soon as Valentina saw a letter with the Faringray seal, she prioritised it over any other clients, knowing that any sort of cooperation with such an important family would be tremendous for the company’s image. 

The two witches greeted one another, shook hands and then sat down at the table opposite one another. “It is truly an honour to be working with you, Miss Faringray. How may we be of service to you?” Valentina asked, the warm smile still present on her face as she looked at the powerful witch sitting before her. “Thank you, Miss Donneley. As you may have heard, in a couple of weeks, it will be the three-hundredth anniversary of the death of my great ancestor Rodwina Faringray. On that day, our family wishes to celebrate said anniversary and we would like a part of that celebration to entail connecting with the spirit of Rodwina,” Onora explained, her speech slow and precise, her accent distinctly high class.  

The gears in Valentina’s head already started spinning. A spell to connect with the dead, that seemed simple enough, almost too simple. “That sounds wonderful. We have plenty of experience with coordinating events to showcase our spellwork, so that will not pose a challenge for us,” Valentina said proudly and waited for further details. 

“We are well aware, that's why we have chosen to work with you. You see, we do not want an ordinary spell for communicating with the dead, we want it to look and feel like she is truly there with everyone,” Onora said, the expression on her face outright dreamy. Valentina drew in a sharp breath, she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be that easy. “Alright, so you would like everyone there to see Rodwina?” Valentina asked, clarifying that she understood the request. 

“Yes, precisely. See her as clearly as possible and most importantly, we wish for everyone to hear her. We thought that we could have her deliver a speech at the beginning and then talk to the rest of our family privately. And that’s not all, we would like our guests to be able to try a simpler version of the spell for themselves and be able to communicate with their ancestor of choice,” Onora explained excitedly, her speech getting faster as piled up all the requests onto Valentina. 

By the time Onora had finished speaking, there were beads of sweat on Valetnina’s forehead. She already knew that they would need all of their spellcasters for this project, if not more. If the spell were to be done on an individual scale, she would need only one or two people, but if Rodwina were to be seen and heard by hundreds of people, Valentina would need all hands on deck. 

Pushing all those worries aside, Valentina thought about the spell itself. “As I’m sure you’re aware, spells on such a large scale like that require something belonging to the deceased, therefore I would like that particular object to be provided to us as soon as possible. In addition, we will require an estimate of how many people will be attending that celebration, so that we have enough people to properly perform the spell,” Valentina explained, Onora nodded with a smile before reaching into her purse and pulling out a brooch in the shape of a dragonfly and set it in front of Valentina. 

Valentina had recognised it immediately, she had seen it many times in her textbooks as the Faringray family was one of the largest sponsors of education. Rodwina herself was the first witch to establish an all women university and she dedicated her life to education. In honor of her, her descendants focused on the education of all witches, publishing textbooks and other materials for them as well as giving grants to universities.  

Carefully taking the brooch into her hands, Valentina looked it over, admiring its beauty. “We trust you to keep it safe and deliver it back to us once the celebration is over. As for the number of guests, I shall send you a letter later, I need to consult with the rest of the family,” Onora said. “Brilliant. I will also need information about the location itself or preferably, I would like to visit and visualise the plan there if that would be alright. If there isn’t anything more you would like to request, I would like you to sign this simple contract, promising further cooperation. Once we fully flesh out the details of our plan, an addition will be provided for you to sign as well,” Valentina said, presenting Onora with two pieces of paper and a pen. 

“I shall send you all the information in my letter then,” Onora said and took the piece of paper, studying it intently before taking the pen into her hand and putting her elegant signature on both copies. Valentina then took one copy for herself and handed the other to Onora before getting up to shake her hand again and then she led her out of the door of the conference room where a member of the security team would escort her out of the building. 

As soon as Onora exited the room, Valentina let out a deep sigh and collapsed into the nearest armchair, putting her hand into her neatly styled updo, messing it up a little as she tried to wrap her head around the project she just agreed to do. 

Valentina was known for biting off more than she could seemingly chew and yet she would always deliver on her promise despite everyone’s doubts. It was one of the reasons why she managed to climb her way up to the position of vice principal at the age of twenty-seven. The president had noticed her hard work and allowed Valentina to handle the most prestigious projects, knowing that she would do everything in her power to succeed. 

After collecting her thoughts, Valentina called a meeting, where she told her staff the details of the newest project, explaining its importance and the many challenges it would bring. As Valentina spoke, nobody dared to make any noise, all eyes were on her, everyone listened to her intently. She was well respected for her hard work and her staff liked working with her, she was always there to help at any hour of the day. 

After the extensive meeting, Valentina headed to grab lunch, however she did not eat her food in the company of her coworkers like so many others did, she instead went to her office and ate her salad while reading and replying to emails. After she was done with that, she moved onto the stack of letters on her desk. Some of their clients were quite old-fashioned and still used letters as a form of communication, not wanting to let go of the past, even though modern technology fuelled by magic had proven to be more effective, 

Just as she finished writing all the letters back, her hand started to cramp out and she glanced at the clock. It was almost the end of her workday, yet Valentina knew that she would not be leaving anytime soon. In the morning when she was planning her schedule for the day, she also planned that she would go over reports from the people she was overseeing as well as start writing her own report on the current project for the Faringray family. She liked to start writing her reports as the work went on, it helped her stay organised and make sure that she knew about every little detail. 

Finally, then she was done with all that she had planned for herself, it was dark outside and she was sure that she was the only one remaining in the building. Valentina cursed herself, she had promised her boss that she would try sticking to her contractual hours and focus on her personal life. Her boss had taken so much liking to Valentina when she saw her potential, that she almost became her mentor, giving her general life advice alongside the business advice. 

Gathering her belongings and putting them into her bag, Valentina exited her office and walked through the building devoid of all its occupants to the garage, where she found her car and got inside. As she drove home, Valentina stopped to get some food to take home, it was too late for her to try and cook a fulfilling and nutritious meal and it usually didn’t end well anyway, so she picked up a delicious-smelling container and headed home. 

After showering and putting on her nightgown, Valentina sat down with her food and dug in, only now realising that it had been a long time since her light lunch. As she ate her food, she couldn’t help it and her mind drifted to work again, already making a mental schedule for tomorrow. 

Then she stopped and realised what she had been doing. Even after hours, out of the office, in her living room, her head was still at work, unable to stop itself. Her boss told her that such behaviour was rather worrying, that it could lead to burnout or other problems and she didn’t want Valentina to go through that. 

Not being able to make herself relax and take her mind off of things, she knew that she needed some external help. The thought of turning to her family with these problems made her stomach turn, so instead she thought of other people she could reach out to. As Valentina spent most of her time at work, she didn’t have many friends, not even amongst her colleagues. While their relationships were great, they only centered around work and she needed to be as far away from that as possible. 

Then she thought about her cousin Carol, she too worked at CharmSmith and they went out for coffee every once in a while. But knowing how much work and stress Carol had from planning the wedding ceremony for her and her two partners, Valentina didn’t want to add to it by telling Carol about her own problems. 

Having thought of all the people she knew, Valentina ran out of options. She knew that she could go see a professional and she had tried it in the past for other issues, but they always ended up telling her to think happy thoughts and get a hobby or something, which didn’t help at all. Then another thought popped into Valnetina’s head, a quite silly one and she tried to push it away, but it just kept gnawing at her. 

Valentina knew that witches in need of guidance sometimes called for otherworldly help. Creatures living in other realms often had insight that the people of this world didn’t and they took pleasure in helping witches with whatever they needed from them, sometimes in exchange for something. 

Putting her bowl down on the table, Valentina went to rummage through the chest of drawers where she kept all her supplies for doing magic. She remembered a simple enough summoning circle for an angel that her friend from university taught her. She just needed some chalk, quartz a white feather and some white candles. Arranging them in a summoning circle just like she remembered her friend doing back then, she then lit the candles and said the proper incantation. Then she sat back, waiting for the spell to work. 

Just a few moments afterwards a bright light shined through Valentina’s living room and from the light emerged a winged being with a warm smile on their face. “Greetings, witch, how may I help you?” they said, looking kindly at Valentina. She was still sitting down on the floor in front of them, wide-eyed as she was amazed that her summoning circle actually worked. Unlike other kinds of magic which required talent and skill, summoning circles simply required resources and the ability to read an incantation properly, so even the weakest witch could perform one with ease if they were resourceful enough. 

Pushing the shock aside, Valentina stood up and straightened herself. “I require advice. I spend the majority of my time working as my role of vice principal at our company requires me to do, however I have trouble getting my mind off of work even when I’m outside the office and I do not want it to consume me,” Valentina explained honestly and briefly, hoping that the angel would understand. 

“I see. Have you tried getting some hobbies and going out more with your friends? I have heard that some art classes can be quite enriching for witches, you can even meet others of your kind,” the angel said with a bright smile. Valentina’s excitement almost evaporated as the angel said their words. Yes she had tried to go out and get a hobby thousands of times, but she always felt like she had to drop it because if she got too interested in it then it could lower her work performance and she couldn’t let that happen. 

Instead of arguing with the angel or continuing the conversation, she just smiled back and thanked them for the advice, letting them go back to their realm. After they left, she sighed and cleaned up the summoning circle along with her food bowl and went to her bedroom, checking her phone one last time before she would attempt to fall asleep. 

Almost instinctively, she clicked on the email app, but then she swiftly exited it, not wanting to work so late in the evening anymore. Instead she rolled over with a sigh and clicked on the browser app where she typed in: ‘art classes near me’. Despite knowing from past experiences that this type of relaxation didn’t really work for her, she still decided to try the angel’s advice, hoping that maybe something had changed, maybe she could relax like a normal person and not think about work for five seconds. 

After a few minutes of searching, Valentina found a ceramic painting class happening tomorrow not that far from her office. Perhaps she could stop by when she was done with work, then she would at least have a good enough reason to leave at a reasonable hour. Without overthinking it, she signed up for the class, trying to make herself feel excited about it while doing so.

Fighting off the urge to read the emails again, Valentina put her phone away and pulled the covers over her head, trying to stop herself from calculating how many witches they’ll need for the upcoming Faingray event and stressing about not having enough people. 

  ☽◯☾

Valentina’s day went by rather quickly, first in the morning, she had a meeting concerning the Faringray event where they shared progress after one day of researching, which proved to be not much as they still waited for the details of the event from Onora’s letter. After that meeting, she finally opened up her email and answered some letters, then she handled a few reports before heading out and talking to her employees directly, answering their questions, giving advice and overall being involved in the design of the spells that they were making. She also went to see a few finished spells from other projects, giving them her stamp of approval, so that they could be sent off to the client. 

It felt like she had been in the office for a mere hour before she looked at the clock and realised that it was time for her to go to her art class. Valentina debated canceling the class and staying for a bit longer to do more work, since there was still a lot to be done, but then she saw her boss leaving, a relaxed smile on her face, telling everyone to enjoy the rest of their day.

Taking those words to heart, Valentina went to her office and gathered her things, ready to leave and go to her scheduled art class. As she did so, it felt strange, she was typically one of the last people to leave the building and now she was amongst everyone. Walking among them felt inspiring, they talked about their plans for the day, some would go do sports, some would spend time with their families and Valentina felt excited for them. 

She hoped that one day, she could talk like this too, about her plans and things she enjoyed doing in her free time. It wasn’t that she disliked her work, she loved everything about it and it was deeply fulfilling, however Valentina didn’t want to work herself to death or end up getting burned out. After years of grinding to get to where she was now, she felt like she finally could be at ease, yet she couldn’t physically stop, it felt like she was stuck like that forever and she feared what could happen to her if she didn’t try and stop it. In addition, she was also quite worried about the possible reaction of her family if they found out that she wasn’t working as hard as always. She already didn’t feel like she was enough and them finding out that she was trying to loosen up a little would end up hurting her a lot.

