Damon held Lily firmly enough to prevent any sudden advance, but without violence, like someone who understood exactly the limit between restraint and harm. Her body still reacted, still carried that latent tension, but it was no longer the same lack of control from seconds ago. There was focus now—intense, directed—and that, in itself, was already an improvement.

He let out a small sigh through his nose, slightly adjusting his posture while keeping his gaze on her, assessing each micro-reaction.

"Relax," he said, his voice low, firm, unhurried. "You won’t kill me. Or do anything out of control."

Lily didn’t respond with words. Her breathing was still irregular, warm against his skin, her eyes fixed as if he were the only stable point in the world. But her body... heard. Not completely, but enough.

Behind them, the group still watched with maximum attention.

Morgana was the first to speak, the tension still evident in the way her fingers remained against her own arm.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, clearly torn between trusting and intervening. "Because this doesn’t seem... normal at all."

Aria crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly, her gaze curious and sharp.

"She literally tried to run you over," she added, with a nervous half-smile. "It’s not exactly the calm type of behavior."

Ester said nothing.

But she was analyzing.

She always was.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, didn’t take her eyes off Damon. There was something new there—not doubt, but an active attempt to understand exactly what he was doing.

Damon then let out a light, nasal laugh.

Short.

Almost tired.

"You’re looking at the wrong thing," he said, finally shifting his gaze from Lily for a second to face the others. "This isn’t aggression."

He looked back at Lily immediately afterward, as if reinforcing his point.

"It’s reaction."

Silence.

Short.

Loaded.

Morgana frowned.

"Reaction to what?"

Damon tilted his head slightly, as if the answer were too obvious to require much effort.

"To the smell."

This time—

The confusion was immediate.

"Smell?" Aria repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I’m not smelling anything."

"Neither am I," Morgana added, clearly suspicious.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes slightly.

Esther, on the other hand—

She didn’t interrupt.

She just... waited.

Damon exhaled slowly, as if organizing his explanation.

"It’s not a normal smell," he began, adjusting again how he held Lily, who was still reacting, but now much more restrained. "It’s not something everyone will notice."

He paused briefly.

And then continued:

"My lineage has changed."

This made Elizabeth focus even more.

"You already said that," she replied, with controlled calm. "But you didn’t explain it enough."

Damon nodded slightly.

"Because I still wasn’t sure about everything."

He looked at Lily again.

And this time—

There was real understanding there.

"Now I have a better idea."

Aria leaned forward slightly, interested.

"And...?"

Damon didn’t beat around the bush.

"Primordial Incubus," he said directly.

The name hung in the air for a second.

Ester was the first to react.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Primordial," she repeated, as if fitting the information into something she already knew. "This isn’t a common evolution."

"No," Damon confirmed. "It isn’t."

Morgana crossed her arms, still clearly tense.

"And what exactly does that change?"

Damon gave a small, wry smile.

"Everything."

A pause.

Then he explained, more directly:

"A regular Incubus already affects emotions, energy, attraction... that sort of thing."

He glanced quickly at Lily.

"But this—" he made a slight gesture with his head in her direction "—isn’t a slight influence."

Aria blinked slowly.

"...so what is it?"

Damon answered bluntly:

"Amplification."

Silence.

"My energy... has changed," he continued. "It’s not just stronger. It’s more... pure. More concentrated. Closer to the origin of the bloodline."

Elizabeth finally spoke:

"And how does that affect her...?"

Damon didn’t even need to think much.

"Like an aphrodisiac."

The silence that followed was... different.

Heavier.

Clearer. Aria let out a low, almost automatic "ah," her eyes opening slightly wider as she connected everything.

Morgana blinked twice.

"...wait."

She looked at Lily.

Then at Damon.

Then back at Lily.

"...you’re saying she’s like this because—"

"Yes," Damon cut in, impatient for beating around the bush. "Because for a succubus... this is basically irresistible."

Lily reacted to his tone.

Her body moved slightly against the control, not forcefully, but intentionally, as if the very confirmation had intensified something within her.

Her breath hitched for a second.

And this—

Only confirmed it further.

Esther finally spoke, her voice calm, but with evident analytical interest:

"So it’s not complete loss of control," she said. "It’s stimulus overload."

"Exactly," Damon replied.

Elizabeth crossed her arms slowly, her gaze still fixed on him, but now much more understanding.

"...and you’re stabilizing it," she concluded.

Damon shrugged slightly.

"More or less."

He looked at Lily again, this time closer, his voice lowering a little.

"She’s not out of control," he murmured. "She just... doesn’t know how to handle it yet."

Lily responded this time.

Not with complete words.

