Elias avoided Varian for two days.
Which was hard, considering they lived in the same cursed palace, but he managed. He stayed in the overgrown gardens during the day, reading from old, half-burned books he found in the west wing. At night, he locked the door of his chamber and placed a protective sigil—one of the few things he'd learned still worked, slightly, against Varian.
The demon respected it.
But not forever.
On the third night, Elias woke to find a note on his pillow.
> "If you won't come to me, then I'll bring you to the truth.
Midnight. East Wing. Come alone.
—V"
It was the "truth" part that gnawed at him.
Because despite everything—despite the forced kisses, the chaos, the manipulation—Elias wanted to understand him. To know why a demon so powerful would be so obsessed with a human he'd kidnapped.
At midnight, Elias went.
The East Wing was older. Cracked stone. A smell of dust and time. Torches flared as he passed, illuminating portraits of long-dead kings and queens… all of whom had red eyes.
He found the door.
It was carved with a rune Elias didn't recognize.
He pushed it open.
The room inside was dimly lit—candles hovering in the air, books stacked high, and a large mirror at the center. Not a regular mirror—this one shimmered, showing flickers of different moments in time.
Varian stood beside it, coat off, sleeves rolled up. He looked strangely… calm.
"You came," he said, not smiling.
"I want answers," Elias replied.
"Then look." Varian gestured to the mirror.
Elias approached.
The surface rippled—and then showed himself, days ago, finding the old seal in the woods. The moment he touched it. The flash of red light. But then it zoomed out… and showed Varian watching him from the shadows.
"You let me break it," Elias whispered.
"I guided you," Varian said. "That seal would never have shattered without my will. You were chosen."
"Why?"
Varian stepped closer. "Because I was tired of being alone."
Elias turned. "You summoned me? You trapped me in this hellhole because you were lonely?"
"No. I summoned you… because I saw you."
He stepped closer, his voice quiet.
"In all my centuries, I'd never seen anyone with your flame. You hated the world but never stopped protecting it. You were broken, angry, beautiful. I needed to own that. To understand it."
"To own me?" Elias snapped.
Varian didn't deny it.
Elias turned away, heart pounding. "You're sick."
Varian caught his wrist.
"I'm trying to change. You made me want to."
And then—he kissed Elias again. Not forcefully this time.
It was slower. Almost gentle.
And that terrified Elias more than anything.
Because he kissed him back.
Just once.
Before pulling away, breathless and afraid.
"You're still a monster," Elias whispered.
Varian's smile was sad. "I know."
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