Shaking off those dark thoughts, Valentina parked in front of the building the art class would be at. Then, grabbing her purse, she walked in and saw many people gathered around the tables and chatting. Looking around, she also noticed that she wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion, most people here were wearing casual clothing, while she had a button-up blouse, a pencil skirt and high heels as she came straight from work.  

Not letting her visual difference deter her, Valentina sat down and waited for the class to begin. It was simple enough, the attendees would get a few ceramic dishes to choose from and then get some glazes to decorate them with. Valentina had chosen a simple bowl, thinking that she could use it to eat her savourite food, soup, and be reminded of a fun time she once had every time she had it in front of her. 

As soon as she got back to her table with her bowl, Valentina took the glazes and started painting the dish, carefully dragging the tiny paintbrush across the surface. She was going for a swirly pattern made out of her favourite colour combinations, red, champagne gold, white and brown. Valentina focused hard on her brushstrokes, not wanting to mess up a single line.

“That’s really pretty, the reds and golds go so well together,” said a man on Valentina’s left. She however paid no attention to him and only muttered a faint: “thanks,” before concentrating even harder on her bowl. 

When they were finished, they would put their creations on a little stand where the staff would take them and then fire them in the kiln and then let the attendees know via email when their pieces would be ready for pick-up. As Valentina stood up to put her finished bowl on the stand, she realised that she was the first one to get up and everyone else was taking their time, chatting to the other people around them while they worked. 

With a sigh, Valentina put the bowl on the stand, thanked the staff and then made her leave, exiting the building with a disappointed feeling in her chest. The point of these classes was to do something fun and relaxing in the company of other people with whom one might have a little chat and yet Valentina managed to miss all of it. She had been so focused on making the bowl as perfect as possible exactly like she imagined, that she even ignored someone’s attempt to strike up a conversation, just brushing them off. While the painting did take her mind off of work, it didn’t feel like she relaxed at all, instead, she just treated the painting like she would treat her work, meticulously planning every step of the way, ignoring all social interactions that didn’t pertain to it. 

Groaning, Valentina rested her forehead on the steering wheel of her car. Another attempt at letting loose had failed and even an angel’s interference didn’t help her. Valentina almost gave into the feeling of helplessness. Perhaps she was meant to work herself to death, perhaps it would compensate for what she was severely lacking according to her family.

When Valentina returned home, she scoffed as she saw the little bit of chalk dust left on the floor from her summoning circle from last night. She didn’t know if she was more angry at herself or the angel. She was angry at herself for not being able to relax like a normal person and upset with the angel because they failed to see that a generic piece of advice wouldn’t work on her, she needed someone to personally help her. 

That alone sparked another idea in her head. Perhaps the angel that she had summoned was indeed just a generic angel who couldn’t give indepth personalised advice, maybe if she looked hard enough, she could find a specific angel focused on helping with such struggles as her own. 

She promised herself to look into it, but before she could do that, she desperately needed to bathe, get into some comfortable clothes and most importantly eat dinner. Having called for a delivery, Valentina got into the shower, doing her whole routine, then inhaling her soup and swiftly moving over to the dusty shelves on the wall of the living room. 

Pulling out her old tomes, she looked through the one describing angelic beings, their specialties and ways to summon them. After about an hour of sneezing from the dust, finally an angel’s description caught her eye. They promised divine intervention and guidance, which sounded brilliant, only there was one issue with the summoning ingredients, they required a feather from an albino magpie. 

Valentina scoffed as she read it, those feathers were expensive and rare and she wasn’t about to go out just to buy one, but she did have a regular magpie feather, so she thought that it would be alright to simply use that one instead. Hopefully the angel wouldn’t be cross with her and would hear her call for help.

Drawing the complicated summoning circle, placing around the aventurine, quartz and citrine, putting the candles and the magpie feather in the centre along with some dried lavender, Valentina finally lit the candles and carefully said the incantation, making sure to properly pronounce everything. 

At first nothing happened, compared to yesterday’s night when there was a near explosion of light in her living room, for a moment it left Valentina wondering if the feather was really that big of a deal. But then she felt a light breeze around her that slowly picked up into a large gust of wind that extinguished the candles on the summoning circle and sent the herbs and feather flying around the room.

Then as the wind died down a puff of black smoke started emerging from the summoning circle, as it rose up further and further until it reached the ceiling of Valentina's apartment, it spread into the sides, almost forming into the shape of a body. 

As Valentina was still sitting down on the floor, frozen in place, she looked down onto the circle and saw that the smoke had stopped emanating from it and it revealed a pair of black boots standing in the middle of it. As Valentina’s gaze went up and the smoke cleared, she was able to see more of the creature that she had summoned. 

They were wearing all black, wide trousers and a tight black shirt, it almost felt like it was tailored to them because it hugged them so well, highlighting their strong muscular arms covered in black ink. Finally, Valentina looked into the creature’s face, having to recline her head far back as they were unnaturally tall, unlike any witch Valentina had ever met. 

The creature in front of her had an amused but relaxed smile on their face as they looked down at Valentina on the floor, tilting their head to the side, almost curious-looking. Their amber eyes were looking over Valentina, observing her every breath. They looked a bit older than Valentina as a few silver hairs appeared in between their black ones and a few faint wrinkles lined their face. Finally, what cemented Valentina’s theory on what creature she had managed to summon were two large curled horns protruding from their head, their brushed back black hair curled all around it. 

Suddenly, the demon moved, squatting to almost be at eye level with Valentina. “Hello, witchling,” she said, the low tone of her voice sending shivers down Valentina’s spine. Valentina didn’t greet her back as she was still shocked by the fact that she summoned a massive demon into her living room. 

“Judging by your expression, I am not what you were expecting,” the demon spoke again and all Valentina could do was nod. “What a shame,” said the demon while shrugging and then she stood up, walking out of the summoning circle, taking a closer look at it. “I recognise that pattern very well, too well. Divine intervention and guidance, is that right?” The demon said and a wave of relief washed over Valentina, she would have probably thrown herself down the stairs of her apartment building if the demon laughed at her for her mistake. 

Nodding again, Valentina tried to compose herself and she stood up, facing the demon. “You’re correct. Since you’re not what I wanted, I think it would be best if you left, I apologise for the inconvenience,” Valentina said, trying to sound polite, not wanting to outright kick the demon out. 

“No, I don’t think so. I think that I will stay for a bit,” the demon hummed and stepped away from Valentina, looking around her living room and focusing on her shelves. “What?” Valentina said, baffled by how calm and nonchalant the demon was about the whole situation. 

“You wanted intervention, Valentina. I may not be divine, but still, intervention and guidance are things that I can offer,” said the demon calmly, picking up a framed photo from a shelf. The sound of her name on the demon’s lips made Valentina weak at the knees. She must have picked it up from her university degree that was hanging on the wall. 

“I think that I would prefer discussing that with the angel,” Valentina said, trying to make her guest realise that it was time for her to go. “Why? So that she could tell you a generic piece of advice that they are bound to say by angelic code?” the demon said mockingly and Valentina chuckled, remembering her previous night. “Come on, Valentina, tell your friendly demon what is troubling you,” the demon said, turning to her with a lazy smile on her face. 

“Why would I tell you what I need if I don’t even know your name?” Valentina countered, not willing to give the demon what she wanted and she crossed her arms on her chest. “Clever. The name is Jezebel. Now how may I be of service to you, little witch?” Jezebel said with a light smirk on her face. 

What a pretty name . Valentina thought before turning her attention to the demon. “What I need is none of your business, Jezebel,” Valentina said. As much as she wanted help, demons weren’t exactly known for their kindness or willingness to help witches, at least not for free and Valentina wasn’t about to have her soul taken. 

“Fine, I’ll figure it out myself,” Jezebel hummed and her attention turned back to Valentina’s shelves. Valentina wanted to ask her how on earth she was planning to do that, but before she could say anything, Jezebel spoke again: “Judging by these photos, you must be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Becoming a vice principal of a large company at twenty-five must have made your parents proud, right?” Jezebel said nonchalantly as Valentina walked over to the kitchen area to turn on the kettle. The demon’s words make her freeze in place and they hit her hard. 

“Looks like I have hit the right spot then,” Jezebel murmured and Valentina rolled her eyes, as she prepared her mug along with a teabag. “Would you like some tea while you invade my privacy?” Valentina called out. “Yes please, hibiscus would be wonderful if you have some,” Jezebel said, her voice full of appreciation. 

After waiting for the water to boil, she poured it into the prepared mugs, hibiscus for Jezebel, white tea with lemon for herself. She then set both mugs down on the coffee table and sat down on the couch, looking at Jezebel still snooping around the living room. 

“You’re the biggest overachiever I have ever seen,” Jezebel remarked quietly, not turning around to face Valentina. “And how have you deduced that?” Valentina said, stirring her tea clockwise. “You’ve always been like that. Always the best in your year at school, a pleasure to have in class, I am sure. On the top of your class in university while winning many awards for sports, the debate team and whatnot and now the vice principal of an incredibly successful company. If I had to guess I would say that you’re desperately trying to fill a void with all of this success,” Jezebel said calmly, reading Valentina like an open book. 

It took everything in her power not to stare at Jezebel with an open mouth. “No void to fill, you’re imagining things,” Valentina hissed, wanting the demon to drop it. “It has got something to do with your family, right? Your great-grandmother was a powerful witch, Isobel Donneley. I assume that your lack of talent for magic didn’t exactly make you the favourite,” Jezebel said, her tone was not at all teasing, she was talking as if she were stating mere facts, no mockery in sight. 

“How dare you? I messed up one summoning circle, so what? Does that make me the worst witch to walk the planet?” Valentina snapped back as Jezebel managed to hit the nail on the head perfectly. “Summoning circles are about ingredients, not magic, you know that, Valentina. I meant the fact that you used matches to light the candle on the summoning circle when most witches would just use their magic to light them. I meant that you walked over to the kettle to manually turn it on when other witches could do it from a distance or even have the water boil at a whim. I meant the fact that I saw a takeout container on the counter even though most witches can just conjure up basic meals if they train enough. I meant-” Jezebel’s explanation was suddenly cut off by Valentina’s voice, shaking with anger: “That’s enough!”

Jezebel finally looked back, facing Valentina, whose eyes were shining with unshed tears which she was desperately trying to blink away. “I think that you need help taking your mind off of work because you’re realising that no matter what you do, you will never be enough for them and right now, it’s slowly consuming you whole,” Jezebel said quietly as she walked over to Valentina on the couch and sat down beside her. 

“Can demons read minds or did you really just deduce all of that?” Valentina asked, her voice shaky. Jezebel laughed, that sound made Valentina’s heart flutter, it sounded so warm and pleasant. “No, we cannot read minds, this is my own specialty. I notice little details about people, I am good at picking them apart, assessing them,” Jezebel said and picked up her mug, taking a sip of the tea 

“Delightful. My offer still stands, little witch,” Jezebel said, setting the mug down on the coffee table again and looking into Valentina’s eyes. “What offer?” Valentina said. Jezebel had said so much in the last few minutes since she had been summoned that Valentina forgot what had been said. “My offer to help you, especially now that I know what you need help with,” Jezebel said, her voice somehow felt warm to Valentina. 

“What would that even look like, you helping me take my mind off of things, it’s not like you can literally just go into my brain and pick the thoughts of work and toss them away,” Valentina said, feeling more open to the idea, yet still a bit sceptical of its practical use. “I have a bit of experience with helping people unwind, not just other demons, witches too, I’ve even had an angel. I take pleasure in doing so, you’re quite lucky that you summoned me,” Jezebel said and winked at Valentina, who averted her gaze, not saying anything.

“From my experience, you need something where you don’t have the option to be in control for once, where you cannot apply the same harmful thoughts and habits, where you don’t have to think because someone else is doing the thinking for you,” Jezebel said, talking slowly, easing Valentina into the idea. At first, Valentina’s instinct was to immediately say no. She was so used to being in control of every single aspect of her life that the thought of not being so made her feel uneasy. But on second thought, the idea of somebody doing the big thinking for her sounded like it could solve her problem. If they made decisions for her, she wouldn’t even have time to make her mind drift to work related thoughts.

