Chapter 9 - Cora
Cora shoved the door to Elena’s cottage open with more force than necessary, and the creak of the hinges echoed in the room.
The small, ivy-covered home on the outskirts of Bellefleur had always felt like a home of sorts, but today, it was just another reminder that nothing felt right anymore.
Not her magic, not her bond with Grayson, and definitely not her emotions, which were all over the place.
“Cora?” Elena’s voice drifted from the back room, warm, familiar, and tinged with mild surprise. “You’re early.”
Cora dropped her bag by the door and stalked into the cozy sitting room, where Elena was arranging bundles of herbs by the window.
Elena looked every bit the mystical healer she was rumored to be.
But to Cora, she was simply a friend—one of the few people who might actually understand the mess she was in.
“You said you had a solution,” Cora supplied, skipping the pleasantries. “Please tell me you’ve got something.”
Elena raised a brow, and her hands paused mid-reach for a sprig of rosemary. “Hello to you too. Tea? Maybe a moment to breathe?”
“Elena,” Cora warned.
“Fine,” Elena relented, gesturing toward the worn couch in the center of the room. “Sit. And don’t start pacing. It messes with the wards.”
Cora begrudgingly dropped onto the couch, ignoring the way the cushions sagged under her weight. “The potion didn’t work,” she explained. “It fizzled out before it even activated. I did everything right—every step, every measurement. Nothing.”
Elena leaned against the table, studying her with a knowing look. “And what did you feel when you tested it?”
“Frustration,” Cora admitted. “And maybe a little desperate.”
“That might explain it. Magic’s as much about intent as it is about ingredients. If your heart wasn’t in it, the spell wouldn’t be, either.”
Cora groaned, rubbing her temples. “My heart is exactly the problem. This bond—it’s screwing with my magic, my head, my…everything.”
Elena moved to the chair across from her and sat, folding her legs beneath her. “Start from the beginning. What happened during the test?”
Cora’s fingers knotted in her lap. “I was trying to focus. I even set up a protection circle to keep the bond from interfering, but the moment I activated the potion, it felt…wrong. Like something was fighting back.”
Elena’s brows furrowed. “Fighting back? That’s not typical for a bond-breaking spell.”
“Exactly!” Cora agreed, throwing her hands up. “I don’t know if it’s the bond or just me, but it’s like everything I try is one step forward, ten steps back.”
Elena tilted her head. “Cora, when you say it felt wrong, what exactly do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain,” Cora admitted. “It was like…like a wall I couldn’t get through. But not just a wall. It was alive. Pulsing. It pushed me back so hard I nearly lost my balance.”
Elena leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “That doesn’t sound like standard bonding magic. Are you sure this is just a spell? Nothing else unusual about the ritual that created it?”
Cora hesitated. “Grayson said it was forced. A marriage rite at the auction. He only did it to get me out.”
Elena’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Cora, magic like that isn’t always just a ritual. Depending on the caster, it could go deeper. Much deeper.”
“What are you saying?” Cora asked, her pulse quickening.
“I’m saying,” Elena began carefully, “that this might not be just magic. It could be…soul-deep.”
Cora stared at her, and the weight of those words landed like a physical blow. “Soul-deep? Like…fated mates?”
“Not exactly,” Elena said, shaking her head. “But something close. Sometimes, when two souls resonate on a fundamental level, a bond can form that goes beyond magic. It’s rare, but it happens.”
“No,” Cora stated firmly, standing up. “That can’t be it. I barely know him. We don’t even like each other half the time.”
Elena’s eyes glinted with something almost mischievous. “And the other half?”
Cora glared at her. “Not the point.”
“I’m just saying,” Elena replied, raising her hands in mock surrender. “The bond might be amplifying feelings that were already there. Or it could be creating them. Either way, breaking it won’t be as simple as a potion.”
Cora sank back onto the couch, and her shoulders sagged. “So what? I’m stuck with this? With him?”
Elena didn’t answer right away. Instead, she rose and crossed to the shelf lined with jars and tomes. She pulled down a leather-bound book and flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for.
“Here,” she said, setting the book in Cora’s lap. “It’s a ritual for tempering bonds. It won’t break it but might give you some control.”
Cora skimmed the page and frowned. “This looks…complicated.”
