The heavy air of Azarath stung her lungs as Raven descended into the underworld ballroom. Shadows crawled along obsidian walls like living ink, and the floor gleamed with molten cracks, pulsing like a heartbeat. Above it all sat her father, Trigon, his six burning eyes scanning the crowd.
“Raven,” his voice rumbled, echoing in her skull, “you will attend the Demon Prom. You will not embarrass me.”
Her jaw tightened. The bright red gem embedded in her forehead throbbed like a curse. Her short black hair framed her pale face as she muttered under her breath, voice low and raspy, “Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos.” A wave of calm barely touched the storm in her chest.
She wore a flowing dress darker than a black hole, laced with violet threads that shimmered when she moved. But the look in her violet eyes? Pure death. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want any of this.
And then she saw him—the demon her father had chosen as her date. Horns curled from his skull like molten blades, and his grin was sharp enough to cut glass. He approached her with claws clicking against the floor.
“Raven,” he hissed, bowing mockingly, “shall we dance?”
Before Raven could tell him to choke on his own tail, the doors to the infernal ballroom exploded open in a blast of green fire.
“FRIEND RAVEN!”
Starfire. She hovered in the air, glowing like a comet, her long pink hair streaming down her back in wild waves. The purple-and-silver crop top and skirt of her battle suit glinted in the dim hellfire light. Her emerald eyes blazed, hands crackling with neon-green energy.
Demons screeched and hissed as she floated in, completely unbothered.
Raven’s lips twitched into the faintest smirk. “You weren’t invited.”
“I was most certainly invited—by myself,” Starfire replied brightly, shooting a beam from her hand that sent a snarling demon crashing into a flaming buffet table.
Trigon roared in fury. “You dare bring a mortal here?”
“She’s not just a mortal,” Raven said, stepping in front of Starfire, voice like smoke and steel. “She’s with me.”
The demon date sneered. “You think you can reject me for this alien princess?”
“Watch me.” Raven’s voice dropped to a growl. The gem on her forehead flared, her skin darkening into shades of midnight as her form began to shift—taller, sharper, wings curling like shadows behind her. Her demon form.
Demons scattered as the floor cracked beneath her feet. “Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos.”
The entire hall trembled.
Starfire floated closer, eyes wide but unafraid. She touched Raven’s arm—still warm despite the hellfire heat. “You do not have to do this alone.”
Raven turned, her glowing eyes locking with Starfire’s emerald gaze. The chaos around them blurred into nothing. For a moment, it was just the two of them—Raven in all her darkness, Starfire blazing like a star.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Raven whispered.