“I see that you’re thinking it over, that’s good, just don’t overthink it. Today can just be a test run, perhaps what I am offering might not suit you after all, though I sincerely doubt that. But if it doesn’t then I can help you figure out something else,” Jezebel said, calming Valentina down even further. Knowing that she could back out of this any second made her feel at ease, it was worth the try. 

“What would you do then if I said yes? And if you say go paint or draw something I will find a way to send you back to your realm.” Valentina asked, feeling rather curious. Jezebel laughed and looked around the living room, almost as if she was looking for something. “Don’t worry, I am not an angel. I offer something more practical, hands-on if you will. Well, considering the fact that your apartment is spotless, I won’t have you clean under my guidance, but I think we could make use of that kitchen of yours,” Jezebel said and got up, bringing her mug with her over to the kitchen counter. 

“I cannot cook for the life of me, the apartment will burn down and so will you,” Valentina said, looking all wide-eyed as Jezebel checked her cabinets, pulling out bowls and various ingredients. “Don’t worry, I won’t have you cook. I have you bake,” Jezebel said with a toothy grin and continued poking and prodding around Valentina’s kitchen. “Same thing, it’s still a fire hazard,” Valentina said, feeling rather apprehensive about Jezebel’s plans.

“Who’s going to be in charge of the process?” Jezebel asked. “If it’s going to be me doing whatever you want me to do, then I’ll be in charge,” Valentina answered with a frown. “Wrong. I’ll be in charge. You won’t be in control of any of the steps, your only task will be following what I say to you,” Jezebel said as she walked closer to Valentina, handing her an old apron she found in one of the cabinets. 

“Now, would you put this on for me, little witch? Your sleepwear is adorable, we don’t want it getting messy, do we?” Jezebel said as her gaze slid down lower, looking over her champagne coloured nightgown. Heat spread through her body as she realised just how much of her skin was exposed and it felt as if she could feel Jezebel’s gaze roaming around her body. 

Without any words, Valentina took the apron from Jezebel, pulling it over her head and then gathering the fabric to tie it behind her back. When Jezebel saw her struggle, she came up behind her and tied it for her, which caused Valentina’s breath to quicken as she realised just how close they were to one another. 

“Brilliant. Tonight, you are going to bake cookies,” Jezebel said as she stepped away from Valentina, giving her space to breathe and she casually leaned against the counter, a neutral expression playing on her face. Valentina just shook her head and sighed. “I have never baked them myself, when I was little, my older sister would make them or our parents would just buy them for us,” Valentina admitted and she looked around the counter to see what she would be working with. It looked simple enough, but knowing her lack of skill in the kitchen, it could prove disastrous if she wasn’t careful.

“Leave that for me to worry about. Right now, I would like you to do everything I say, don’t overthink it, just do it. Can you do that for me, Valentina?” Jezebel said, her tone serious. “I can try,” Valentina said, shifting on her feet as her eyes switched between Jezebel and the counter. 

“Good. First, I would like you to preheat the oven and take out a baking tray and cover it with a sheet of parchment paper,” Jezebel said, her voice even and calm, just like every time she spoke. Valentina obeyed, swiftly turning on the oven and pulling out the baking tray and then covering it with the parchment paper just as she had been instructed. 

“Take your next steps a bit slower, please, this isn’t a race, little witch,” Jezebel said kindly as she saw how Valentina scrambled to get everything done in record time. “I’m sorry, I can't help it. I’m just used to always doing everything quickly and efficiently,” Valentina sighed and looked down on the floor. She was doing it again, just like earlier in the art studio.

“There is no need to apologise, I understand why you do it, it makes you a brilliant employee, but you must remember that you’re not at work anymore. You’re at home, trying to have some quiet relaxing time with your friendly neighbourhood demon,” Jezebel said, her words having a calming effect on Valentina. 

“For your next step, you will need two cups of flour. Please use a tablespoon to slowly fill the cup, and then use the back of the spoon to compress it down, making sure that there are no air pockets. When you have your full cup, you will slowly sift the flour into one of the bowls. Do this for both cups and take your time with it,” Jezebel said. Her instructions were clear and meticulously thought through, leaving no room for Valentina to stumble. 

Even though she knew that it would be so much easier to just scoop the flour from the bag with the cup itself, Valentina followed the instructions, using the spoon to fill the cup. This part also ensured that Valentina literally had to take it slow or else flour would be everywhere. Once both cups of flour were thoroughly sifted and inside the bowl, Valentina patiently waited for the next step. 

“Perfect. Now add one teaspoon of baking soda into the flour along with a hefty pinch of salt, then use this whisk and mix until thoroughly combined,” Jezebel said and Valentina did as she was told. “Do you know a lot of recipes from the top of your head?” Valentina asked, curious about the demon’s knowledge. “Only a handful, though this one is my favourite. I enjoy baking,” Jezebel responded, the softness and slowness of her voice made Valentina instinctively slow down her whisking. 

“I never would have thought a demon would enjoy doing anything domestic,” Valentina admitted, chuckling lightly. When learning about all the different kinds of creatures, demons were usually described as social, cunning, selfish, wild, non-commital troublemakers. Even though Valentina knew practically nothing about Jezebel, her strikingly calm and balanced exterior stood out and intrigued her, especially when she was taught to expect otherwise. 

“Most of us don’t, but I prefer to keep to myself and my home,” Jezebel said and a wave of guilt shot through Valentina’s body. “I’m sorry for disturbing your peace then,” Valentina said, turning around to see if Jezebel would be angry, but she wasn't. She was relaxed as always, shaking her head a little. “No need to apologise, witchling. This little accident of yours has proved to be quite pleasant for me,” Jezebel reassured Valentina and offered her a kind smile. 

“Now, the dry mixture looks good for now, so please set that to the side. Now take the butter and cut it up into small cubes, they do not have to be perfect, we’re going to melt them anyway. Once the butter is cubed, put it into a bowl and stick it into the over for a few minutes, we want to soften it so that you can cream it with the sugar later,” Jezebel said, instructing Valentina further. 

Once again, Valentian had to go slow as she was afraid of hurting herself with the knife, so she took her time and did as she was told. While waiting for the butter to soften, her mind didn’t wander, she didn’t even feel the need to start talking to Jezebel, so that there wouldn’t be an awkward silence, she just stood there watching over the bowl, her mind focused solely on the task given to her by the demon. 

“It looks softened enoch to be taken out, I think. Now take the whisk again and stir the butter until there are no chunks left. Once that is done, put in half a cup of white sugar and then a half a cup of brown sugar along with a dash of vanilla and then whisk until the mixture starts getting pale in colour. That will take a while. Oh and please spoon the sugar into the cups again,” Jezebel said, pulling Valentina out of her trance and she did as she was told, her body moving slowly and carefully, taking her time with each step.

There was something soothing about obeying commands from somebody else, but more specifically, there was something about listening to Jezebel. Calmness and balance almost radiated from her and Valentina felt affected by it, somehow seeing and feeling her so tranquil and self-assured made Valenina’s body relax, it felt as if she could lean on her and Jezebel would catch her and help her get back up. 

“It looks like it’s ready for you to add the eggs. Whisk them in one at a time and then fold in the flour mixture you made earlier. Use that red spatula. Once you’ve done that, take that bag of chocolate chunks and add as many as your little heart desires,” Jezebel said and Valentina obeyed, doing everything just like the demon instructed her to. 

Pouring in the flour, Valentina grabbed the spatula and started folding it in, only after a while, she made too swift of a move, dusting the counter with a bit of flour. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that,” Valentina quickly apologised to Jezebel and reached for a towel to wipe the flour away. “No need to apologise, again, Valentina. It was an honest mistake, I won’t punish you for making one,” Jezebel said, her voice soothing Valentina’s panic as she wiped the flour away. 

“That implies that you would punish me if I did it on purpose,” Valentina murmured, trying to lighten up the mood after she ruined it with her panic. Jezebel behind her laughed and that sinful sound sent shivers down Valentina’s spine and ended up creating a warm feeling in her lower belly. “Perhaps I would. If we do this again, you might find out,” Jezebel said teasingly. Valentina didn’t dare to turn around to face Jezebel since her face turned a deep shade of pink as the thought of Jezebel bending her over the counter and using a wooden spoon to paint her bottom red crept into her mind. 

Valentina let out a shaky breath and steadied herself. She couldn’t be lusting after a demon she just accidentally summoned in her living room. “May I put the dough onto the baking tray?” Valentina asked, still not turning around to face Jezebel. “Yes you may. Take a tablespoon to measure out the dough and roll the pieces into little balls and place them on the tray. Make sure to give them enough space as they will be spreading. Once you’re done, put the tray in the oven and set a timer for twelve minutes,” Jezebel continued with her instructions, to Valentina’s delight, she didn’t hang onto the teasing. 

Having done as she was told, Valentina finally turned around to face Jezebel, who was looking at her with a smile, it looked like she was pleased. “Here, drink this for me. It’s cooler now and I think that you could use the hydration,” said Jezebel and handed Valentina her a mug with the tea she had made earlier. Thanking Jezebel, Valentina took the mug and took a sip from it, enjoying the taste before finishing the mug’s contents and setting it on the counter. 

“You weren’t lying,” Valentina said after a few seconds of silence. Jezebel didn’t say anything back, she just raised her eyebrow and waited for Valentina to continue talking. “You said that you could help me relax and you did. Thank you,” Valentina said, looking at Jezebel with an appreciative expression. “I am happy to be of service to you,” Jezebel said with a warm smile. 

“However your job isn’t entirely done here, there are still a few tasks ahead of you. Cleaning up, taking your apron off and taking the cookies out of the oven,” Jezebel said and Valetina nodded, turning around to grab all the bowls and utensils that she used and carrying them over to the dishwasher and putting them in. After closing the dishwasher, Valentina turned back to Jezebel with a smirk. “I know that you are in charge and everything, but there is no way I am doing the dishes by hand. I cannot stand the feeling of soggy food bits touching my fingers,” Valentina said, scrunching her face in a disgusted expression. “Alright, I will not force you to do anything you don’t want to do,” said Jezebel as she chuckled, amused by Valentina’s evasion of the task. 

Just as Valentina was about to respond, the timer on the over went off, signaling that the cookies were done baking. Pulling them carefully out of the oven so that she wouldn’t burn herself, Valentina couldn’t help but let out a delighted moan as she smelled them. Then she remembered that Jezebel also wanted her to take off her apron, so she did so, tossing it on the counter. 

“They look delectable, Valentina. I am proud of you for doing so well under my guidance,” Jezebel said with a satisfied expression on her face. Valentina smiled at her in appreciation, grateful for what the demon had done for her. 

“Even though I feel accomplished by helping you relax like that, I still can’t shake the feeling that there might be something more that you need, something more that you crave,” Jezebel said, her voice low as she crossed her arms and her eyes narrowed on Valentina, giving her no room for an escape. “No, it’s as simple as that, I just need somebody to help me take my mind off of work,” Valentina countered. “I am well aware. At first, I thought that something along the lines of what I just made you do is what you were truly after, but, how do I put it politely… I can sense sinful thoughts, us demons excel at that, witchling,” Jezebel said, a smirk appearing on her face as she saw Valentina turn red when it finally dawned on her what Jezebel was hinting at. 

A while ago when Valentina started to take her boss’s advice and tried to find a way for her to relax, one option came up that made her blush severely, but not in a way where she found it embarrassing. Sexual submission was something that intrigued her, even back in university when she was still openly dating, she found experimenting in the bedroom rather exciting and having learnt that submitting to somebody in the bedroom could turn someone’s brain off and help them relax, she grew interested. That interest had then quickly died down as she realised that there was nobody for her to do it with, her love life was dead, all her exes broke up with her because she prioritised her work over everything else including them and she wouldn’t dare to approach a stranger out somewhere in a club to do something like that with them. 

