Elias couldn't sleep.
His lips still burned from that kiss—not because it had been rough or unwanted, but because… it hadn't been. That was the problem. For the first time, Varian hadn't taken—he'd asked. And Elias had answered. His body had leaned in before his mind could stop it.
He hated that.
He hated himself for it.
And yet…
When morning came, Elias went looking for him.
He found Varian not in the throne room, but in the ruined observatory, where the glass ceiling had shattered long ago and vines grew freely through the broken stone.
Varian stood at the edge of the marble platform, staring at the sky like he wanted to devour it.
He didn't turn when Elias stepped closer.
"Is this where you pout when I'm not around?" Elias said dryly.
Varian chuckled, voice lower than usual. "It's where I go to remember who I was before this world made me what I am."
Elias blinked. "You were… human?"
"No." A pause. "But once, I was kind."
He turned finally. The usual smirk was gone.
"I ruled a kingdom," he said quietly. "Before demons. Before madness. I loved once. She betrayed me. I burned the world down for it."
Elias folded his arms. "That sounds like a you problem."
"It is," Varian agreed. "But that doesn't mean I don't feel it. Every day. Every night."
Silence settled between them.
Then Varian said, softly, "That kiss… it wasn't a trick."
"I know," Elias muttered.
"I didn't expect you to return it."
"I didn't expect to either."
Their eyes locked. Something fragile, electric, passed between them.
And then Elias asked the question that had been gnawing at him since the mirror room:
"Why me?"
Varian approached, slow, like he was afraid of the answer himself.
"Because you're the first thing I haven't been able to break," he whispered. "You defy me. Hate me. Fight me. But you see me. And I… I need that."
Elias's throat tightened.
"I don't forgive you," he said.
"I'm not asking you to."
"I still want to escape."
Varian nodded.
"But you still want me," Elias added bitterly.
"I always will."
And then Varian did something that startled Elias more than any kiss, more than any command.
He knelt.
Right there, in the broken observatory, under the sunlight.
"I will never deserve you," he said.
Elias stared down at him, stunned.
This wasn't a trick. This wasn't seduction.
This was surrender.
The demon—the king—kneeling to the boy he once tried to chain.
Elias stepped forward and placed a hand under his chin, lifting Varian's face.
"Then start proving it," he said softly.
Varian smiled like it hurt.
And for the first time…
Elias didn't pull away.
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