Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Selene
Aura trotted along the hideous blue and green checkered carpet. The few people we passed in the hallway didn’t spare a glance at her. A small amount of magic tickled my nose when she was near, but that could just be because she was a familiar or from the spell hiding her.
“Here.” I abruptly turned and pushed open a door so Ender could enter.
Aura spun around, tilting her head slightly to the side.
“Come on.” I waved, and she bounced on through after Ender.
“This hotel does have elevators.” Ender’s smile turned smug. “And if you wanted somewhere private to kiss me, I can think of at least five other places inside this hotel with a better view.”
I rolled my eyes and nudged him as I passed, my shoulder tingling at the contact. My cheeks flushed at his comment and I was thankful he couldn’t see my face as I went up the stairs. Though he was joking, something inside me urged me to do just that—kiss him.
Aura wove between my feet and climbed the stairs, taking the lead.
“So where are we going?” Ender asked as we passed the next floor and kept going.
“You asked for a better view.” I waved to the next level, where a door led outside.
“I didn’t peg you for breaking the rules.” He raised an eyebrow at me and then glanced at the locked door. “Are you going to pick this one too?”
I flinched. I had let him believe that assumption.
“Yeah. I didn’t pick the lock that day in the library. I just stole a key.” I shrugged and strode over to the door.
“I lied,” Ender said. “I definitely peg you as a rule breaker.”
“I can’t manipulate any of the locks at the academy, but this is steel, not tungsten. Plus, my dad said to not leave the building.” I froze. I hadn’t meant to call John my dad.
I swallowed, ignoring the pain in my chest, and hovered my hands over the metal box where the lock was.
I closed my eyes and concentrated. Metal was the hardest for me to manipulate and was draining.
My magic’s warm sensation slid from me into the lockbox, searching for the release.
Once I found it, I closed my hands, opening the lock with a click.
“Why am I not surprised you can manipulate metal?” Ender’s smile fell as he stared at me. “You continue to amaze me.”
Little spirals of fire went up my spine at his gaze, and I swallowed. The admiration in his eyes told me he wasn’t lying—and it wasn’t just a fascination. I had unknowingly taken a step toward him or he had taken one toward me—I was unsure of which. The closer we were, the more—
Something warm moved around our legs, and I glanced down to see white fluffy fur. Once Aura got our attention, she trotted toward the door.
“Someone must be excited to go outside.” I let out a small laugh.
“Or doesn’t want us to kiss.” Ender took a deep breath as he ran a hand through his hair, then waved me onward. I couldn’t get a read on his expression, as my own nerves confused me.
I pushed open the door and stepped onto the roof.
Even though it was winter, the warm air was fragranced with jasmine and burnt sugar.
It was too warm for my hoodie, so I had left it in the room.
The fact that the man who had pretended to be only the headmaster of my school and not my father had given the hoodie to my mom didn’t make it any less special.
The newly dark sky was clear, and the stars were visible even with the lights from the city.
“Careful,” I told the little fox as she jumped up on the chest-high parapet overlooking the city. Clearly, she wasn’t afraid of heights.
The hotel wasn’t the biggest building in the city, but it wasn’t the smallest either. I leaned on the cool cement parapet—avoiding the growing moss—next to Aura, who began nuzzling my arm until I rubbed her chin.
“Now this is a view.” This was a first for me. I had never been to a big city like this.
“It is.” Ender’s voice was raspier than usual, and I turned to see the corner of his lip turned up into a sexy smile, warmth crawling up my spine.
“What?” I asked.
His gaze held mine. Wind swirled around my head, sending loose strands of my hair flying. It softly trailed across my neck and stopped below my chin, pushing it upward. I looked up at him; his magic was like his own caress as he stepped in close.
And we stared at each other just like we had in the stairwell.
“What is this?” I blurted out.
“This is called a rooftop.” Ender’s grin was cocky, and I snorted.
“You had told me that there’s something else between us, and that I feel it too.” My teeth gnawed at my lip, my heart racing at its own will. “What did you mean?”
“When you first arrived,” Ender’s expression softened, “I was drawn to you. I thought it was the fascination with how you avoided people, especially me, but you also did everything to protect your sister. You looked like you hated sitting at that lunch table, but that’s where your sister sat.
I found similarities between you and me—we both hate crowds and socializing. ”
“Okay, Mr. Popular.” I rolled my eyes.
“Not by choice. Magic likes power and tends to be drawn to it.” Ender shook his head.
“The night I passed you coming out of the woods, something stirred inside me. I couldn’t shake that feeling or the urge to just be near you.
But there was still something more than my own desire to get to know you and my want to spend time with you.
The night in the basement at the Academy, I felt it again. ”
He paused before taking the back of his hand and grazing my cheek.
“Do you know what an elemental bond is?” he asked.
I stopped breathing, unable to say the word no out loud, but when the words came off his lips, my heart suddenly had a mouth and wanted to say yes. I couldn’t speak and awkwardly stared up at him.
“It’s a bond between two mages where their souls connect. They have to be of the same element and may or may not share the same birthday. That part is unclear.” His hand moved from my cheek and down to my sleeve, then trailed down my bare arm. “Like us.”
He was quiet, letting the reality dawn on me.
“Same day. Not year,” I thought out loud while internally admitting that he could possibly be very right. “You’re one year older.”
“There isn’t much I could find on elemental bonds and soul-bounds.” He dropped his hand.
“We’re soul-bound,” I affirmed and he nodded. “What do you know about … it?”
“Their souls are more of a connection that mirror each other. It’s different from a familiar, where you give a part of your soul away. The bond can’t be created, either—it’s natural.”
“Can it be denied?” I asked before thinking of the repercussions of my wording, and his face fell, the vein in his neck pulsing.
“I’m not sure.” He swallowed, taking a step back. “If this is something you don’t want—”
“No. I … it just caught me off guard.” I shook my head, attempting to clear it. “I’m sorry.”
I spared a glance at Aura, who was lounging on the parapet, her back facing us.
I felt happy when I was around Ender, and not like how it was when I was with my sister.
My stomach fluttered and my body hummed happily.
But with everything going on, I didn’t have the time to explore it.
Mom’s killer was still out there, my sister was in danger, and Ender could also be hunted by dark mages.
Something else popped into my head.
“If an elemental bond has to be accepted or denied, do you think…” I stared at him, wanting to see his reaction as I blurted out the next part uneasily. “Does that mean we would have to—”
A low growl came from Aura, snapping my attention away from Ender. Her hackles were up as she stood, staring off behind us. I turned to look, but nothing was there. My nose twitched. I thought I caught a different smoky scent—one of vanilla and cinnamon rather than Singapore’s flowers.
“Aura. What is it, girl?” I walked over to her, but she growled again, glowering in the same direction.
“Whoa.” Ender’s voice was full of shock, and my magic came to life before I could finish whirling around.
Beyond the arm Ender held out, shielding me, a sleek black dragon perched on a pipe sticking out of the hotel’s roof.