Now being presented with the opportunity to experience it, Valentina didn’t know how to react. She would be lying if she said that she didn’t find Jezebel attractive. She was exactly her type, older, tall, confident, dark hair with a few strands of silver, lines of black ink creeping from beneath her shirt and those black horns on her head looked like they could be perfect to hold onto. If Valentina had been back in college and saw Jezebel at a club, she would be making it her mission to end up with her hand down her pants. But now, being a responsible adult, she felt rather apprehensive despite her attraction and desires. 

“What would there be for you in it?” Valentina asked, avoiding directly answering Jezebel, circling around the subject. “I am a being of sin, witchling, being able to cause you to be lustful would be more than enough to arrange a little something with you,” Jezebel said casually, that confident expression still on her face. “Not to mention, you’re a gorgeous witch, it would be a pleasure to have you writhing under me,” Jezebel added, her smirk widening and the blush on Valentina’s face deepening. 

“How would… what would…” Valentina said, unable to form her questions. Even though she had fantasised plenty about this kind of arrangement, she didn’t actually know that much about how it worked. On top of that, she realised that it’s been a long time since she had someone in her bed, it somehow made her feel nervous about the prospect of being with a significantly more experienced woman, especially in an unfamiliar scenario. 

“Relax, Val, I will walk you through it. Let’s sit down,” Jezebel said gently, her smirk disappearing as she saw Valentina panic a little and she moved to sit on the couch and Valentina followed soon after, trying to appear as calm and collected as possible. “As I said before, I suggest taking tonight as a test, see if something could work between us, no need to rush. If this doesn’t work out, we don’t have to do anything like this again. I seem to recall that me instructing you to bake those cookies calmed you down quite well,” Jezebel said calmly and slowly, her posture relaxed, making Valentina instinctively loosen up a bit more too. 

“Alright, that sounds reasonable, I suppose,” Valentina said. “Good. Just to clarify, so that there is no miscommunication, what you are asking of me entails sexual submission. I am in charge of what you do and you submit and obey,” Jezebel said, tone serious. Valentina was grateful that she was taking it seriously, it showed that this wasn’t her first time engaging in something like this. “Yes,” Valentina breathed. 

“In my experience, there are a few ground rules that need to be established first. I will not be doing much to you tonight, but I still want you to be informed. First, if you need to pause, you say yellow, if you want me to stop, you say red. Please use those words if you need to. If I say them, then they mean the same and I will expect you to heed them. Understood?” Jezebel said and Valentina nodded, while repeating: “Yellow means pause, red means stop.”

“Brilliant. Now, is there anything you do not want me to do to you right now? As I said I won’t do much, but I still want to know your limits,” Jezebel said. “Not so much of a limit, but it’s been a while since I’ve had someone like this. Could you maybe take it slow?” Valentina said, avoiding Jezebel’s gaze as she did so. “I understand. Work comes first for you, which means that you don’t at all,” Jezebel joked, that wicked smirk reappearing on her face. Valentina desperately wanted to wipe it off. 

“Come sit in my lap, witchling, I don’t want you hiding that pretty blush from me anymore, I want to see it for myself,” Jezebel said and patted her thighs, her amber eyes fixated on Valentina, leaving her no room to escape. With a deep breath, Valentina gathered the courage to get up and move over to Jezebel. Since Jezebel was significantly larger than Valentina, she had to spread her legs out a lot in order to straddle her properly, which caused her quite short nightgown to ride up. 

Jezebel saw that Valentia was struggling to comfortably seat herself in her lap, so she gently gripped the witch’s waist, helping her steady herself. “I think it would be best if you straddled my thigh, I don’t want to give you any hip problems,” Jezebel murmured and Valentina chuckled before adjusting her position to straddle one of Jezebel’s thighs and Jezebel turned her head to the side to face Valentina.

As Jezebel’s hand still rested on Valentina's waist, her other hand reached up to grip her chin, gently pulling it up so that their eyes would meet. “I can hear your heartbeat picking up, but it’s not from stress, is it, witchling?” Jezebel whispered, her words causing Valentina to shudder. 

“No, not stress,” Valentina breathed as her body reacted quite positively to being seated in a gorgeous demon’s lap, completely at her mercy, willing to do what she wanted. “You’re probably wondering what I’ll have you do, how I’ll make use of the willing witch, desperate to have her brain turned off,” Jezebel whispered again, the hand on Valentina’s waist now gently caressing it, the movement causing a both calming and arousing sensation. 

“Can I kiss you, little witch?” Jezebel asked, her lips  almost brushing against Valentina’s as she spoke. Her brain devoid of words and thoughts, Valentina just nodded eagerly and waited for Jezebel to make the next move. Jezebel hummed in satisfaction before angling Valentina’s head a bit higher and then she leaned in, gently connecting their lips.

Valentina couldn’t help but moan a little as her lips came into contact with Jezebel’s. They were so soft and warm, she wanted to spend the next few hours tasting them. Jezebel then pulled away, looking into Valentina’s eyes for any hint of discomfort, only to see her pupils blown wide and an eager expression on her face. With a satisfied hum, Jezebel’s tongue darted out and licked along Valentina’s bottom lip, making her shudder. 

Jezebel then connected their lips again, this time making the kiss last longer, savouring the moment. Before Valentina could think it through, her hands were already darting up, one gripping Jezebel's shoulder, the other one sinking into her dark curls. She had wanted to touch her hair as soon as she saw it, now presented with the opportunity, she took it. As Jezebel didn’t protest, she continued playing around with her hair, deepening the kiss as she did so. 

Deciding that it would not be fair if the witch was the only one whose hands could wander, Jezebel’s hand moved from Valnetina’s waist to her hip, gripping it tight and moving Valentina closer to her, wanting to feel her body flush with hers. However, since Valentina had been straddling her thigh, that movement forward caused her groin to grind against the fabric of Jezebel’s trousers, the friction making Valentina moan loudly into the kiss and instinctively move her hips again, seeking to replicate that feeling of pleasure. 

Having realised what had just happened, Valentina pulled away from the kiss, panting and panicking. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. I’m not that desperate to grind against your thigh like that,” Valentina swiftly apologised, her face burning red. “You have a habit of apologising for things that are not your fault, we will be working on that. Also, I didn’t tell you to stop,” Jezebel said, her tone serious, amber eyes narrowed at Valentina who refused to meet her gaze. 

“I know, but that was really embarrassing,” Valentina said, sighing. “I personally found it rather arousing. In fact, I think that I will have you come like that,” Jezebel said nonchalantly and Valentina looked at her with wide eyes. “You want me to grind on your thigh?” Valentina asked in disbelief, her heart pounding. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to do that, in fact, Jezebel finding it arousing made heat pool in her lower belly, yet she still felt a tinge of embarrassment. 

“Worry not, witchling, I will assist you. If you’re comfortable with doing it of course,” Jezebel said with a light smirk, her words soothing Valentina as she was reminded that she had a safe way out and Jezebel wasn’t there to humiliate her for it. 

“I want to try,” Valentina said. “I am happy to hear that, witchling. Now I would like you to kiss me again, you lips taste of pomegranate and your hands in my hair feel divine,” Jezebel whispered, her voice low and sultry, filling Valentina with confidence as she leaned in to kiss her and her hands reached up to her hair, tangling in the curls. 

Meanwhile, Jezebel’s hands moved lower, one remained on Valentina’s hip and the second one on the other side moved lower, giving her bottom a firm squeeze, making Valentina let out a surprised sound into the kiss. In return, Valentina pulled on the strands of Jezebel's hair and her fingernails lightly grazed the base of her horns, causing Jezebel to groan and shudder. 

Holding tight onto Valentina, Jezebel moved her hips, making little grinding motions against her thigh, fully intending on bringing Valentina pleasure. Moaning into the kiss, Valentina moved her hips too, chasing her pleasure, unashamedly rubbing herself against the demon’s thigh. 

With how quickly the pleasure was building up, Valentina was glad for wearing underwear under her nightgown, without it, she would have left a wet spot on Jezebel’s trousers. 

Since Valentina hadn't had a partner in years and she couldn’t remember the last time she touched herself, her orgasm was going to hit her quick and hard. Therefore, she slowed her movements, only grinding down lightly as she tried to delay her orgasm. 

Jezebel took notice of this change of pace immediately and was having none of it. Gripping Valentina’s hips, she made her continue like before, slightly raising her thigh to give her a better angle, trying to grind against her. 

Valentina cried into the kiss, pulling away as she was out of breath and she pulled hard on Jezebel’s hair, causing her to groan and tilt her head back. “I’ll come too soon,” Valentina whimpered as she hid her face into Jezebel’s chest, letting out moans as waves of pleasure coursed through her body. “My sweet witch, I told you that you will come on my thigh, I don’t care how fast that will be,” Jezebel whispered into her ear, calming Valentina down and further adding to her arousal. The feeling of Jezebel’s lips brushing against her ear felt almost as erotic as rubbing herself against her thigh.

Moaning into Jezebel’s chest, Valentina knew she was close to her orgasm, very close, only after a few minutes. “Please, Jezebel, please, squeeze my hips harder,” she whimpered. Valentina could tell that while Jezebel was actively trying to push her to her orgasm, she was cautious in how she handled Valentina, unsure as to how far she could go with her. 

“There is nothing sweeter than a pleading witch,” Jezebel hummed and gripped Valentina’s hips harder while also increasing the pace of the movements against her thigh. Valentina let out a cry of pleasure, her nails once again scratching against Jezebel’s horns as she gripped her hair, making her moan as well. 

Valentina was seconds away from her release, she could feel it. It only took a few more seconds of grinding her clit against Jezebel’s thigh before she came with a gasp, her back arching as she did so. For the next few moments, Jezebel let Valentina ride her orgasm out, the grip on her hips loosening and her thigh descending back on the couch, not moving against her anymore, letting the witch come down from her high. 

Once she stopped moving her hips, Jezebel caressed her hair, giving her a kiss on the top of her head, soothing her. As Valentina’s breathing calmed down, she leaned back a little, looking Jezebel in eyes, her expression full of bliss. “Does it feel good when I touch your horns?” Valentina asked, her hazel eyes glassy. She was tired, it had been a long day at work, then the disappointment from the art class and now the orgasm drained the last bit of energy from her. 

Jezebel chuckled, seeing the witch become pliant and relaxed in her arms. “It does. It sends shivers down my spine and coupled with you pulling on my hair, you’ve got a recipe for arousing me,” Jezebel hummed, still stroking Valentina’s honey-coloured hair while gazing into her eyes. “Good to know then,” Valentina murmured and her eyes started closing as she leaned her head against Jezebel’s chest. 

Seeing that the witch was about to fall asleep in her arms, Jezebel picked her up and carried her to what she assumed was her bedroom. There, she laid half-asleep Valentina in her bed, tucking her in and giving her a kiss on the forehead. As she was about to leave, she noticed something on the other side of the bed. There was a stuffed animal in the shape of a unicorn, it looked well-loved, Jezebel assumed that Valentina had had it since she was little.

Handing the witch her stuffed animal, she accepted it, hugging it and rolling to the side as her breathing got even. Jezebel stayed for a few moments, watching the witch sleep peacefully before she exited the bedroom, feeling satisfied with what she had done. 

☽◯☾

When Valentina woke up in the morning, she thought that she had had a pretty wild dream, a wet dream at that, dry humping a gorgeous demon’s thigh on her couch. However when she stepped out of her bedroom, her heart almost stopped as a few pieces of evidence made her realise that it might not have been a dream after all. 

On her kitchen counter was a cake stand with all the cookies that she had baked last night and next to it was a lunch box with a hand-written note. Picking up the note, Valentina quickly read it.

