Thank Liora for her kind words but decide to confront Vaelra again, determined to face the challenges head-on, even if it means embracing submission.

The corridors of Academia Arcanum were dimly lit by enchanted lanterns, their golden light flickering like stars against the dark stone walls. Elion’s heart pounded in his chest as he made his way to Lady Vaelra’s chambers, his steps resolute but filled with an undercurrent of anxiety.

He had thought long and hard about his next move. The confusion, the shame, the growing desire to please—it was all becoming too much to handle alone. If he was going to survive this, he needed to face it. He needed to understand what was happening to him, and perhaps—just perhaps—Vaelra could be the one to help him unravel it.

When he finally arrived at her door, he hesitated for only a moment before knocking, his hand trembling slightly.

“Enter,” came her voice, smooth and commanding.

Elion stepped inside, his eyes locking onto her figure. Vaelra was seated at her desk, a pile of papers before her, but her gaze immediately lifted when he entered. She regarded him with that same knowing expression, as if she had been expecting him all along.

“You’ve come to speak with me again, Eliona,” she said, her voice soft but firm, as though she had already deciphered his intentions. “How amusing that you’ve chosen to face me when the truth has been sitting in front of you all along.”

Elion swallowed hard, fighting the urge to look away. “I… I’ve been thinking. About what you said. About submission. About me.” His voice faltered for a moment, but he gathered himself. “I don’t understand it. I don’t understand why I feel this way, why I feel like I’m meant to be something I’m not.”

Vaelra’s lips curved into a slight smile. She rose from her desk and moved closer to him, her presence overwhelming yet strangely comforting. “You’re not as lost as you think, Elion. You’ve always been this way. The Academy is a place of revelation. It isn’t just about mastering magic. It’s about mastering yourself—embracing the parts of you that have always been there but you’ve kept hidden.”

Elion’s pulse raced at her words, each one pulling him deeper into the mystery of his own identity. “But I don’t want to be weak. I don’t want to be someone who… who just gives in.”

Vaelra’s expression softened, her voice almost tender as she spoke. “True strength, Elion, isn’t in resisting what you are. It’s in accepting it. Accepting yourself completely. Only then can you truly grow. The world is full of men who pretend to be strong by hiding their vulnerabilities. But the strongest of us know that our weaknesses make us whole. They make us real.”

Her words sank into him like a gentle caress, and for the first time, Elion felt a strange sense of peace wash over him. Was it possible? Could embracing his feminine side—his submission—actually make him stronger? Was this the path to true power?

Vaelra stepped closer, her gaze never leaving his. “If you truly want to understand, Elion, you need to allow yourself to be guided. You need to submit—to me, to your true self.”

He closed his eyes, feeling the weight of her words, the warmth of her presence. A part of him resisted, the pride of a prince pushing back against the tide. But another part of him—the part that had been hiding, the part that had been afraid to acknowledge what he needed—began to awaken.

“I…” Elion began, his voice barely a whisper. “I’m scared. But I… I think I want to try.”

Vaelra’s smile deepened, her eyes gleaming with approval. “You’re wise, Eliona. It takes strength to admit that you need help. But now, you must let go. Let me show you the true meaning of power.”