Round 162

Silra cursed under her breath, pocketing the bypass tool and moving toward Jeane despite every instinct screaming at her to maintain distance. The succubus's skin had already gone past pale into that translucent blue-gray of critical hypothermia—if her magic failed completely, they'd both be dead within minutes as the room temperature plunged toward absolute zero. "Fine," she growled, pulling off her own jacket and draping it over Jeane's shoulders without touching bare skin directly. "That's all you're getting unless you agree to my terms. I'm not your personal fucking heater anymore."

Jeane's teeth chattered harder at the offered jacket—insignificant insulation against the ambient cold, but every degree helped when core temperature was already dangerously low. She clung to the fabric desperately, focusing every ounce of will into maintaining her shield magic despite the flickers and stutters threatening to collapse it completely. "Terms?" she gasped between shivers. "What terms? Just help me maintain this shield—we can discuss everything else once we're out of this fucking death trap."

Silra's teal eyes narrowed dangerously as she stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest and maintaining a careful distance from the shivering succubus. "You want my body heat?" she snapped, voice low enough not to carry beyond immediate range. "Then you follow my rules—no more 'accidental' touches, no more trying to force intimacy through magical coercion. I'm here for technical expertise and tactical support, not to warm your fucking bed."

Jeane's wings shivered harder at the accusation, her face flushing with shame despite the hypothermia making her skin blue around the edges. "I wasn't—" she started, then cut herself off mid-lie when Silra's expression didn't budge an inch. The sorceress took a deep breath, focusing on maintaining her shield magic through sheer force of will while trying to formulate a response that wouldn't make things worse. "Look," she finally managed, voice strained with desperation and effort, "I'm not trying to manipulate you. I need heat input to maintain my magic, and you're the only source available right now. Can we just... work something out? Please?"