Good morning, witchling.
I hope that you have slept well. Here’s a little something to get you through the day at work, take it easy for me today.
Yours infernally,
Jezebel

Valentina smiled as she looked at the contents of the lunch box, she looked forward to eating it, it looked delectable. Grabbing a cookie from the cake stand, Valentina went to make herself her morning coffee as she got ready for work, enjoying the sweet buttery taste on her tongue. 

Her workday went as usual, participating in meetings, reading and writing emails and letters, reading reports and getting updates on the latest projects. When lunch rolled around, Valentina instinctively went to her office, ready to eat her lunch while she worked, but then she remembered Jezebel’s note, asking her to take it easy. She thought about it for a while, but eventually she grabbed her lunchbox and headed to the common area where other employees took their lunch and chatted with one another. 

When Valentia entered the common area, she scanned the room to see if there was anyone that she knew, not wanting to make small talk with someone she only saw in a meeting once. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a woman with black hair, her dark eyes covered by her fringe, dressed in all red. It was Carol, her cousin, one of the few people out of her family she was on good terms with. 

With a bright smile, Valentina walked towards where Carol was sitting, reading a magazine as she ate her lunch, no doubt prepared by her doting lover Holly. Valentina had met both Carol’s partners on several occasions and she was incredibly happy for Carol to have found such delightful women. 

“Hi, mind if I sit with you?” Valentina said, bringing Carol’s attention to her. “Look who’s decided to leave her office. I told you that you would go insane if you spend every waking hour in there,” Carol joked, smiling back at Valentina, who scoffed and sat down opposite Carol, putting her lunch box on the table. “I’m trying to take it easy so that I don’t go insane,” Valentina breathed, relaxing in her chair. 

“You look good, Val, practically glowing. Have you finally gotten laid?” Carol said and Valentina almost choked on her food, her face turning bright red as she remembered her last night. “Oh, that’s a yes, I’m happy for you. With how much work you’ve got on your plate, you need a good tumble in the sheets,” Carol hummed. 

Carol’s comments only solidified Valentina’s impression of the effects of last night. Jezebel was absolutely right, she did help her relax in all the right ways. Valentina felt a sort of a balance, like her mind had been cleaned after being so messy for months. 

“Though I’m surprised that you’ve had time to meet someone new, especially with the big Faringray project going on right now,” Carol remarked, giving Valentina a curious look. Valentina chuckled, even back in university, Carol lived for gossip, wanting to know all the spicy details of everything. 

Before Valentina could say anything, Carol spoke again: “Speaking of the Faringray project, I may or may not have mentioned it to my mother, who told your mother, who will most definitely be sending you a letter in a couple of days, asking you contact great grandma Isobel and ask her about the key to her magic skills and ask her to help you get better. I’m sorry, I didn’t think it through when I mentioned it to them.” Regret was evident from Carol’s words and Valentina just sighed, all the positive thoughts being drained from her body again. 

No matter how hard she tried, how good she was, how successful she was, all that her family cared for was her lack of magical talent. To them, it was an absolute embarrassment to have a descendant of the great healer Isobel Donneley be without any magical talent and all her early life had been focused on fixing it. Valentina had lost count of how many times her mother had sighed and told her that she wished Valentina  would at least try to be like her older sister Mariel. Mariel had inherited the gift for magical healing just like Valentina’s mother had, leaving Valentina the only one talentless. 

Valentina had also lost count of how many times she cried to her mother, begging for forgiveness, saying that it was not for a lack of trying, but that she was just born like this. Her mother had never accepted that and so instead Valentina had redirected her attention to her studies, being at the top of her class every time, beating her older sister in everything. But to her mother, it all paled in comparison to Mariel’s magical abilities. 

Now that they were both adults and Valentina’s career proved to be far more successful than Mariel’s as a healer, her mother still disregarded Valentina’s success, saying that Mariel was better because she had managed to give her two beautiful twin grandbabies, who would too one day be amazing witches, something Valentina could never do.

Even now, when Valentina practically cut most contact with her family, only showing up for solstice celebrations, her mother still had the audacity to try and control her life and make her get better at magic. 

“I’m really sorry, Val, I shouldn’t have told them,” Carol said again when Valentina didn’t say anything, just stared at the table with a blank expression. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Carol. They would have found out eventually as the event will be publicly announced in a few days and our involvement will be heavily promoted as well,” Valentina sighed with a small smile. She didn’t want Carol to feel bad about this, not when she was one of the two people out of her whole family who had ever accepted her for who she was. 

“I’ll deal with it when the time comes. But since we’ve touched on the topic of the Faringray event, I have added you, Holly and Angeline to my personal guest list. I would love to see a few familiar faces out there,” Valentina said, looking at Carol with a warm smile, trying to push away all the negative emotions the mention of her mother had evoked. 

“Thank you Val, I’ll bring it up at home when I get back from work. I’m sure that Holly would love to go, the Faringrays will definitely bring out some of their finest art pieces and she will be spending hours studying them,” Carol said, smiling back at Valentina, grateful for her offer. 

For the rest of the lunch break, they ended up catching up with their personal lives, surprisingly to Valentina. They left out the topic of work completely, which was something she often struggled with as work was her primary focus in life. As Valentina spoke, she purposefully left out her little fiendish encounter from last night, telling Carol about the art class she had gone to the day before and Carol unwinded as she talked about the stressfulness of wedding planning. 

As they parted ways to go back to work, they promised one another to talk more often since they sincerely enjoyed each other’s company. Walking back to her office, Valentina felt conflicted, on one hand the unavoidable letter in her mailbox made her feel a sense of impending doom, on the other hand, conversing with Carol made her feel light and refreshed, almost like socialising helped her.

The rest of the workday went by rather fast since there was an unending amount of work, however Valentina remembered Jezebel’s letter and ended up leaving the office at a reasonable hour, this time not being the last one to leave the building. Baby steps. They were baby steps to her personal peace. 

☽◯☾

As a little over a week passed since Valentina’s encounter with the demon, she grew a bit antsy. Jezebel’s words made it sound like she would help Valentina in the future as well, yet with each day passing by, Valentina had gotten a feeling that it had been just a one time thing.

Luckily, Valentina didn’t have that much time to overthink it, since her work kept her busy as always. At the beginning of the week, she had finally received the promised letter from Onora Faringray, where she was told about all the details of the event, which were crucial for making the spell correctly according to their wishes. 

Since the final number of guests proved to be larger than they had been preparing for, they swiftly realised that the amount of spellcasters that they had wouldn’t be enough. Onora Farnigray had stated that she wishes for everyone to see the summoned spirit of Rodwina, which meant that the more people would need to see her, the more people would have to be casting the spell at the same time, ensuring that it worked as planned. 

Therefore despite her efforts to not work so late into the evening, Valentina had to stay at work, writing emails, letters and making calls, contacting spellcasters that they could hire specifically for that evening to help with the project. By the time she was done with sending out the messages, the sun had gone down, making Valentina once again the last one to leave the office. 

As Valentina drove home, she was already upset, finding the situation frustrating, but what made her almost collapse was the letter that she had found when she opened her mailbox. She recognised the seal immediately, the Donneley crest on green wax. Remembering what Carol had warned her about, she didn’t even bother opening it, not wanting to ruin her day even more. 

Opening the door to her apartment, Valentina tossed the letter onto the counter and focused on getting herself clean, fed and into bed as soon as possible, wanting to sleep the dreadful day away. While she was in the shower, she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering back to work related thoughts, worrying about whether or not they could get enough spellcasters in time, worrying about invitations getting lost in the mail, worrying about her boss getting upset with her for failing, worrying about failing and proving her mother right, showing everyone just how worthless she really was. 

As she picked at her food, Valentina couldn’t help but wish that Jezebel would be there for her at that moment. She needed someone to tell her that it would be alright, needed someone to turn her stupid brain off and help her reach a reasonable balance. 

Valentina continued thinking about Jezebel even as she got into bed, especially about what happened on Valentina’s couch. She couldn’t stop thinking about how big her hands felt on her body, how soft and easy to kiss her lips were, how fluffy her curls had been and how good it felt to rub herself against her thigh until she came, just like she had been ordered to do. 

After a few minutes of tossing and turning in her bed, unable to get those memories out her head, Valentina decided to do something about them. Sitting up, Valentina sighed in frustration and grabbed one of her little pillows, folding it over and easing it between her thighs, trying to simulate the large thigh she had come on a week before. 

Closing her eyes, Valentina held the pillow in place as she slowly started grinding on it, making small slow motions against it, while thinking about Jezebel and how good it felt to do it with her. She thought of her large hands on her hips, wishing that they had dared to wander all around her body, unashamedly touching her bottom or her breasts, teasing her nipples, pulling on them as her lips stifled Valentina’s desperate moans.

Since Jezebel wasn’t there to touch her, Valentina reached under her nightgown, teasing her own nipple, producing quiet whimpers amongst the moans as she continued grinding against the pillow, so desperately wishing it would be Jezebel, whispering dirty sinful words into her ear. 

It only took a few minutes for Valentina to reach her peak. She had been so tense and frustrated, the thoughts of Jezebel sending her straight over the edge. As she slowly got off the pillow and tossed it aside, she tried to steady herself, her breathing still uneven, a few beads of sweat lining her forehead. 

“Are you going to bed so soon, little witch? I thought that perhaps we could have a little chat,” a deep calm voice said, entering Valentina’s bedroom, making her heart almost skip a beat. Turning red, Valentina immediately got out of the bed and tried to straighten her bunched up nightgown. 

“What are you doing here?” Valentina said, her heart beating fast, hoping that Jezebel won’t investigate her disheveled state and bright red face. “As I said, I wanted to talk to you. It’s been a little over a week since my previous visit and I wanted to know if you had given some thought to my offer,” Jezebel explained, leaning against the doorframe. 

“Your offer? Let’s take this to the living room, I don’t want to talk in here,” Valentina said, walking towards the door, wanting to exit the room where she just did something dirty while unashamedly thinking about the demon right in front of her. 

Jezebel didn’t say anything to that, she just followed Valentina to the couch, sitting down next to her. As they sat down, Valentina immediately got reminded of what they had done on the couch last time, dirty thoughts creeping into her mind once again.

“How was your day today?” Jezebel said calmly. “Is that what you came here to talk about? My day?” Valentina said, sounding slightly irritated. “No, I came for something else, but I sense a lot of stress from you, so I want to know how this day has treated you,” Jezebel said, keeping her voice even and calm, simply explaining herself. 

“It was… not great. Terrible actually. The client that we’re making a spell for has finally told us how many people will need to see the result of said spell, we ran the calculations and discovered that we don’t have enough spellcasters to pull it off. So I spent the entire afternoon well into the evening writing emails and letters and calling people, hoping to get more. And if that wasn’t enough, I got a stupid letter from my mother in the mail, which will most definitely ruin my day even more once I read it,” Valentina rambled, rolling her eyes at the mention of her mother. 

“That sounds like a lot, Valentina. As much as your work frustrates you, I sense that the letter from your mother upsets you more. May I ask why?” Jezebel said gently, treading lightly as she saw how upset Valentina was. “My cousin Carol accidentally let the contents of our current projects slip and now my mother is asking me to contact the great Isobel Donneley to help me with my lack of magical powers,” Valentina rambled, curling her lip as she spoke. 

“Can you elaborate on that, please?” Jezebel said, feeling a bit confused as she wasn’t familiar with the details of the project Valentina had been working on. With a sigh, Valentina described the project to her in detail along with the second part which included the opportunity for guests to talk to their ancestors and that while Valentina hadn’t opened the letter, she knew from Carol what would be there. 

“If you already know the contents of the letter, may I look at it instead?” Jezebel asked after thinking for a moment, her brows heavy with thought. “Sure, I would have just torn it apart and thrown it away,” Valentina said while shrugging. 

