The air in Ruby's bedroom turned to ice.
It was a deep, sudden cold that stole the warmth from her lungs and raised goosebumps along her arms. She sat up in bed, the silken red hem of her nightgown slipping over her thighs. The heater in the corner of her room clicked on, its little orange light a futile protest against the supernatural chill seeping from the shadows in the far corner. The darkness there deepened, coalescing, becoming a solid thing.
A voice, like fractured glass smoothed over honey, spoke from the void. "My dear..."
Another, just as smooth but with a rougher, smokier undertone, finished the thought. "...you called?"
Ruby's heart wasn't racing; it was a still, hard stone in her chest. Her fascination was an icy flood, freezing any scream in her throat. She had dreamed of this, researched this, ached for this. Two figures detached themselves from the darkness. They were mirror images of impossible male beauty, with skin the color of twilight and eyes that glowed like hot embers. Their forms were sculpted perfection, crowned with elegant horns that curved back from their brows.
She fumbled for her notepad, her fingers trembling not from fear, but from a desperate, thrilling hope.
I only meant to summon one, she wrote, holding the paper up.
The twin on the left smiled, a flash of sharp white. "I am Furcas."
"And I am Flauros," said the other. "You get two for the price of one incantation. A fortunate error."
They moved with a synchronicity that was unnerving, circling her bed. Flauros trailed a single, hot finger along the wooden footboard, the wood smoldering in its wake. "You've been a very diligent student, little one. All those lonely nights. All that wanting."
Do you exist to give pleasure? she scribbled, her handwriting becoming jagged.
Furcas laughed, a low, thrilling sound. "We exist to take it. And in the taking, we give something far greater in return." He was beside her in an instant, not walking, but simply being there. His scent was of ozone and dark spice. He cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking her bottom lip. The heat of him burned through the chilling aura he emitted. "We can be anyone you desire. Your heartthrob from the cinema? Your stern professor? A step member of your own family? Tell us your deepest, most secret want. We will wear his face for you."
Ruby's mind spun with the possibilities, a kaleidoscope of forbidden fantasies. But they felt cheap, hollow. An imitation. She looked from Furcas's smoldering eyes to Flauros's hungry gaze. She didn't want a mask. She wanted the real, terrifying, magnificent thing.
Her pen moved with finality. I want you. As you are.
The twins exchanged a look of genuine surprise that melted into pure, unadulterated hunger.
"A rare request," Flauros purred, his voice dropping to a vicious, promising rumble.
