The royal library was silent, the way Dain preferred it. 
No courtiers whispering. No assassins. Just the scent of leather-bound tomes and candle wax.  

Well, that was the way he was used to, before a certain Guide appeared in his life. 

Silence was not something Elion believed in.  

“You’ve been staring at that page for houuuurs.” The Guide circled him like a cub on a leash, boots scuffing the marble floor. “Do you even read, or are you just trying to look clever? With your smart ass face all serious and-”  

Dain turned a page deliberately. “Your voice is more grating than a child's shrieking cries.” 
Elion grinned, sharp and infuriating. “Perfect, it’s all I ever wanted to hear your Highness. Means I’m doing something right don’t you think?”  
Dain didn’t rise to the bait. He had learned, painfully, that Elion’s defiance thrived on reaction. 
Better to let him tire himself out.  

Instead, he traced the faded script in the book before him. 
A treatise on resonance, older than most kingdoms still standing nowadays. The author spoke of Guides with particular affinities, their powers growing and altering to the Espers they served.  

But one passage froze Dain’s hand. 

Certain Guides are born not to soothe the average Esper, but to tether the most destructive among those. Their resonance burns them, devours them, yet holds the Esper they serve stable. 
Rare. Incomparable. 

Dain’s gaze flicked across the page again, chest tightening. 

Rare.  

He closed the book with a snap. A sense of unease and anger filling him. 

Elion stopped mid-stride. “What did you find?” 

“Nothing,” Dain said curtly, sliding the tome back onto the shelf. His storm stirred to life, something that hadn’t happened for the last couple of days. “It’s all useless trash.” 

Elion narrowed his eyes; he couldn't read so he hoped Dain would share whatever he was looking for but he didn’t. 

Elion didn’t push. Not this time. 

... 

The court was summoned that evening. 
Marble pillars, velvet drapes, nobles whispering like carrion crows. 

The king’s advisor rose, bowing low. 

“Your Highness, we got word that the Guide you’ve acquired has… peculiar qualities. It seems your commendable powers unlocked his hidden qualities. The scholars propose separating him from your charge for a while. With proper study, we could harness his unique resonance for broader state use.” 

Elion stood silent at Dain’s side, expression carefully blank. But Dain felt the flare of tension through their thread. 

He should have agreed. 
That was the expectation. Guides were tools, meant for state hands, not personal hoards. 
Espessialy once as low rank as Elion. 

Unless they were bonded to their Esper. But Elion and Dain had not. 

Still, Dain’s voice cut cold and sharp: “No.” 

The advisor blinked. “Your Highness it would only be a short whi-” 

“I said no.” 
Dain rose, storm gathering faintly in the chamber. The scent of ozone spread like warning. 
“Study what exactly? Don’t fool yourself, thinking he’s anything more than what I made him to be. He’s nothing more than my dog.” 

A ripple passed through the nobles, like prey realizing a beast was watching. 

The king’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. 

Elion, at Dain’s side, tilted his head ever so slightly. His lips curved in a smirk, but his gaze flickered with something Dain couldn’t name. 
Relief? 

Amusement? 

Fear? 

Elion followed Dain into the candlelit library, a smirk playing at his lips. 
The Esper seemed to think he had some kind of power over him now, but Elion would never submit so easily. 

"You're quiet," Dain remarked, turning to face him. "Want to be the state's new experiment, Guide?" 

Elion stepped closer, until they were almost nose to nose. "Maybe I'm just admiring the view." His gaze raked over Dain's body, lingering on the swell of his lips, the strong line of his throat. 

Dain's eyes narrowed. "Careful. You're playing with fire." 

"Good thing I like the sting when it burns," Elion purred, backing Dain towards the large window. 

It overlooked the palace gardens, empty in the moonlit night. 
He crowded Dain against the glass, pressing their hard bodies together. 

Dain's hands came up to grip Elion's shoulders, holding him at bay. 
But Elion felt the hitch in his breath, the press of his hardening cock. He leaned in, lips brushing the shell of Dain's ear. 

"Anyone could see us, Your Highness," he whispered the words with a roll of his hips. "See you getting hard for me like a slut." 

"Elion," Dain warned. The Guide ignored him, instead he licked Dain’s frowning mouth, biting at his bottom lip until he opened with a gasp. He pressed his tongue inside without hesitation, tasting Dain's growl of frustration. 

One hand slid down to palm Dain through his pants, feeling the growing bulge there. 

Breaking the kiss, Elion spun Dain around and bent him over the windowsill. Dain braced his hands on the glass, glaring daggers at Elion over his shoulder. 

"You're enjoying this too much," he snarled. 

Elion grinned, sharp and hungry. "I'm just a simple Guide trying to guide my master, no?" With that, he dropped to his knees and bit Dain’s ass through his pants. 

Dain cursed, pushing against Elion’s face. "Fucking pathetic pervert. If you get on your knees, do it properly!" 

Amused, Elion took that as permission, pulling the Esper’s pants down. 

- CUT OUT -

That night, Dain stood at the balcony of his chambers, his skin still hot and bare as he stared at the city’s lights flickering below.  

He was stable now. In control of his cursed powers. It’s all he ever wanted. He had not use for the Guide anymore. 

He should have let them take Elion. It would have solved half his problems. 

Yet the thought of anyone else touching him, breaking him, made Dain’s storm howl. 

What if he loses this thread of conrtol in the future, when Elion wasn’t with him anymore? 
He had to keep the Guide to be safe. That’s what he kept repeating in his head. 

But his core told him something else. 

His Guide was rare. Dangerous. Precious. 

And Dain realized, that his desire to keep him close wasn’t only about control. 

It was something else entirely. 

To be continued...