Jezebel went to retrieve the letter, undoing the seal with an extended claw. As put on reading glasses and read its contents, her expression turned into a frown and she scrunched her nose in disgust. As soon as Jezebel finished reading it, the letter went ablaze in her hands, leaving a faint dusting of ash on the coffee table underneath her. 

“Your mother is a piece of work,” Jezebel said after a few seconds, steadying herself. Valentina just sighed, on one hand she was relieved that now she literally couldn’t read the letter even if she forced herself to, on the other hand, she felt a bit embarrassed that Jezebel had to see her mother’s nastiness. 

“I’ll never be good enough for her, will I?” Valentina sighed, closing her eyes, not wanting Jezebel to see the tears that crept in. “Perhaps not, but that doesn’t matter. Your worth as a person isn’t determined by other people’s opinions, it’s your own view of yourself that truly matters. Are you happy with what you have accomplished? I think that you should be,” Jezebel said, trying to reason with Valentina and calm her down. 

A faint smile appeared on Valentina’s face. “I am. I love my work, even though it can be stressful and frustrating. I just have a hard time stopping. Just like today, when I was in the shower, I couldn’t bring myself to stop thinking about all the ways the project could go wrong and I have such a hard time trying to set a work-life balance since I have spent my whole life working to prove myself to my family,” Valentina admitted, looking down on the floor. 

“Which is why you called upon me,” Jezebel said, looking at Valentina with a warm smile. “I didn’t call for you, I called for an angel, you just decided to stick around even though I tried telling you that you weren’t welcome,” Valentina said, laughing lightly. “And yet, the night ended with you having a smile on your face, relaxed in my arms,” Valentina whispered, a self-assured grin on her face. 

Remembering the end of that night, Valentina broke eye contact, unable to withstand it. When she didn’t say anything to that, Jezebel spoke again: “Which once again brings me to the reason why I am here. I wanted to give you a week to think about if you’d like what happened last time to become a regular thing.” 

Valentina’s eyes widened, Jezebel hadn’t forgotten about her, she was just giving her time to think. Little did she know that Valentina did think about her, quite a lot. “Just today when I couldn’t stop thinking about work, I thought of you, how you could probably help calm my mind down,” Valentina admitted, her tone of voice quiet as she spoke. 

“I am sorry that I hadn’t come sooner then, I would have tried to help you,” Jezebel said, offering Valentina a look of sympathy. “You’re here now, that’s what matters. And yes, I think that I would like what happened last time to become a regular thing,” Valentina said and Jezebel’s smile grew wider. 

“Excellent. In order to make this arrangement of ours more official and functional, I would like you to make a contract with me,” Jezebel said. “I’m not giving you my soul!” Valentina hissed, sounding offended by the proposal. In response Jezebel laughed, loudly. “What’s so funny about that?” Valentina asked, crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive position. “What’s funny is that the last time a demon took a witch’s soul was around half a millenia ago. Gods, what do they teach you little ones at school?” Valentina said, shaking her head as her chest still shook with laughter.

“So what does it mean to make a contract then?” Valentina inquired, still doubtful about it. “As I said, it makes our arrangement more official and there can be established rules that we will both be bound by. It also makes it easier for me to sense when you need me as well as offer you some basic protection,” Jezebel explained, her calm tone making Valentina more relaxed as she listened in.

Thinking about it for a while, Valentina still felt a bit uneasy about it. “As much as I want to say yes, I don’t know anything about you, Jezebel,” Valentina said, frowning. “You don’t need to know me for this to work, I think I proved that the last time,” Jezebel said, sounding reluctant to share her personal information. “I cannot rationally explain it. It just feels wrong to trust somebody with something so private when I don’t know anything about them while they know a lot about me,” Valentina said, not giving up easily. 

“I mostly deduced what I know from the contents of your shelves and your behaviour, you yourself were quite reluctant to tell me anything. But I suppose that it makes sense, especially if this becomes a regular occurrence. Well then, little witch, what do you want to know?” Jezebel said after thinking things through, leaning back, daring Valentina to ask her about her personal life. 

“Do you have a job? If so, what is it? How old are you? I know that you like to bake, what about other hobbies? And most importantly, why are you doing this? What’s in it for you?” Valentina quickly said all the questions that came to her, making Jezebel chuckle lightly. “Of course you’d ask about work first. I am a writer, little witch and I am thirty-nine years old. As for my hobbies, I do enjoy baking, cooking, candle making and taking care of plants. Speaking of which, your minimalist little apartment would greatly benefit from some, west facing windows are good for a good variety of them. Finally, as for what’s in it for me, I already told you. I’m a demon, witchling, making you do sinful things satisfies me,” Jezebel said and almost every word made many new questions pop into Valentina’s head. 

“What exactly do you write? If I had to guess, probably poetry or something, you and your calm, balanced aura just scream something like that. Plants are a very bad idea, I have killed every single one that I have ever been given. Can you also elaborate on being satisfied by sin? I clearly didn’t pay attention at school when we talked about demons or I must have forgotten all about it,” Valentina quickly piled all her queries onto Jezebel, making her let out an amused laugh. 

If Valentina remembered correctly, demons were very social creatures, practically needing the company of others to survive, yet Valentina seemed like the exact opposite, preferring to keep to herself.

“You’re wrong, little witch, I typically tend to write erotic novels and short stories, though I suppose dirty poems could be up my alley as well,” Jezebel said with a smirk and a wink, making Valentina’s eyes go wide. She never would have guessed that this composed, relaxed, calm demon could ever write something like erotica. 

“As for being satisfied by sin, us demons literally live off of it. We are beings of sin and we need to be around it, preferably causing it to be satiated and fed. That’s why most demons are seen out in the public, tempting others, provoking sinful behaviour, leeching off of it. I however don’t enjoy doing it, I do not like places with a lot of people, they just give me a headache. So instead, I have chosen a very roundabout way of causing sin. I write erotica to make people feel lustful and since I have written what they got aroused by, I get fed just a tiny bit. If enough people read my books and feel lustful, it can sustain me without ever having to step outside. Though since it’s an indirect way of causing sin, it doesn’t feed me as much as directly causing it would. Having a thousand people read my work pales in comparison to having a beautiful witch fall apart on my thigh,” Jezebel explained and Valentina just stared at her in awe, amazed by Jezebel’s ingenuity, finally realising that she was also vital for Jezebel. 

Looking back to last week, it made sense. When Jezebel had arrived, her skin looked a little pale and her eyes were a faded yellow, her hair slightly ashen. However by the time Valentina had gotten into her lap, her eyes were practically glowing, as if full of life. 

“So in other words, we will both get something we really need from this contract,” Valentina said after processing all of that information Jezebel had just given to her. “Yes, I need to make you sin a little and you need me to take control. It almost sounds like the perfect fit,” Jezebel hummed, a pleased smile playing on her lips. 

“Well then, if I have sufficiently satisfied your curiosity, I think that we could move onto the contracts,” Jezebel said. When Valentina nodded, Jezebel flicked her hand above the coffee table, making a few sheets of paper appear. “There are two sets of contracts, one for non-sexual submission, the other for sexual submission. Please read through them carefully and tick the ones that you would be okay with. I shall do the same with mine,” Jezebel instructed Valentina, the look on her face completely serious. 

First Valetnina looked over the non-sexual submission list, it all seemed simple, she ticked off the boxes with things she was comfortable with Jezebel having control over, such as what she did during their time together, what she wore and what she ate. When she turned to the list containing the sexual items, she paused for a moment. “I confess, that I do not know some things from this list,” Valentina said, drawing Jezebel’s attention away from her own papers to her. 

“I would suggest ticking only the things that you know and are comfortable with. Later, if everything goes alright, I can explain them to you and you can decide if you’d like to try them. Both of these lists can be edited at any time, by the way,” Jezebel explained and Valentina relaxed, nodding as she went back to her own list, ticking off the things that she knew and was comfortable with, blushing as she imagined Jezebel doing some of the things to her.

Once they were done, Jezebel had created copies of one other’s lists for them to keep and study. When Jezebel received Valentina’s list of sexual preferences and limits, she smiled and murmured: “I am going to have so much fun making you sin, little witch.”

“All that’s left to do is sign them. Then, I would like to give you this amulet. It will let me know if you’re in distress. You can use it to wish to summon me as well and it also offers protection,” Jezebel said, presenting Valentina with a jewelry box that contained a golden pendant necklace with a presumably enchanted onyx. 

Valentina signed the papers and then let Jezebel put the necklace around her neck. As soon as it was secured, Valentina sighed contently, everything that she had just done felt right. 

“How tired are you right now?” Jezebel asked as she looked Valentina up and down, trying to visually assess her level of tiredness. “Tired, but not exhausted. Why? Do you have something planned for me?” Valentina asked, feeling curious. 

“Well, I have noticed, that, amongst other things, you said that you were comfortable with me controlling your orgasms and punishing you. While I wasn’t going to mention it, I must confess that once I arrived in your apartment, I heard a faint rustling of sheets and a few stifled moans from behind your bedroom door. I had waited for them to cease, not wanting to disrupt you, but now, it gave me an idea. What do you say, little witch, would you like to be punished for coming without my permission?” Jezebel said and with each word Valentina’s blush deepened. Knowing the Jezebel had heard her pleasuring herself made her want to hide under her sheets, forgetting that she had ever met the demon in the first place. 

“Gods, I cannot believe that you’ve heard it and kept a straight face this whole time,” Valentina whined and buried her face in her hands, trying to hide from Jezebel’s amused gaze. “Is that a no, then?” Jezebel asked. “No- I mean, it’s just embarrassing, that’s all. But I think that I would like to try it, being punished by you,” Valentina stammered out, her heart still beating fast from embarrassment. 

“In that case, there's one more thing that I would like to set straight. While we’re engaging in sexual activities like this, you shall address me as ‘Mistress’. Is that clear?” Jezebel said, eyes narrowed on Valentina, who nodded. “Use your words, witchling,” Jezebel purred. “Yes, mistress,” Valentina whispered. Saying the honorific sent shivers down her spine and her body relaxed, the submission feeling natural.  

“Good girl. Now I would like you to go get rid of your panties, you won’t be needing them and please let your hair loose, I want to see those honey coloured waves all around your magnificent body. If you leave that nightgown on, that is your choice, I don’t want to force you to get naked for me just yet. You may also take it off in the middle of the scene, all you need to do is ask properly,” Jezebel hummed, her eyes motioning over to the bathroom. 

With a shaky breath, Valentina rose and walked to the bathroom, leaving Jezebel to prepare her part of the scene. As per instructions, Valentina slipped out of her panties and then proceeded to let her hair loose after the whole day, letting it fall down in waves all around her. Valentina loved how thick and long her hair was, reaching her waist, but it was a nuisance, often getting in her way and so it usually ended up in an elegant updo, only being released just before she went to sleep. 

Debating whether or not she should take off her nightgown as well, Valentina decided that she could remove it as her hair managed to cover her up just right so that she wouldn’t feel too vulnerable and exposed. Looking at her naked self in the mirror, only the pendant necklace remaining, Valentina smiled, feeling excited about the things the demon in her living room was about to do to her. 

When Valentina returned to her living room, she discovered that Jezebel had moved herself into the armchair, undoing a few buttons of her shirt, letting a bit of tattooed cleavage show. What caught Velntina’s eye was the contraption she had strapped to her boot, looking smugly as Valentina laid her eyes on it. 

“Are you ready to apologise to your Mistress for touching yourself without her permission?” Jezebel purred, making Valentina weak at the knees as she slowly approached her. “Your hair looks beautiful when it’s down, Valentina,” Jezebel added as she took in Valentina’s naked form, unashamedly staring at her body. 

“What is that?” Valentina asked, pointing to the contraption strapped to Jezebel’s boot. Using various leather straps, Jezebel had attached a vibrating wand to her shin, the head sitting on her instep. “Why don’t you kneel for me and find out what it is?” Jezebel teased, moving her foot a little bit forward, closer to Valentina. 