But with a low sound, almost a stifled sigh, her body finally yielding a little more against his control—not trying to escape, but... adjusting.

Reacting.

Aria let out a small laugh, shaking her head.

"That explains a lot..."

Morgana still seemed torn between concern and disbelief.

"...this will pass, right?"

Damon let out a light sigh.

"It will."

A pause.

"But not now."

And this—

Made Aria smile slightly.

"Great," she murmured. "So we basically have a succubus in... critical mode."

Ester corrected, without losing her neutral tone:

"Extreme responsive mode."

Damon held Lily captive for a few more seconds, just long enough to make sure that initial agitation wouldn’t explode uncontrollably again. Her body was still warm, still reacting to his presence as if every fiber was being pulled toward him, but there was no longer that blind impulsiveness from before. Now there was... focus. And that, for him, was what really mattered.

He let out a small sigh, more controlled this time, and then partially relaxed his grip—not releasing her completely, but changing the way he held her. Less restraint, more guidance. Lily didn’t resist. On the contrary, her body practically yielded to the movement, as if it were already anticipating whatever direction he chose.

Behind them, the silence still carried tension, but now mixed with something different: understanding... and a certain collective unease about the situation.

Aria was the first to break the silence, crossing her arms and letting out a small laugh through her nose.

"So basically," she said, tilting her head slightly, "you’ve become a walking drug for succubi."

Damon gave a half-smile.

"A very simplified way of putting it," he replied.

Morgana still seemed suspicious, though less tense than before.

"And you’re sure you can handle this alone?"

Damon glanced quickly at her, then at Lily, who was now completely focused on him, her breathing more controlled, but still intense.

"I can," he replied without hesitation.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Don’t underestimate this," she said, her tone firm. "You yourself just explained that this reaction isn’t common."

Damon nodded slightly.

"And I’m not underestimating you," he replied. "I just understand."

He then slid one hand firmly down Lily’s back and, in a simple, natural movement, lifted her into his arms. She didn’t resist—on the contrary, she adjusted automatically, as if that was exactly what her body had been craving from the start.

The gesture made Morgana’s eyes widen slightly.

"...what exactly are you going to do?"

Damon was already turning toward the stairs.

"Solve it," he said, with his usual nonchalance.

Aria raised an eyebrow.

"That’s... vaguely worrying."

Ester, on the other hand, simply observed, arms crossed, completely calm.

"It’s the most logical solution," she commented, as if assessing a technical problem. "Remove the stimulus from the collective environment and allow for isolated stabilization."

Aria looked at her.

"...you talk as if this were a laboratory experiment."

"Because it is," Ester replied, without changing her tone.

Elizabeth let out a short sigh, clearly still dissatisfied, but she didn’t interfere this time. Her eyes followed Damon as he began to climb the stairs, Lily completely settled against him, her body much less tense than before.

"Don’t be long," Elizabeth said firmly. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Damon didn’t look back.

"I’ll be back."

And then he continued climbing, his steps firm, steady—very different from the state he had woken up in minutes before. With each step, the atmosphere around them seemed to close in a little more, isolating that moment from the rest of the house.

Lily remained quiet during the ascent, but not passive. There was subtle movement—small adjustments, close breathing, a constant presence that reacted to his every slight variation. It was no longer lack of control. It was... instinctive attunement.

When they reached the upper hallway, Damon didn’t hesitate. He walked straight to the room, opened the door with his shoulder and entered effortlessly, closing it immediately with his foot.

The atmosphere became quieter.

More subdued.

He didn’t let go of her immediately.

For a moment, he just stood there, feeling the difference—the absence of other presences, the change in the ambient pressure, the way her energy reacted even more directly now that there were no distractions.

"...better this way," he murmured, more to himself than to her.

Lily responded with a slight movement, her face drawing a little closer, her breath still warm, but now more steady.

Damon then finally set her down—but didn’t move away.

He stayed close.

Present.

Controlling the pace.

"You need to calm down," he said, his voice lower, firmer, with no room for hesitation.

This time, she really listened.

Not instantly.

But visibly.

The remaining tension began to subside gradually, replaced by something more organized, more conscious, even if still intense.

And Damon remained there.

Unhurried.

Without losing control.

Setting the pace—not being dragged along by it.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the group remained silent for a few seconds after he left.

Aria was the first to speak again.

"...this will work out, right?"

Ester shrugged slightly.

"Probably."

Morgana was still looking at the stairs.

"...I don’t know if I’m more worried about her... or him."

Elizabeth didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes were still fixed on the upper floor.

Thoughtful.

Attentive.

"...he’s changed," she said finally, in a low voice.

And this time—

No one disagreed.