The night was quiet for once. No fire, no moans, no swirling magic threatening to tear apart the ceiling. Just Elias, shirtless in his dorm bed, arms behind his head, staring up at the low-lit crystal that glowed faintly overhead.
Rael'Zhar, now comfortably sprawled like a spoiled cat at the foot of the bed, let out a low hum. "You're quiet. That's suspicious. Usually, you're stammering or glaring at me after I ruin your sanity."
Elias exhaled a laugh. "Maybe I'm too tired to glare. Or maybe… maybe I'm just trying to understand what the hell you are."
Rael's tail flicked lazily against the sheet. His golden hair glinted, eyes catching the soft blue light. "Demon. You already knew that. Want me to show you again? We could—"
Elias sat up with a groan and tossed a pillow at him. "Gods, shut up for one second. I'm serious, Rae."
The name made the demon blink. He usually liked being called by his full name—Rael'Zhar the Iridescent Flame, whatever the hell that meant—but hearing his name shortened like that... it did something strange to his chest.
"Alright," Rael said slowly, pushing the pillow aside, "ask what you want."
Elias paused. Then: "How long have you been alone?"
The demon tilted his head. "Since before your kind lit fire with rocks. Why?"
Elias shrugged, staring at his knees. "Just… wonder what that kind of silence does to a person."
Rael was quiet for a moment. Then his voice, unusually soft, filled the room. "It makes you crave noise. The kind that matters. Not screams or chaos or battle… but laughter. Footsteps. Even someone breathing beside you."
Elias looked at him then, really looked. For once, Rael wasn't all smirks and seduction. There was a tiredness behind his beauty. A weight of years.
"I was supposed to be a healer," Elias murmured. "Back home. Before I got the scholarship here. My dad was a village doctor. My mom taught me herbal magic."
Rael blinked. "You? A healer? But you're so good at swearing."
Elias chuckled. "I had to be. Demons like you aren't in the manual."
There was a beat. Then, with an impish grin, Rael said, "Well, maybe you should write a new one. Chapter One: How to Handle a Demon's Tongue Without Losing Your Soul."
Elias groaned again, face buried in his hands—but he was smiling.
Then, after a silence that felt warm, Elias asked, "Why did you come to me? That night, in the cave. Why me?"
Rael didn't answer right away. He shifted, crawling closer on the bed—not to seduce, not to pounce, but just to be near.
"Because I smelled a storm in you. A magic that was pure, unshaped. Wild. Like mine. And maybe…" his voice dropped, "maybe I was lonely. And you felt… warm."
Elias's heart thudded at that.
No jokes. No heat. Just honesty.
He looked up. "You're still annoying as shit."
Rael grinned. "And you're still as tight-laced as your uniforms. But…"
"But?" Elias asked.
"I like your laugh," the demon whispered. "It's different from your moans. Less desperate. Still sweet."
Elias rolled his eyes and shoved him—lightly. Rael only laughed and grabbed his wrist, pulling him in, forehead to forehead.
No kisses. No sex. Just a soft breath shared between them.
A promise of more.
Elias blinked. Rael's warmth was still in front of him, breath brushing his cheek, but something tugged behind his eyes—like magic peeling back a layer of him he hadn't meant to show.
Then everything slipped away.
The room dissolved.
And he was home again.
[MEMORY]
The scent of old books and rosemary filled his nose. A flickering hearth lit the room. Elias stood at the threshold of his childhood kitchen, watching his mother bent over a mortar, crushing herbs with rhythmic patience.
"You're late," she said without looking up. Her voice, dry and teasing.
"I stopped by the pond," Elias said. His voice was younger—barely fifteen. "That stray puppy was still there. I fed it half my lunch."
His mother clicked her tongue, then smiled. "You're going to feed the entire forest one day."
He stepped closer. The room was warm, golden, alive. His father's boots were by the door. The clock above the stove still ticked with that faint magic hiccup every hour—something he never bothered to fix.
"Elias," his mother said, turning to him. "When your magic really awakens… it won't feel like peace. It'll feel like tearing. Like something old inside you is waking up with claws."
He frowned. "That's… comforting."
She smiled, brushing his hair back. "You need to feel it. Even the pain. That's how you'll grow. You can't heal what you pretend not to feel."
He opened his mouth to ask more—
But the room flickered.
Like a candle in a gust of wind.
And—
[Present]
"Elias?"
Rael's voice grounded him. The dorm came back into focus.
Elias's eyes stung, and he didn't realize he'd been gripping the sheets.
"You were somewhere else," Rael said softly, not teasing this time. "I felt your magic pull."
Elias cleared his throat. "My mother. Just… a memory."
Rael nodded. "She sounds wise."
"She was. She still is." A beat. "She doesn't know I'm—"
"Entangled with a demon?" Rael offered.
Elias snorted, a half-laugh, half-exhale. "That's putting it lightly."
Rael leaned back, eyes unreadable for once. "Would she hate me?"
Elias looked at him, truly considered it, then shook his head. "She'd hate what you are. But she wouldn't hate you."
Rael swallowed something invisible. Maybe a hope.
"Then I'll try to be worthy of her disappointment," he said, voice light again, but there was a quiet ache beneath it.
Elias reached for his hand. Just a touch.
And for the first time… Rael took it. Gently.