The fire crackled loudly in the hearth, but the air in the room felt like ice.

Julian reached into his spatial ring. He pulled out a small crystal vial. Inside, a silver liquid swirled, glowing with concentrated magical energy.

The Astral Recovery Potion. It was the most expensive healing draught in the academy, capable of repairing torn magical circuits.

Julian set the vial on the wooden nightstand and pushed it toward the edge of the bed.

"Drink it," Julian said. He kept his voice hard, refusing to let it sound like a request.

Kamari stared at the glowing liquid. He didn't move a muscle. He pressed his back harder against the headboard.

"What's in it this time?" Kamari asked. His voice was a low, dangerous whisper. "Truth serum? Or Black Mamba venom to make my nerve endings burn?"

Julian rubbed his sternum. He felt like a man trying to feed a feral, starving wolf that was ready to bite his hand off.

Before Julian could answer, the heavy suite doors creaked open.

Gideon stood in the doorway. His right hand was wrapped in thick white bandages. He looked pale and terrified.

"H-Headmaster," Gideon stammered, holding up a stack of parchment. "The Board needs your signature on the incident report..."

Gideon's eyes flicked to the bed. When he saw Kamari sitting on the Headmaster's silk sheets, a flash of ugly, raw jealousy twisted his face. He quickly looked down.

Julian looked at Gideon. An idea sparked in his mind. He needed a witness.

Julian ignored the paperwork. He stood up, walked to the nightstand, and picked up the crystal vial.

He popped the cork.

While Kamari and Gideon watched, Julian tipped his head back and downed more than half of the glowing silver liquid.

The pure magical energy burned down his throat. The scorching power instantly rushed into his limbs and bones. The concentrated magical force violently crashed through his perfectly healthy circuits, causing an agonizing overload. His vision went completely black for a terrifying second. He swayed on his feet, his knees buckling slightly as a wave of intense vertigo hit him. A drop of silver escaped his lips and ran down his chin, staining the collar of his violet robe. Julian forced himself to breathe, desperately fighting down the nausea and the tremors in his hands. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He slammed the half-empty vial back onto the nightstand, using the desk to anchor his weight. The glass clinked sharply against the wood.

"Does that prove there's no Black Mamba venom in it?" Julian snapped, glaring at Kamari.

By the door, Gideon let out a strangled gasp. His eyes were wide with absolute horror. The Headmaster had just consumed a fortune in medicine just to prove a point to a defective servant.

Kamari's pupils dilated. His chest heaved. His brain was visibly short-circuiting.

"What do you want from me?" Kamari's voice shook. It was the first time he sounded genuinely unnerved. He could understand torture. He couldn't understand this.

Julian sneered to cover his own panic. "I want you alive. A dead toy is entirely useless to me."

Julian turned on his heel and marched toward Gideon. He snatched the paperwork from the boy's trembling hands.

"Have you seen enough?" Julian hissed. "Get out."

Gideon practically tripped over his own feet as he scrambled backward out of the room.

Julian slammed the doors shut. He stood with his back to the room, staring at the wood grain. He listened.

For five agonizing minutes, there was only the sound of the fire.

Then, he heard the soft scrape of glass against wood. He heard Kamari swallow.

Julian closed his eyes and let out a silent breath.

Julian heard the empty vial hit the nightstand. He turned around.

Kamari's face had regained a fraction of its color, but the deep, raw gashes on his chest were still bleeding through the cheap infirmary bandages. The potion only fixed internal magic; it didn't close physical wounds.

"Take your shirt off," Julian said. He walked toward the bed. He reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a small jade jar of Emerald Life Salve. It was a potent, dark alchemical mixture notorious for its agonizing application.

Kamari's entire body went rigid.

"Don't touch me!" Kamari snarled. He scrambled backward, hitting the headboard hard.

Panic flared in Kamari's golden eyes. It was a visceral, violent reaction to physical contact. PTSD.

Julian froze, his glowing hands suspended in the air.

"If I don't purge the shadow toxins from those cuts, they will rot," Julian said, trying to keep his voice level.

Kamari didn't care. He reached out and grabbed the empty crystal vial from the nightstand. He smashed it against the wooden bedframe. Glass shattered across the floor.

Kamari gripped the jagged neck of the bottle. He pointed the razor-sharp glass directly at Julian's throat.

"Get away from me," Kamari breathed, his chest heaving.

Julian swallowed hard. The kid was ready to kill him.

Suddenly, the suite doors burst open again.

Gideon stood there, his face red with misplaced righteous fury. He had been listening at the door.

"You filthy half-breed!" Gideon screamed, drawing his wand and pointing it at Kamari. "How dare you threaten the Headmaster! Do you think he actually cares about you? He just doesn't want your dirty blood on his rugs!"

