Morgan slowly stood up. That serious, closed-off look on his face once again revealed that he still hadn't given in. That he was still on guard.
He stayed silent, staring directly at Zarathoz.
Zarathoz noticed the distrust. A flicker of annoyance crossed her face for barely a second before she smiled again with that smile that was far too soft to be honest, and spoke once more as if every word were a hook.
— You want humans to be treated better, don't you?...
She stepped down from the desk without hurry and walked toward Morgan.
— Yes... why are you asking?
(Morgan said coldly.)
Morgan began to step back. Zarathoz raised one hand, and from somewhere behind him a gust of wind surged forward, pushing him toward her before he could do anything to stop it.
— No reason, boy. It's just that if that's what you want... I can help you achieve it.
Zarathoz's chest softened the impact. She lifted Morgan's chin with two fingers, forcing him to look directly at her. He avoided her gaze.
— I can give you whatever you desire. Power. Fame. Wealth. Or something even harder to obtain... for humans to stop being treated like trash.
With a precise, effortless movement, Zarathoz pulled him back against her, holding him from behind. He tried to break free. He couldn't.
Xol tensed up, ready to move. Morgan shot him a serious, desperate look that said no. Stay still.
Zarathoz began stroking Morgan's hair. Slowly. As if she had all the time in the world.
— I can make all of that happen. I only need you to do me a favor. A tiny one. Very small.
She tilted his head back until their eyes met. Then she leaned in until her lips were almost brushing his.
— If you agree to help me... if you accept this little arrangement... you'll get exactly what you desire so badly. I promise you.
Morgan tried to move again. Nothing. His body no longer responded as if it belonged to him. Zarathoz controlled him like a puppet, gentle but absolute, leaving him unable to resist in any real way.
But what she was offering him...
One part of him knew it was a trap. He knew it. Yet there was another voice, quieter and older, reminding him of Galahad. Of all the humans he had seen at the academy. Of what he had found that day in the forest.
And that was the voice that spoke.
— Can you really help me achieve what I want...?
Just that small moment of doubt. That was enough.
Zarathoz smiled.
— That's right. Remember, no one in this academy has more power than I do. If you have me on your side, there's nothing you won't be able to obtain.
Morgan shifted his eyes toward Xol. Xol stared back at him with clenched teeth, barely shaking his head, wordlessly begging him to say no.
— Idiot, tell her no, tell her no!
(Xol screamed inside his mind, desperate.)
Morgan saw it. He knew it was dangerous. He knew it was an obvious trap, the kind you only truly understand once it's already too late.
But he thought about Galahad. About the humans dragging their feet through the academy hallways. About what he had seen in the forest.
And he opened his mouth.
— Fine... I accept.
Xol froze. As if something inside him had just broken.
Zarathoz smiled in a way that wasn't joy — it was satisfaction, hunger, something that didn't have a beautiful name.
— Very good. You're very, very smart for accepting. Now then, we should seal our little agreement.
Morgan nodded without really knowing to what. Zarathoz maneuvered him again until he stood directly in front of her. She cupped his face in both hands. He frowned.
Before he could ask what was happening, Zarathoz kissed him.
She tangled her tongue with his while Morgan remained in shock, unable to move, unable to think. And on both of their tongues, as the seconds passed, a small dark symbol began to form — the same one the marked humans carried on theirs.
The office door opened.
— Hey... do you know if he already wa—
It was Luzbel.
She froze in the doorway, staring at the scene without saying another word.
End of the chapter.
Next chapter: I Was Just Playing