Elias was spiraling.
Not dramatically—not in the way some rich-kid nobility spiraled after failing one spell or breaking a nail. No. This was the kind of spiraling where he'd stare at his hand for five minutes straight because the lines in his palm moved.
Yes, moved.
He had a quiz in Elemental Theory the next morning, and all he could think about was the ghostly echo of Rael'Zhar's mouth on his skin.
Every time Elias used magic, it responded like a living thing. It surged through him, fast and uncontrollable, like lust—or hunger. And it was definitely influenced by the demon. His professors started watching him like a volatile bomb that might go off mid-lecture.
His friends weren't much help either. One of them pointed out that Elias had started... glowing a little. "You look radiant, babe," they joked, unaware of just how close to the truth they were.
But the weirdest thing?
The night terrors stopped.
Replaced by wet dreams so vivid, Elias sometimes woke up drenched in sweat, the sheets twisted, his pulse wild.
Rael'Zhar never appeared in them like a monster. No—he came to Elias with that same self-assured smirk, peeling his shirt away with slow, precise fingers, pressing him against ancient pillars carved with runes Elias couldn't read but somehow felt.
And in those dreams, Rael'Zhar devoured him with heat, with fire. His touch sparked magic so raw and volatile Elias thought the world might end. Or he might.
And yet every time, Elias begged for more.
The next day in class, Elias flinched when his desk chair moaned.
Literally moaned.
Professor Varin paused mid-lecture. "Mr. Wynn... is your desk... groaning?"
"I—uh. Wood quality's bad?" Elias offered.
The whole class was staring now. Someone snorted.
"Perhaps your aura's a bit too excited this morning," Varin said dryly. "Maybe lay off the extra mana exercises... or whatever else you're doing at night."
Elias melted into his seat.
That night, he stormed back to his dorm and slammed the door.
"RAEL'ZHAR!" he shouted into the silence.
A second later, the demon manifested, lounging on his bed like he owned the place. "Someone sounds desperate."
"You're messing with my life."
"You're glowing," Rael'Zhar said, sitting up. "You're powerful. You're turning heads. And you like it."
"I'm also haunted, exhausted, and vibrating with enough suppressed magic to level a tower," Elias snapped. "So yeah—I'm a little cranky."
Rael'Zhar stood, towering over him now. His bare chest gleamed under the moonlight slipping in through the window, muscles flexing as he approached. "Let me help you release it."
Elias froze as the demon touched him, hands firm but reverent. His body arched forward instinctively. Rael'Zhar leaned down and whispered:
"Let me take the burden. You weren't made to carry this power alone."
His lips met Elias's—not soft, not gentle. It was a claim. A promise. A mark.
Elias gasped into the kiss as his magic spilled out—lighting the room in a haze of deep violet. Rael'Zhar caught him, held him, and guided him toward the bed.
Clothes vanished. Heat climbed.
Elias wasn't just being touched—he was being unraveled.
Rael'Zhar knew every spot, every tremble, every soft sound Elias made. His tongue traced lines of power glowing along Elias's thighs. He kissed every rune etched beneath Elias's skin, kissed him so deep Elias forgot his name for a moment—only remembered how it felt.
The pressure built fast. The taste of magic and lust blurred the line between dream and desire. When it hit, it was blinding. Power flooded out of Elias in waves, crashing into Rael'Zhar, who drank it all in with a deep groan.
Afterward, Elias lay there panting, hair messy, body wrecked in the best way. The room still thrummed with heat, and Rael'Zhar lay beside him, a rare look of satisfaction in his eyes.
"What was that?" Elias murmured.
Rael'Zhar grinned, brushing sweat-damp hair from his face. "A proper exchange of power."
"And now?"
Rael'Zhar kissed his temple. "Now, you're even more mine."