The words hit Kamari like a physical blow. His hand holding the glass shook violently. The jagged edge sliced into his own palm, sending a stream of blood down his wrist.

Julian saw red. This idiot was ruining everything.

Julian didn't even turn around. He threw his right hand backward.

A thick whip of black magic materialized in the air. It cracked like thunder and slammed directly into Gideon's chest.

Gideon screamed as the force lifted him off his feet. He flew backward out the door and slammed into the stone wall of the corridor. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"I told you to get out," Julian growled.

He flicked his wrist. The heavy violet doors slammed shut. Three heavy magical deadbolts slid into place with loud, echoing clicks.

The room fell dead silent.

Julian turned back to Kamari. He ignored the jagged glass pointed at his throat. He took a step forward. Then another.

Kamari's eyes widened. He didn't back down, but he didn't thrust the glass forward either.

Julian reached out and grabbed Kamari's wrist.

He didn't grab the arm. He grabbed the hand holding the weapon. The sharp edge of the glass sliced deep into Julian's palm. Warm blood immediately welled up and dripped onto the white sheets.

Kamari froze. His breath caught in his throat. He stared at Julian's bleeding hand in absolute shock.

Julian didn't flinch. He used his other hand to scoop a handful of the glowing green paste. Ignoring the corrosive burn the ointment immediately inflicted on his own bare skin, he pressed his palm flat against Kamari's ruined chest. The potent alchemical magic flooded into Kamari's body, harsh but absolute.

"Whether you believe me or not," Julian said, his voice low and tight with pain. "Shut up and let me heal you."

The green alchemical light flared brightly in the dim room.

Under Julian's palm, the jagged, bleeding flesh on Kamari's chest began to knit together. New skin formed over the exposed bone. The scabs dried and flaked away, leaving behind smooth, unblemished skin.

Julian felt his magical reserves drain rapidly. A wave of dizziness hit him. His knees felt weak, and his face grew paler than the boy sitting on the bed.

He pulled his hand back. The healing was done.

Julian released Kamari's wrist. He looked down at his own hand. The glass had cut deep into his palm. Blood dripped steadily onto the floor.

Kamari stared at Julian's bleeding hand, then looked down at his own perfectly healed chest. His jaw ticked rapidly. His golden eyes were a storm of confusion and suppressed rage.

"Why?" Kamari's voice was raw, like he had swallowed sand. "Why heal me? Why drink the poison? What sick, twisted plan are you building up to?"

The questions fired out of him like bullets.

Julian knew this was the moment. He couldn't act like a saint. Kamari would never buy it. He had to give the boy a mystery to solve.

Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out a silk handkerchief. He wrapped it tightly around his bleeding hand, wincing slightly.

He turned his back on Kamari and walked to the large window. He looked out at the dark academy grounds. He let his shoulders slump just a fraction, projecting a heavy, exhausted burden.

"Do you think I enjoyed breaking you?" Julian asked softly. He let a bitter laugh escape his lips.

Kamari stiffened on the bed. The words struck a nerve.

Julian turned his head slightly, looking at Kamari over his shoulder. The firelight cast half his face in deep shadow.

"You have no idea what you carry inside you, Kamari," Julian said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Some power cannot be awakened unless it is forged in hell. And someone... had to be the monster to push you into the fire."

He didn't give Kamari a chance to respond.

"Rest. I will explain everything tomorrow."

Julian walked out of the suite, closing the door firmly behind him.

He walked into his own bedroom next door. The second the latch clicked, Julian collapsed against the wood. He slid down to the floor, burying his face in his hands.

"Holy shit," Julian muttered, his heart racing. "Give me an Oscar."

He pushed himself up and walked over to his heavy oak desk. He scanned the cluttered surface, his eyes finally landing on a dust-covered crystal ball sitting near a stack of old grimoires. He remembered the lore from his own writing-it was a high-tier surveillance tool tied to the academy's wards. Hesitantly, he reached out. He placed his trembling hand on the smooth surface of the crystal ball, pushing a small, uncertain sliver of his magic into the glass. The artifact flickered in response to his foreign touch, then stabilized and glowed softly, projecting a magical feed of the room next door.

Julian watched the projection.

Kamari wasn't destroying the room. He wasn't trying to break the windows.

He was sitting completely still on the edge of the bed. He looked at his healed hands. Then he looked at the bloodstained glass shard resting on the sheets.

Kamari's brow furrowed deeply. His lips moved silently, repeating Julian's words.

For the first time since Julian had woken up in this world, the pure, unadulterated hatred in Kamari's eyes cracked. It was replaced by a deep, agonizing doubt.

Julian clenched his uninjured fist. The bait was taken.