Elyra's trembling hands hovered over the silver bowl, the dark wine inside rippling as her whispered incantations filled the silent stone chamber. She had locked every door, drawn every rune in the correct order, and offered the blood – hers – into the wine to open the Veil.
"Come forth… Rhaziel, Lord of Ruin… I bind you to my command."
The candles flickered violently. The shadows along the walls seemed to claw towards the circle drawn in chalk and ash. Then she felt it – a coldness at her back, as if the very air had frozen solid. A voice cut through the silence, low and amused, each word dripping like poisoned honey.
"You… dare summon me, little witch?"
She turned, heart hammering, and found him standing in the darkness beyond the candles. Towering, built of obsidian shadows and burning gold eyes, his twisted horns curling back from black hair that framed an inhumanly perfect face. Her knees threatened to buckle.
"I… I command you," she whispered, voice shaking despite her forced authority.
The demon stepped into the circle, unbound by its constraints, and smirked – revealing fanged teeth that promised ruin. He reached out with claw-tipped fingers and brushed her cheek gently.
"Command me? Oh, little witch… you've made a grave mistake."
The circle shattered in a flash of blue flame. The binding spell rippled through her chest like a spear, slamming them together, binding them as one. Her scream was swallowed by his lips as he kissed her, stealing her breath, her power, and her soul all at once.
"Now," he purred against her mouth, "we belong to each other."