Vicius leaned into the kiss, reaching to be closer. To feel more of her. To feel whole.
Her breath hitched as she felt his hand gently wrap around her nape, allowing herself to lean further in.
The room was filled with muffled moans and breathy gasps until they finally pulled apart. Each panting heavily in rhythm with their own beating hearts.
"Can I ask…what that was?"
Vicius couldn't hide his blush, but was lucky the darkness had his back.
"Just…its been so long. Since anyone has said that and sounded genuine…"
A thick silence sat on both of their chests. What should they do? What should they say?
"Please don't misunderstand, I don't wish to engage in a romantic relationship with you Vicius…but I would appreciate your warmth."
She crawled closer on her hands knees, already intoxicated with the warmth of another.
"S-Sorry Delilah…I have someone special that I truly care about right now…I don't think it would be right to do this…"
Delilah leaned in and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Her lips dangerously close to his own once more.
"But you aren't with her at the moment. So you can savour this time with me."
Vicius shuddered, thinking about what might happen if Evie found out about this. But it was true, they were not together yet. And they wouldn't be for a while longer.
So his lips brushed against her own for a second.
"You smell sweet."
Delilah giggled as Vicius nuzzled into the crook of her neck. Her blush only deepening as she lifted her chin to allow him more space to move around.
"Mmmf~ that tickles."
"Are you sure you want to be doing this with me of all people?"
Delilah looked down at him, two hands slapped against his cheeks, holding him firmly in place.
"You are the only one who can do this. For me. Because your gaze is different than their's. It's almost like you are seeing me for me. Not me for my status."
Vicius could feel the cold sweat pooling around his nape.
'Yeah…the issue is that your status is what I am after…I need power.'
But he could never say something like that out loud, especially not after they had kissed passionately in the academy dorm.
"One last kiss, and then I leave you alright?"
Vicius nodded, biting her lip and pulling her down lightly to meet his shadowy gaze.
=========
"Well! That was a fantastic study session if I do say so myself!! And believe me. I do say so!!"
Delilah packed her notebooks away quickly, almost in a panicked matter, avoiding any eye contact at all.
Vicius tapped her side with his watch.
"Let's trade IDs. That way we can chat without anyone seeing."
Delilah externally responded with a simple. "If the poor pup wants it then sure."
However on the inside she jumped ecstatically at the thought of now having her first friend in her contacts.
She quickly left the dorm cloaked by Vicius's shadow magic so no one could spot her.
Finally he could relax. Unwind and sleep.
Or at least so he thought. His heart was beating hard. Thumping against his rib cage, bending every bone as the image of her eyes locked against his like before. At the faint feeling of her lips against his own. At the taste of strawberries she left behind in his mouth.
"Damn it!!! She is a witch!!"
He jumped around frantically trying to shake off any thoughts about what had just happened.
And then he got an idea. Dueling.
A wide white expanse spread before him, there were still several students fighting or spectating at this time of night. Most of these were elites, ranking within the top fifty in the year. There were even two others like himself who were ranked in the top ten.
And finally, his gaze set on Evie.
Like a homing missile, her gaze flew to him. And she closed the distance too fast.
"Hello there. Vicius."
You could almost see a faint smile cracking at the corner of her cheeks. But it faded as quick as it came. Her nose twitched as she leaned closer, taking in the unfamiliar scent.
Her fist whitened, knuckles itching to strike.
"Tell me, dear Vicius. That wouldn't happen to be the scent of another woman on you, would it?"
'Scary!'
"It is actually, I bumped into a girl on my way here."
Evie raised an eyebrow. Despite how skeptical she was, in the end she decided to trust him. Why wouldn't she trust the man she loved so dearly?
She cosied up beside him, snuggling into his arm, forcing a sense of Deja vu.
But he paid it no mind. Instead, his gaze focused on the clashing of spells on the training ground. A man and woman were firing spells of the fire and lightning type, each enough to raze an entire field to the ground.
'So this is what the cream of the crop is within this academy. I can feel my mana tingling at the chance to fight them.'
He shook Evie off and headed toward an empty, smaller arena.
Several blades hung from the armoury, most wooden but there were alloy options.
Instead, he picked up an iron wand with an onyx centre piece.
Vicius's core vibrated at the chance to release a higher quantity of mana than usual.
Evie glided over beside him, peeking her head from behind his shoulder.
"It's kind of them to offer wands to practice with, and they are not poor quality either. The materials used in the creation process of the wands dictate the amount of mana one is able to pour into spells."
"You are right Evie. So imagine your powerful spell with one of these puppies."
Vicius looked down at her wand. It was a mix of a wood from the Isle-lands and a lapis gemstone. It was far better than his own pen one, but it fell short of the academy training ones.
He couldn't even begin to imagine the sort of power she could pour into the spells. Evie's mana pool was among the greatest in her generation, even more so than Vicius's. And if mana were everything in a battle, she would win.
"Yeah. But even with this power boost, I would lose nine out of ten times against you."
She didn't sound upset in the slightest. If anything, she was proud to lose to Vicius.
A smile crept along his lips as he walked onto the arena ground.
"How about a fight? Since our wands are at the same level now."