Elias woke up with a groan, rolling over and faceplanting directly into his pillow. His sheets were tangled like he'd spent the night fighting a wild animal. Which... wasn't entirely inaccurate.
His skin still tingled with leftover magic, every nerve ending a live wire. It felt like something was trying to claw its way out of him, like his magic was restless. Or maybe Rael'Zhar had visited his dreams again.
Stupid demon and his stupid perfect hair.
Elias dragged himself to the mirror, rubbing his eyes—and froze.
"What the..."
His reflection didn't look quite right.
Sure, it was him: the usual mess of dark hair, the tired eyes, the faint scowl of someone allergic to mornings. But his irises had a faint glow to them—an unnatural, eerie shimmer that looked suspiciously... infernal.
"Okay. Nope. Nope, nope, nope."
He backed away, bumping into his desk. The magic was definitely changing him. Rael'Zhar had said it would. But seeing it so clearly? That hit differently. He muttered a few words, casting a basic suppression spell over his face. The glow faded slightly, just enough to look normal.
For now.
At school, things got weirder.
In Enchantments class, Elias could feel spells bending toward him, like his presence enhanced the magic. People's charms flickered when he walked past. One poor girl's protective aura actually burst into harmless glitter. Elias apologized profusely while she looked both horrified and oddly flattered.
Then came combat training.
He was paired with Wyll—his distant cousin, a noble-born brat with a face too pretty for his own good and an ego twice the size of his family fortune.
Wyll smirked, conjuring a whip of ethereal fire. "Try not to embarrass yourself today, Elias."
Elias rolled his eyes. "Try not to set your own hair on fire again, Wyll."
They circled each other on the dueling floor, students cheering and watching closely. Wyll struck first, flames cracking through the air. Elias dodged, but as he moved, that pressure—the dark, volatile power Rael'Zhar awakened—swelled inside him again.
He didn't mean to lash out. It just happened.
A shockwave of shadow erupted from Elias's hand, blasting Wyll off his feet and slamming him into the wall. The room went silent.
"Oh... crap."
The professor ran over, checking on Wyll—who groaned but was otherwise okay, just very, very scorched.
"Elias," the instructor snapped, "where did you learn that kind of magic?"
"I—I didn't. I mean, I kind of... felt it."
"You felt it?" the professor repeated.
"Yeah," Elias said weakly, "you know, like a... gut reaction."
He got detention. Again.
That evening, after escaping yet another lecture, Elias sat under the tree behind the dorms, staring at his hands.
"What are you doing to me?" he whispered to no one.
But then he felt it—the drop in temperature, the scent of spice and something darker curling through the air.
"Talking to yourself now?" Rael'Zhar's voice oozed out of the shadows like silk on skin.
Elias didn't jump this time. He just looked up and sighed. "You're the reason I'm getting detention, glowing eyes, and weird magical outbursts."
Rael'Zhar leaned against the tree trunk beside him, the golden-haired demon practically radiating smugness. "You're welcome."
Elias glared. "This isn't funny."
"Oh, it is. You're becoming more like me every day," the demon said, brushing a finger down Elias's arm, sending a jolt through his entire body. "Doesn't it feel good?"
Elias shivered. "It feels... wrong."
Rael'Zhar's grin widened. "That's how you know it's working."
The demon moved closer, his presence suffocating and intoxicating all at once. Elias didn't move. Couldn't.
"I've marked you," Rael'Zhar whispered. "Your magic. Your soul. It's already changing. And it's only going to get harder to resist."
"Why?" Elias asked, breathless. "Why me?"
Rael'Zhar's lips were a hair away from his ear now. "Because you called me. You wanted me. And now... you're mine."
Elias couldn't breathe. He hated how his body reacted, how heat pooled in his stomach, how his hands trembled—not with fear, but with craving.
"Stay out of my head," he whispered.
Rael'Zhar kissed the side of his neck, just once, and vanished before Elias could stop him.
And Elias sat alone in the dark, hand over his chest, feeling that brand of magic pulse inside him like a second heartbeat.