Elias had never been one to believe in the supernatural pull of desire—not until the day it hit him like a tidal wave, right after the incident with Rael'Zhar. He'd woken up that morning feeling... different. Sure, he was still the same Elias—skinny, constantly tired, and mildly sarcastic—but there was something else. Something creeping just beneath his skin that made him feel like a walking pressure cooker.
He pushed it down as best as he could. After all, he had class. Magic class.
But that morning, the first thing that happened wasn't the usual "I need coffee to live" routine. No. It was like he'd been thrown into a bath of molten lava.
Okay, so, no coffee today. Got it.
He brushed off the odd tingling in his body as just another side effect of, well, being Elias, and tried to prepare himself for a boring day of magic theory. But by the time he walked into the classroom, the subtle heat inside him had morphed into a full-blown problem.
He wasn't prepared for the change he'd felt since that night. It was like an itch under his skin. Magic that wasn't his, pulsing, throbbing, begging to be released. It felt different. It wasn't his usual calculated control over spells—it was wild. Raw.
The professor, an older man with a terrifyingly impressive mustache, nodded at him to start the spell.
"Elias, the summoning exercise, please," the professor said, all too calm.
Elias tried to focus. Stay calm. Don't think about demons. Don't think about—
The energy surged without his permission. Magic cracked open inside him, and before he knew it, the summoning circle exploded with the intensity of a firework show on steroids.
"Uh, crap," Elias muttered, his hand outstretched. He tried to steady the magic, but it was no use. It wasn't just raw power—it was demonic power. There was no other way to describe the thick, smoldering air, the way the room seemed to darken.
Suddenly, in the middle of the classroom stood... something.
Oh. My. Gods.
It was a hulking, shadowy mass, like the embodiment of chaos itself. Think dark, fire-ridden, nightmare fuel with glowing red eyes. The creature stood as tall as a tree, towering over his classmates, who had already scrambled behind desks for cover.
"Elias!" the professor shouted, panic creeping into his voice. "Control it! Now!"
"Um... I didn't plan this!" Elias responded, panic in his own voice.
But there was no going back now. His hands shook as the magic pulsed around him, fighting to break free, to twist everything into something he couldn't control.
His classmates stared, eyes wide with a mix of awe and terror. He could practically hear their thoughts: Who let the demon summon-er loose?
Trying to suppress the wild magic, Elias gasped, focusing all his energy into drawing the creature back into the spell. The shadows around it started to recede, the creature dissipating in a swirl of dark smoke.
When it was gone, the room was silent.
"I—I can explain!" Elias stammered, looking at his professor and his wide-eyed classmates.
"Elias," the professor said, sighing. "You're lucky it was just an elemental creature. It could have been much worse."
Elias felt his face flush. "I promise it wasn't supposed to happen like that."
The class was still staring at him like he'd just summoned Satan for a tea party.
"Well, maybe next time you could not summon the apocalypse," one of his classmates whispered.
"Yeah, or a small demon," another chimed in.
Elias mumbled an apology, still feeling the strange, residual heat from the magic inside him. But as he tried to push it back, the feeling only intensified. It was like the magic wanted to stay inside him, to become a permanent part of him. He could already feel that connection. And he knew exactly who it was tied to.
Later that afternoon, as Elias walked through the courtyard, he tried to shake off the incident. Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe I was just hungry. Maybe I need a nap.
But then he smelled it. The unmistakable scent of cinnamon and something darker, spicy, and intoxicating—a smell that could only belong to one person.
Rael'Zhar.
The demon appeared out of nowhere, stepping out from behind a pillar with that signature smirk that always made Elias' heart race. His golden hair gleamed in the sunlight, and his blue eyes locked onto Elias with a predatory glint.
"Well, that was certainly... interesting," Rael'Zhar purred, his voice low and teasing. "You really let that magic run wild, didn't you?"
"I—" Elias sputtered, suddenly realizing that Rael'Zhar had probably been watching the whole thing. "Look, I didn't mean to do that! It was... it was an accident!"
Rael'Zhar took a step closer, his presence radiating a heat that sent a shiver down Elias' spine. He leaned in, his lips brushing Elias's ear as he whispered, "You can call it an accident, but I know what's happening. The magic inside you... it's growing. And it's mine, too. You can feel it, can't you?"
Elias tried to push him away, but his hands trembled. He could feel Rael'Zhar's words—every syllable like an electric jolt inside him.
"I—I don't know what you're talking about," Elias muttered, not even believing his own words.
Rael'Zhar's hand rested on Elias' shoulder, his touch like fire. "Don't lie to me. I've seen it. The way your magic responded. It's reacting to me."
Elias swallowed hard, not able to ignore the heat pooling in his stomach. "I didn't ask for this."
Rael'Zhar's smile widened, his fingers tightening on Elias' shoulder just enough to remind him who was in control here. "I know. But trust me... you'll thank me later."
Before Elias could say anything else, the demon vanished, leaving behind nothing but the thick, heady air that lingered in his wake.
Elias stood there, his heart pounding in his chest. What the hell did he mean by that?
As he walked back to his dorm later that evening, the changes inside him felt even more pronounced. The magic, the heat, the undeniable pull toward Rael'Zhar—it was all becoming too much to ignore. Something was shifting, something dangerous. But what could he do? What could he even do when his body was betraying him at every turn?
As he lay in bed that night, his body ached in ways he couldn't understand, his thoughts constantly drifting back to that demon.
Was this just the beginning? Or had he already gone too far to turn back?