Cautiously, Valentina descended, getting on her knees, while keeping eye contact with Jezebel. Her amber eyes were now more intense in colour, Valentina could tell that her own lustful feelings satiated the demon well. 

Valentina did not sit on Jezebel’s boot right away, she sat in front of it, waiting for more precise instructions. As she gazed up at Jezebel, her heart was beating fast, there was something so incredibly freeing and arousing about kneeling in front of the fully clothed demon, while she was completely naked, willing to do every sinful thing the demon would ask. 

“Have a seat, little witch,” Jezebel hummed, keeping her gaze on Valentina, relishing in the feeling of having power over the witch on her knees. “What do I get from that?” Valentina asked, stalling, testing Jezebel’s patience. 

Jezebel shook her head, smirking. “Having been a good girl your whole life, you’ve just been itching to have an outlet where you could safely act out, haven’t you? Luckily for you, I have a thing for dealing with mouthy little things like you,” Jezebel hummed, amused by Valentina’s defiance, looking pleasantly surprised by it. Her words excited Valentina even more, knowing what she had ticked off on the list, there was no doubt in her mind that Jezebel would make good use of that information. 

“Maybe. Maybe I just don’t want to get on your dirty boot,” Valentina said defiantly, challenging Jezebel. “My sweet witch, you seem to have forgotten that this is supposed to be somewhat of a punishment for touching yourself without your Mistress’s permission, digging your grave even deeper is rather inadvisable at this point,” Jezebel said, warning Valentina. 

Before Valentina could stop herself from making things worse, she snapped back: “Maybe if you had turned up earlier, I wouldn’t have needed to resort to doing that.” Jezebel let out an amused chuckle. As Valentina was about to ask what’s so funny, suddenly her hands had been pulled behind her back, leather straps tying them in place. 

“I think that that’s enough of mouthing off. Get your pretty wet cunt on my boot or I will pull you forward and make you get on it,” Jezebel said, all humour disappearing from her face, replaced by seriousness. 

With a loud gulp, Valentina slowly inched her way forward, spreading her knees and sitting down on Jezebel’s boot, her wetness dampening the cold leather. When she steadied herself, she looked up at Jezebel, a faint pleased smile back on her lips. 

“Good witch. Now why don’t you tell me about the details of your little self pleasuring moment, since you’re so proud of it, while you grind on my boot. Maybe, if I feel like it, I can turn on the wand, make you get my boot even filthier,” Jezebel purred, her eyes glowing brightly as she spoke, the words arousing Valentina deeply. 

“You must have a thing for dry humping huh? First your thigh, now a dirty boot. That wasn’t on the list, but good to know,” Valerian hummed, still not done with her teasing. Jezebel frowned and sighed, that was Valentina’s only warning before she felt the boot underneath her move up, lifting her up slightly, putting a lot of pressure on her clit, making her cry in surprise. 

“The only one that’s making my boot dirty is your filthy little pussy, witchling. You can brat all you want, but we both know that you want this just as much as I do, you’re practically dripping all over your floor with it,” Jezebel said, moving her foot, forcibly rubbing Valntina’s clit with great intensity, making her moan loudly. “Please, Mistress, slow down, it’s too much,” Valentina pleaded, the pressure being too much to handle. 

“I’ll let you be if you promise to tell me what I want and rub yourself against my boot without any mouthing off,” Jezebel said and Valentina immediately nodded, as her eyes filled with tears from the overwhelmingly sensation the demon was making her feel. 

When Jezebel didn’t stop, Valentina cried: “Yes, Mistress, I’ll do what you want, just please!” As soon as Valentina said those words, she found that the movements of Jezebel’s leg stopped and she took a little moment to steady herself before moving her hips on her own, rubbing her clit against the leather boot. 

“Go on, my sweet witch, look me in the eyes and confess your sins to me,” Jezebel purred, her large hand gripping Valentina’s chin to make their eyes meet. Feeling utterly pathetic as she rubbed herself desperately against Jezebel’s boot, Valentina whimpered. “I couldn’t stop thinking about our last night together,” she said quietly, breathing heavily and Jezebel cocked her head to the side in curiosity. 

“And what did you do while thinking about it, hm? Why did I hear rustling of sheets and faint moans?” Jezebel teased, wanting to make the witch spell out every single dirty thing she had done. “I took my pillow and put it between my legs, imagining it was your thigh again,” Valentina whimpered, the sting of humiliation arousing her further, bringing her closer to her release.

“And here you were, laughing at me for enjoying having a pretty witch rub herself against me when in reality, you love it even more, don’t you, my naughty little witch,” Jezebel hummed, teasing Valentina, who was barely capable to holding eye contact as it felt too intense, especially when combined with the pleasure she was receiving. 

When Valentina didn’t say anything to that, Jezebel’s large hand ended up in her hair, tangling in the strands and pulling on them, making Valentina hiss. “Admit it, witchling, you like it just as much as I do,” Jezebel growled and Valentina whimpered pathetically, the pain adding to her pleasure. 

“Yes, Mistress, I like it. I liked it so much that I had to do it again, thinking about you as I grinded against my pillow. Thinking about your massive hands all around my body, your lips grazing against my ear, whispering dirty words in it,” Valentina broke, saying every filthy detail that she thought of, speeding up the movements of her hips, feeling that she was about to come on Jezebel’s boot. 

“My hands? Where do you want them, little witch?” Jezebel inquired, the witch’s confession piquing her interest. “Everywhere. My hips, my thighs, my ass, my breasts, anywhere you want. They’re so big compared to mine, gods, I want you fingers inside me, please, Mistress,” Valentina said, any filter that she had long gone, her mind overtaken by arousal, the desire to come and please her Mistress. 

Jezebel laughed darkly, the sound ending up sending waves of pleasure through Valentina’s body, further pushing her to the edge. “You will get them, someday, my darling witch. I’ll stuff your pretty little cunt full, I promise,” Jezebel said, making Valentina moan. “Mistress, I am going to come, please, may I have permission to come?” Valentina whimpered desperately, her eyes glinting with tears. 

“Yes you may, my sweet witch, you’ve earned it,” Jezebel hummed and suddenly the dormant vibrating wand that was attached to her boot came to life, buzzing against Valentina. Before Valentina could say anything and complain to Jezebel that it was too much, she cried in surprise, being violently forced over the edge. 

As Valentina went through her orgasm, the vibrator only seemed to prolong it, extending her pleasure, However once the blissful feelings had passed, the toy still continued buzzing, causing Valentina’s thighs to shake, making her move away from it. 

Noticing that Valentina was trying to escape the overstimulating sensation, Jezebel shot her a glare and moved her leg forward again, pressing the toy back against Valentina’s oversensitive clit, making her cry and whimper pathetically. “You wanted to come so desperately, even rubbing yourself on a pillow. Now that you’re given the opportunity to come again, don’t run away from it, that’s ungrateful, witchling,” Jezebel said, frowning at Valentina as tears started spilling down her cheeks. 

“I’m sorry, Mistress, it’s too much,” Valentina whimpered, a sob coming out of her throat as the toy relentlessly buzzed against her, bringing her involuntary pleasure. “You can take it, my sweet witch, it’s okay if you cry a little. All I need from you is to come again, then I’ll make it stop, okay?” Jezebel cooed, stroking Valentina’s tear-stained cheek gently, sadistically enjoying the sight of the disheveled witch in front of her. 

Deciding not to fight it, Valentina gave into the overwhelming pleasure, moving against the toy, letting out a mixture of sobs, moans and whimpers, letting tears run down her cheeks. With how intense the nonstop pleasure was, it was only a matter of seconds before she would be thrown over the edge again and she prayed that Jezebel would keep her word, stopping the toy as she came. 

Seeing the witch become completely pliant, letting Jezebel have full control over her body, obeying her, it made Jezebel smile, feeling glad for stumbling across such a delightful little creature. Deciding to help Valentina reach her peak sooner, Jezebel reached down, pulling Valentina’s hair to the side as her fingers reached for her breast, first taking it into her hand and squeezing it, letting Valentina feel just how large her hand was and then she took her nipple, rolling it between her fingers, pinching it, pulling on it, seeing Valentina’s reactions. 

The extra pleasurable sensation was enough for Valentina to cry Jezebel’s honorific as she came, her thighs violently shaking as she did so, openly sobbing throughout it. Just before it was about to become unbearable, Jezebel made the toy stop buzzing, letting Valentina calm down, stroking her hair and her cheek, praising her as her breathing slowly steadied.

When she mostly calmed down, Valentina gave Jezebel a faint smile, who returned it. “Are you alright, Valentina? I didn’t hurt you, right?” Jezebel asked, checking in. “No, you didn't, I would have said red if I wanted to stop,” Valentina said, gazing into Jezebel’s bright amber eyes.

“Good, I’m happy to hear that. Now, for the final part, I want you to clean up your mess,” Jezebel purred and Valentina’s eyes widened in shock, looking up at the demon to see if she was joking. “Did I stutter? Go clean up your mess, witchling,” Jezebel said, her tone dead serious. 

“But I don’t have my hands,” Valentina whined, knowing that she would move quite awkwardly with her hands still tied behind her back. “Do you need your hands to lap up your mess from my boot? I don’t think you do,” Jezebel said, a sadistic smile creeping onto her face. Valentina whimpered, incredibly aroused by the humiliating words. 

Slowly, she eased off of the boot, moving backwards so that she could bend over and dart her tongue out to lick the wet leather. Her cheeks burned with humiliation as she felt Jezebel’s intense gaze on her, watching her every move. What only added to her humiliation was the amount of wetness on the boot and around it, it made her feel filthy in the best way possible as she diligently licked up every bit of her own juices, tasting herself. 

Once Jezebel deemed her boot clean enough, she removed the leather straps holding Valentina’s hands, making the contraption on her boot disappear as well and she helped Valentina into her lap, holding her, stroking her hair, telling her how well she had done. 

Just like their last night together, when all the adrenaline and other hormones slowly drained away, Valentina’s body became heavy in Jezebel’s arms as she was mere minutes from falling asleep.  Before carrying Valentina into her bedroom, she retrieved her nightgown, helped her put it on and then tucked her into bed, giving her the stuffed unicorn by reflex. 

With a satisfied smile, Jezebel turned off the light, leaving only her bright eyes glowing in the dark, signalling how thoroughly satisfied she was by what had happened between them. Then she left the bedroom to take care of Valentina’s apartment while she slept. 

☽◯☾

The following few weeks went by quickly for Valentina as she focused the majority of her time on the Faringray project, fleshing out all the details, feeling more and more nervous as the day of the event came closer.

The only thing standing in her way of becoming a nervous wreck had been Jezebel, popping into her apartment whenever she sensed Valentina’s distress. She once even visited her at work when Valentina was on the brink of a panic attack when she learned some critical bad news about another organiser of the event falling ill and being unable to continue, meaning that their responsibilities fell on her. 

Jezebel also took on the role of Valentina’s personal chef, making sure that she had nutritious meals at regular intervals. Before then, Valentina would replace breakfast with a black coffee, buy a small little something for lunch and eat it while working and then buy takeout for dinner. Jezebel quickly put a stop to that, insisting that she wanted her witch well fed and healthy.

Sometimes, if Valentina got home at a reasonable hour, the usual calming rituals would be followed by a bit of bedroom fun, although Jezebel mostly reserved that for the weekends, forbidding Valentina from working. 

Just the weekend before the event, Jezebel had brought Valentina one of her books to read, since Valentina had asked for it before. Jezebel planned that she would bake her something while Valentina read, getting increasingly aroused with every page. 

Even though Valentina begged Jezebel to stop whatever she was doing in the kitchen and come help her deal with the arousal her book had inspired, Jezebel calmly declined, making Valentina wait until she was done. By the time that happened Valentina had eagerly spread her legs when Jezbeel told her to do so and she knelt between them, forcing Valentina to read her favourite spicy scene out loud while Jezebel licked her, stopping every time Valentina stopped. 

