The clock struck midnight with a single, resonant chime that vibrated through Elara’s bones.

She was waiting.

Naked, on her knees in the center of the bedroom floor, legs spread wide, hands resting obediently on her thighs. Her apartment was dark, curtains drawn, lights off yet she could feel the room changing around her. The air grew thicker, hotter, charged with ozone and brimstone. The golden thread inside her core blazed like molten fire, no longer a thin strand but a blazing rope that yanked rhythmically at her clit and cervix with every heartbeat.

She had chosen to stay.

Not out of bravery. Not even out of fear.  

She had...