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The dining hall was monstrous—both in size and in what filled it.
Elias stood frozen in the doorway, eyes scanning the long obsidian table. It was packed with strange guests—half-human nobles with eyes like inkblots, silent wraiths dressed in silk, horned creatures who clinked goblets together while hissing instead of speaking.
And at the head of the table sat Varian, wearing a red velvet coat and that same devilish grin.
He stood when Elias entered.
"Welcome," he purred. "My beloved has arrived."
Elias nearly turned around.
Beloved?
He strode forward, ignoring the whispers, the curious stares. The creatures looked at him like something exotic, like meat on a silver plate.
"You told them what?" Elias hissed under his breath as he took the seat beside Varian.
"That you were mine." Varian sipped from his goblet. "You are, aren't you?"
Elias clenched his jaw. "No."
Varian leaned in. "Then prove it. Disobey me in front of all of them. Let's see if you survive the night."
Elias gritted his teeth and turned to face the table.
The meal began.
Platters appeared with dishes Elias couldn't name. Meat that shimmered blue. Wine that smoked. Desserts shaped like bleeding roses.
He didn't eat.
One of the guests—a woman with stitched lips and a skeletal hand—leaned across the table. "Tell us, pet… what do you offer the king of ruin, aside from a pretty face?"
Elias locked eyes with her. "A knife in the back, if he keeps calling me 'pet.'"
Laughter rippled through the table. Varian grinned, pride and possessiveness flashing in his eyes.
The rest of dinner was tense. Elias said little, enduring the gazes, the comments, the veiled threats. When it finally ended, Varian stood and held out his hand.
Elias didn't take it.
Instead, he walked past him.
"Elias," Varian said quietly, following.
They stepped into the empty hallway beyond. The doors shut behind them with a thunderous echo.
"You embarrassed me."
"Good."
"You'll pay for that."
Elias turned to face him. "I'm not yours."
Varian grabbed him. Kissed him. Hard. Almost brutal.
But this time Elias bit back—hard enough to draw blood.
Varian staggered, touched his lip, and laughed.
"I love it when you hurt me," he whispered.
Elias didn't know what scared him more—Varian's obsession, or how his own body still reacted to him.
Something between them was spiraling.
No more trials.
Just tension.
And a desire neither of them could control for much longer.
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