After what felt like hours of torture, Valentina finally earned her orgasm, pulling on Jezebel’s horns as she did so, keeping her close to her cunt, greedily taking all the pleasure from her. When Jezebel had been eventually let go, she was looking at Valentina with bright glowing eyes, signalling just how satisfying the act had been for her. 

As Jezebel now spent a significant portion of her time at Valentina’s place, keeping her company, Valentina thought it suitable to ask Jezebel to come with her to the Faringray event, especially after how much Valentina had told her about it as she often voiced her worries to Jezebel only to be calmed down right after.

To her surprise, Jezebel agreed to come with her, despite telling her before that she didn’t enjoy places that had a lot of people, saying that it gave her a headache. Jezebel had also agreed to help Valentina get ready for the event, both mentally and also helping her pick out clothing, jewelry and a suitable hairstyle. 

Just a few hours before the event was supposed to start, Jezebel arrived at Valentina’s apartment, already dressed in an all black suit, the only exception being a golden tie and gold jewelry. 

As per usual, Valentina put her hair up in an elegant updo. Jezebel helped her do her make-up, choosing eyeshadow that would go along perfectly with her champagne coloured dress, contrasting with her tan skin. The dress had a lower neckline, showing off Valentina’s cleavage and most importantly the pendant necklace Jezebel had given her, signifying their contract.

When they were done with dressing up, Valentina drove them to their destination, laughing as Jezebel struggled to fit into the car due to her otherworldly size. Nonetheless, she managed to get them to the event in one piece safely. 

As soon as they arrived, her nervousness picked up. They had arrived a bit early to help with finishing the preparations, making sure that everything concerning the spell would go according to plan. Valentina sat Jezebel at her personal reserved table, where her cousin Carol and her partners would also be seated, gave her a glass of champagne and promised to be back soon and she rushed though the whole building, checking one last time that everything was in place.

By the time she had returned, it was just in time as Carol and her lovers had arrived, greeting Jezebel. Valentina introduced Jezebel to her friends, smacking Carol’s hand as she whispered to her, asking if Jezebel had been the one making her glow like that. Despite the initial surprise of Jezebel being a demon, all the women eventually started chatting, getting comfortable with the otherworldly being. 

Valentina’s heart fluttered as Jezebel made small talk with Holly, who brought up something she had baked, Jezebel asking for the details of her technique. Angeline, dressed in an adorable pink dress, still frightened by the demon, started asking a bunch of questions about how Valentina had summoned her, saying that according to the pattern of Jezebel’s horns, she was a quite powerful demon which meant less luck finding a guide for the right summoning circle with proper ingredients.  

Knowing that Angeline was the most magically gifted and curious about how magic worked, Valentina shrugged and answered truthfully that it had been an accident when she was trying to summon an angel. 

While Angeline looked like she had at least ten more questions about Jezebel, her attention had redirected to something behind Valentina, the event was starting, the spellcasters were activating the spell, invoking the spirit of Rowdina Faringray to deliver a speech.

Rodwina didn’t manifest fully, it wasn’t even possible, her form was rather translucent except for the dragonfly pin on her chest that had been real, being the source of her spirit that the spellcasters used to invoke her. 

The whole room went quiet and everyone listened to Rodwina talk. She talked about her story, her life as an educator, making an emphasis on the education of our young. Giving some parenting advice as well as some life advice, even sharing some personal funny stories, she had everyone’s attention as they absorbed the woman's wisdom. Lastly she thanked her family for orchestrating such an event and praised all the spellcasters who helped to invoke her spirit. 

Her speech left many in tears, her words inspiring them. Before she had to disappear, as the spell couldn’t last for longer than an hour, she said her goodbyes to the crowd, retreating to another room where her family had awaited her, ready to talk to her in private.

After Rodwina’s speech, Valentina had to walk around and talk to all the important people that were there, representing the company that made the event happen, receiving compliments, and discussing possible future projects with intrigued guests. While she went around, Jezebel remained by her side, having Valentina on her arm, patiently listening to every conversation, occasionally adding to them. 

Once she finally talked to everyone she needed to see, Valentina had found them a quiet spot to rest for a while before moving onto other activities. Only then did Valentina turn to Jezebel, looking at her and seeing that her amber eyes were glowing brightly, just like they would when Jezebel would feed on Valentina’s lust.

As Jezebel noticed Valentina looking at her with wide confused eyes, she smiled, looking pleased. “As I said before, I am a being of sin, witchling, being around it satiates me,” Jezebel explained calmly. “But how? Does everyone think lustful thoughts in your presence?” Valentina asked, dumbfounded and Jezebel laughed, shaking her head. “Lust isn’t the only sin that exists, dear. The reason why I agreed to come with you was that I knew that as soon as people saw you on my arm, they would be envious of me. Everybody wants the brilliant Valentina Donneley by their side, yet now they cannot have her and envy the lucky demon that managed to steal her for herself,” Jezebel purred, a proud smirk on her face. 

Valentina blushed, she hadn’t even realised what kind of message turning up with a demon holding her like that would send. She wasn’t perturbed by it, she just wanted the person she was closest with to see her achievements, she wanted to feel appreciated, not caring about what others may think of her. 

“Yet here I was, feeling guilty about dragging you to a crowded place and here you are, happily feeding off of everyone,” Valentina scoffed, crossing her arms with a smile. “I don’t think that I would have minded being here even without feeding. I love seeing you be passionate about something, it makes you look adorable. Also meeting your cousin Carol and her partners was lovely, you should spend more time with them,” Jezebel said with a warm smile.

“Holly said something about a Mabon celebration, perhaps we could join them. She is amazing in the kitchen, you’ll love her,” Valentina mused excitedly as she fantasissed about the future. “Would they be alright with letting a demon into their home? They seem to be more traditional witches,” Jezebel asked, her brows laced with worry. “I am sure that it wouldn’t be a problem. While they do lean towards tradition, they are incredibly hospitable and wouldn’t hesitate putting all their protective salts away for a few hours,” Valentina laughed and Jezebel nodded in understanding. 

“It looks like the personal spaces for calling on your ancestors are being set up, would you like to try?” Jezebel asked as she saw the spellcasters enchanting the little tents. Valentina paused, her mother’s wish instantly popping into her mind. “I don’t know…” she said, As much as she knew that she should probably at least try contacting Isobel and asking, she hated the thought of doing something her mother wanted her to do.

“I didn’t say you had to contact Isobel. If I recall correctly, you told me that there were only two people in your family who have ever accepted you as you are. I am guessing that Carol is one of them and the second one could perhaps be that grandmother who gifted you that beloved unicorn of yours,” Jezebel said calmly, her words soothing Valentina and making her pause. 

Her maternal grandmother Iona had always been supportive of her, never making any differences between her and Mariel, always treating them equally, being kind and loving to both and it made Valentina feel good. Her grandmother had been her safe space, someone she could always turn to when her mother’s behaviour upset her deeply. That’s why it hurt her so much when her grandmother passed away and her mother didn’t even bother to write her a letter about it, later saying that she figured that Valentina would be too busy with work anyway. 

It stung and it had been the deciding factor to truly distance herself from her family, while silently still wishing that one day they would magically accept her and welcome her back into their lives, her magical issues forgotten. 

Now being presented with the opportunity to see her grandmother again, Valentina teared up. “I sometimes hate how well you can read me,” Valentina said, trying to laugh off the bitter memory. “I’ll be waiting for you right outside. Come on, I know you want to see her,” Jezebel said, extending her hand out to Valentina, guiding her to the rooms.

With a deep breath, Valentina tried to steady herself before going inside, knowing that she would most likely tear up as soon as she saw her grandmother. When she was inside, she wrote on a piece of paper who she would like to talk to and then put the piece of paper into a small firepit, letting her grandmother’s figure be formed by the smoke. 

She was just as beautiful and elegant as Valentina remembered her. Attempting to hug her grandmother's shadowy figure, she greeted her, saying just how much she’s missed her. Her grandmother’s voice nearly broke her, hearing her greet her and say her name once again. 

As she pulled away, she felt an intense wave of guilt wash over her. “I am sorry for not coming to see you during your last days, I didn’t know,” Valentina said, unable to hold back her words any longer, she had wanted to apologise for years, not having been present at her death bed or her funeral. 

“It’s alright, my sweet Valentina, they told me that you had a lot going on with your work,” her grandmother said, smiling lovingly. “It’s not that. I would have come to see you at any point, they only told me that you were gone a week after the funeral. I am so sorry, I should have kept in touch with you and not relied on my mother to tell me,” Valentina said, her chest hurting. 

“Sometimes I wonder where I had gone wrong with raising your mother,” Iona sighed, shaking her head. “Is she still like that?” she asked. “I don’t think that she’ll ever change. When she found out that at this event, the guests could talk to their ancestors, she immediately wanted me to summon Isobel and ask her about fixing me,” Valentina said, sighing as she remembered what Carol had told her. 

“I have raised a mad woman, too blinded by legacy that she can’t see how much she’s hurting her child. Enough about her, I shall deal with her when her time comes too. But you, my sweet Valentina, you look outright amazing. I don’t think that I have ever seen you look so healthy and happy,” her grandmother said, moving the subject to Valentina instead. 

Her grandmother wasn’t the only one that had noticed the significant improvement Jezebel had on her life. Her boss even praised her for taking her words into consideration, proud of her for taking care of herself and starting to have a good work-life balance. Other coworkers would point it out too, saying that Valentina looked much more relaxed, calm and level-headed, which only made her more pleasant to work with and increased their work performance. 

“Thank you, gran. I met someone special,” Valentina whispered. “I see, that special someone must be treating you well then, you’re practically glowing,” Iona said, reaching her ghostly hand to caress Valentina’s cheek.

After that, Valentina told her grandmother all about her work, her struggles with it and how she eventually came to find Jezebel, the demon that was waiting outside for her. At first her grandmother was worried about her, knowing that demons weren’t the kindest of creatures, but Valentina told her all about Jezebel’s kindness and the peace that she had brought into her life.

Her grandmother then shared stories from when she was young, how she fell in love with Valentina’s grandfather and her own experiences with summoning beings from other realms, noting that angels aren’t intentionally dull and unhelpful, they are just simply bound by too many rules and morals that they cannot be earnest and often don’t end up helping at all. 

Having caught up on everything important and touching on the question of afterlife, Valentina’s grandmother had slowly started to fade, the spell being able to hold her spirit for a short amount of time. With tears in her eyes they said their goodbyes to one another, promising to catch up in the afterlife again.

When Valentina stepped out of the room, her eyes were filled with tears and there was a bright smile on her face as she returned to Jezebel. “Thank you. Thank you for helping me get the courage to go there, thank you for helping me find a balance in my life. I don’t know what I do without you,” Valentina breathed, tears streaming down her face, overwhelmed with gratitude.

“Me too,” Jezebel whispered as she pulled Valentina into a tight hug. “I had always thought that I could get by just fine with the sin caused by my writing, but having met you, I realised that I had been starving myself. Thank you Valentina for showing me that being with another creature doesn’t have to be a headache,” Jezebel continued, stroking Valentina’s back as she held her tightly, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. 

“I guess that you don’t need to feed anymore tonight, huh?” Valentina asked teasingly after pulling away from Jezebel. “With you, witchling, I can never get enough,” Jezebel hummed before gripping Valentina’s chin and raising it to connect their lips together, making Valentina moan into the kiss, her hands diving into Jezebel’s curls as she deepened the kiss. 

Valentina didn’t care that people could see them, it didn’t matter, they could envy them all they wanted. This demon helped her not care about what other people thought of her, especially her family. She had helped her find balance in life, enjoying the little pleasures of it and she would cherish their connection dearly for as long as fate allowed her to.