The next morning, Elias woke up feeling like his skin was two sizes too small.
Not in the itchy sweater way. No—this was something else.
He sat up slowly, blinking against the sunlight pouring through his window. His sheets were scorched at the edges. Not metaphorically. Actually burned. Tiny wisps of steam rose from the fabric, and his skin? His skin shimmered like dew-kissed runes under a moonlit ritual.
"Oh gods..." Elias groaned, rubbing his eyes.
A pulse of magic thrummed beneath his fingertips—hot and sinuous. And it wasn't just his magic anymore.
It was Rael'Zhar's.
Inside him.
His core wasn't just full—it was overflowing. Spells no longer sat on the tip of his tongue like trained birds. They perched deep in his chest, throbbing with intent, itching to be released. The night before hadn't just been sex. It had been a transference.
The demon's mana had laced itself into his, supercharging his reservoir to the point where his aura felt too big for his body. It responded to emotions now—too quickly, too hungrily.
And it wasn't only his magic that had changed.
A golden sigil, thin and elegant, now glowed faintly just above his hipbone. It pulsed in time with his heartbeat and, alarmingly, in time with his desire. Every time Elias so much as thought about Rael'Zhar, the mark warmed—sometimes to a dangerous degree.
Worse still were the feelings that didn't belong to him—flashes of hunger, of aching loneliness, of a deep, ancient lust. He'd be brushing his teeth and suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of arousal or melancholy that vanished as quickly as it came.
It was Rael'Zhar, bleeding into his senses.
Elias didn't just want him anymore. His body recognized him. Responded to him. And now, Rael'Zhar's essence shimmered through every strand of Elias's aura like a signature left behind after lightning struck the earth.
He turned to the mirror. His reflection blinked back, mostly the same… except his eyes.
Not the color—but the depth.
Like someone else was looking out from behind them.
That's when the shadow on the wall moved.
He froze.
It leaned lazily against the bookshelf—arms crossed, tall, and grinning. But Elias hadn't moved.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Rael'Zhar's voice purred, silky and too close despite the room being empty.
"You're in my shadow?" Elias asked, barely above a whisper.
"A side effect of the bond," Rael'Zhar murmured from the dark. "You let me in. Not just your body. Everything. I'm part of you now."
Elias shivered.
Because he liked how it sounded.
Later that day – Arcane Combat Class
Professor Dune paired students into combat duels, as usual. Elias was still shaky, but he told himself he'd just keep it simple. Defensive spells. Nothing flashy.
But the moment his partner cast a flame spear, his body reacted on instinct.
Elias raised his hand. A barrier flickered—no, roared—to life, then morphed into a vortex of gold and violet that swallowed the flame whole and exploded outward in a shockwave of heat and light.
The other student was launched off their feet.
Professor Dune raised an eyebrow. "Well."
"I—uh... I didn't mean to—" Elias stammered.
"That was a null-vore reaction spell with amplification," she muttered, eyes narrowing. "Where did you learn that?"
"I didn't," Elias admitted, staring at his hand.
"Be careful," she said, voice low now. "Magic with a will of its own is the kind that eats back."
That Night
Elias tried to sleep.
But his body was restless, warm, aching. The sigil on his hip burned faintly, pulsing with want.
A voice slithered into his ear, soft and electric. "Say my name."
"Rael...Zhar..." he moaned, lips barely parted.
And heat bloomed through him—phantom hands dragging across his skin, a tongue against his throat, teeth grazing that mark. He gasped, back arching as pleasure flooded him, raw and hot. He wasn't alone. Rael'Zhar was in him, around him, touching every part of him that throbbed for attention.
His climax came like a spell released in full force—shaking him to his core, leaving him drenched in sweat, chest rising and falling in ragged breaths.
He collapsed into his pillow, flushed and breathless.
And the demon's whisper came like a promise.
"You'll never be alone again."