“It is,” Elena admitted, closing her own book and tapping the cover thoughtfully. “But it’s your best shot for now. And you’ll need help.”
“Help?” Cora repeated, narrowing her eyes. She already knew where this was going, but that didn’t make it easier to hear.
“Yes,” Elena confirmed with a knowing smile lighting her face. “Grayson.”
“Absolutely not,” Cora refused, slamming the book shut. “He’s the last person I want to be involved in this.”
“He’s the other half of the bond,” Elena reminded her. “If you want to temper it, he has to be part of the process.”
Cora rolled her eyes. “He already helped with the last potion, remember? Maybe that’s why it didn’t work. He was too involved, and his pheromones were like…messing with me even more.”
Elena snorted, and the sound came out somewhere between amused and exasperated. “Oh, please. You know that’s not how magic works. If it didn’t work, it’s because the bond is stronger than either of you expected. Not because Grayson can’t stir ingredients or smells like sex.”
“That’s debatable,” Cora muttered under her breath.
Elena leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but he’s not your enemy, Cora. I’m sure he wants the bond gone just as much as you do. Maybe even more.”
She hated that Elena had a point. Grayson’s frustration with the bond had been obvious from the start, and while she knew it wasn’t personal, it still stung.
It jeopardized his mission and his career.
Hell, it totally disrupted his life. Now, he was sleeping on her couch and spending his days watching her every move.
“Even if that’s true, I don’t trust him to not take over. He doesn’t know how to let anyone else be in charge.”
“Then make him let you lead,” Elena suggested simply. “You’re a witch. You know how to set boundaries.”
Cora snorted. “Yeah, because that’s worked so well so far.
Every time I try to stand my ground, he bulldozes right over me.
It’s like he doesn’t know how to back off.
I’ve spent my whole life figuring things out on my own.
I don’t need someone hovering over me, telling me how to breathe or when to blink.
And with this bond, it’s like he thinks he owns me.
I can’t even walk to the damn corner without feeling his shadow at my back. ”
“You’re used to relying on yourself. I get it. But maybe this isn’t about him controlling you. Maybe he’s trying to keep you alive.”
Cora groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“A little,” Elena admitted with a smirk. “But only because I know you’ll get through this. You always do.”
“Not if he doesn’t give me some space,” Cora muttered, her voice quieter now.
She looked down at the book again. “I didn’t sign up for this bond, and I sure as hell didn’t sign up for him treating me like I’m fragile.
I’ve handled worse than this, Elena. I don’t need him swooping in every time something looks hard. ”
Cora looked down at the book again and picked at the edges. The thought of asking Grayson for help made her stomach roil, but she'd do it if it meant regaining even a fraction of her independence.
“Fine. But if he starts acting like this is his idea, I’m throwing him out a window.”
“Go for it,” Elena agreed with a smile. “And Cora? Be patient with yourself. And with him. This bond isn’t just a curse. It’s also an opportunity.”
Cora snorted before standing and tucking the book under her arm. “An opportunity for what? A headache?”
Elena laughed. “You’ll figure it out.”
Cora didn’t have an answer for that, so she just nodded and headed for the door. As she stepped back outside, the weight of the book in her hands felt heavier than it should have, as if it carried more than just instructions. It carried hope—and maybe something she wasn’t ready to face yet.
The sun had dipped lower by the time Cora left Elena’s cottage, with barely enough light to illuminate the dirt path leading back toward Bellefleur.
She didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know Grayson’s influence was still hovering nearby.
His Black Ops team had a way of blending into the shadows, but she’d seen them enough times to know they were there—watching, waiting, making sure she got home safely.
It was typical Grayson, overbearing and impossible to shake, even from a distance.
She hated how much it grated on her, that constant reminder she wasn’t truly free.
She clutched the leather-bound book to her chest. Soul-deep. The words lingered in her mind like a tune she couldn’t shake, and each repetition made her pulse quicken.
Her boots crunched against the gravel as she walked, and the rhythmic sound provided a semblance of order amidst the chaos brewing inside her.
She’d spent hours at Elena’s, going over every detail of the tempering ritual and every possible way to mitigate the bond’s influence.
But none of it felt like enough. If the bond truly went beyond magic and was tied to something as unchangeable as their souls, what chance did she have of reclaiming her autonomy?