1. Ivy #3
Hugo guides me, and all too quickly the late-evening air is gone. In its place is the soft glow of candlelight, accompanied by the chatter of all the attendees present.
I feel dizzy with the idea that my fated mate is already here, bringing me one step closer to some independence, but it quickly turns to overwhelm at the sight of everyone in attendance.
The double doors open out into a grand hall, scattered with circular tables for spectators, ornate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and a wide stage on the other side of the room.
A brass band fills the space to my left, playing sweet music that dances through the room like a gentle breeze along the sea’s edge.
My parents take a seat at our table, dead center in the room, greeting everyone and anyone who comes by. There’s a spot waiting beside my father, reserved for my brother, but there’s no space for me.
Not this time.
I feel like I’ve watched this moment a thousand times, but this one is for me, and the other girls are already lined up beside the stage.
“Do you want me to walk you over?” Hugo asks, and I shake my head.
“It will do me good to go alone,” I answer honestly, and he grins, pulling me into one of his bear hugs as he rocks me from side to side.
I bask in his warmth, making sure to take extra just in case I need the boost of confidence.
“I’m so proud of you, Vee,” he whispers, using my favorite nickname, and I squeeze him a little tighter. “Go be awesome all on your own. You deserve it,” he adds before releasing me from his hold.
Straightening my spine, I take a deep breath and do just that, moving effortlessly through the room to join the others.
A few people holler “ Angel!” , and I smile courteously as always, a gentle wave to complete the greeting, but I don’t stop, I don’t even slow down until I fall into line with the others.
The girl before me doesn’t bother to turn around. She’s too busy eyeing the guys off in the distance. Looking would mean caring, and I don’t. Besides, one glance and my frustration would rear its ugly head, and now isn’t the time.
I just feel like someone needs to change these damn rules.
Peering at the stage, I spy the symbolic runes engraved on the floor with a small stand in the center. It holds the Stone of Love; the sacred rose quartz.
As each girl comes of age, she places her hands on the crystal, and any man connected to her aura will be shown.
Yet not all men are selected the same. There will be some in the gathered herd across the room who are still awaiting their chosen years later.
But that’s not what I take issue with. My issue is whether they are selected or not, every man over the age of twenty-one will attend Neverbound Academy, mated or not.
If a woman finds no connecting aura in the audience, or worse, is rejected, then she takes herself all the way home.
I shudder at the thought, ridding it from my mind so I don’t jinx myself, just as the sound of someone clearing their throat echoes around the room. It’s a silent command, one that garners everyone’s attention, and it always leaves me impressed.
Madam Viola.
Headmaster at Neverbound Academy, gifted with the ability to project her voice to a room of any size without a single aid.
She clasps her hands together as she rocks back on her heels, casting her soft gaze across the room for a moment, ensuring she does, indeed, have everyone’s attention before she speaks.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’m so happy to be presenting our bi-annual mating ceremony this evening. It is with great anticipation that we welcome more students to Neverbound Academy, while also nurturing their newfound connection with their fated mate.”
She continues her introductions exactly as she always does while my gaze drifts to my family’s table. My father speaks with the man across from him; my mother sits tall and regal, as if unable to break the air of magnificence she exudes; and my brother sits with his head slightly dipped.
My heart aches instantly.
I’ve been so caught up in myself tonight that I haven’t considered his feelings.
This is the first ceremony he’s attended in almost three years.
His fated mate, Harmony, was the love of his life, but a tragedy struck at Neverbound and she died.
He’s been alone ever since, focused on his dragon rider’s squadron and me.
Nothing else has mattered. But I can practically feel his heartache and sadness from here.
He loved her.
A rarity when it comes to these things, it seems, and he lost her so quickly. I’m not sure how you would ever recover from that, but I feel terrible not insisting that he shouldn’t have come.
A sharp inhale of breath, and I’m pulled from my thoughts, my eyes snapping back to the stage where a girl stands with her hands on the rose quartz, head tilted back as pink smoke darts across the room.
The shuffling of feet echoes as everyone steps back, revealing a man inside a pink circle.
Her fated mate.
As her hands fall away from the crystal, she blinks rapidly and gapes at the man.
“Jonathon Bromley,” Madam Viola booms, and he grins, his gaze settling on the girl on the stage.
“Accept,” he hollers without pause, and the room erupts in a round of applause.
I join in, elated for her as she darts from the stage and straight into his arms.
My heart swells with delight. Partly for her, but mostly because I get to take a step closer to it being my turn, playing nervously with the ruffles of my dress as I wait.
I watch in awe as one after the other, a girl touches the crystal, and her fate is revealed. My hands sting from clapping so hard until I find myself staring at the podium, next in line.
Clearing my throat, I straighten my spine as I glide across the stage, entering the symbolic runes with barely contained euphoria. My palms feel sweaty as I stare down at the rose quartz, lightheaded with disbelief that I’m finally here.
I don’t look out at the crowd or across to the gathered guys; I don’t even consider glancing at Madam Viola. This is all for me, and my tunnel vision is locked on the brightness of my future.
My pulse rings in my ears as anticipation coils through me.
One by one, I slowly place my hands on the crystal.
Electricity snaps up my spine as my head tilts up and my eyes roll to the back of my head.
It’s darkness I see, though it’s a flurry of fireworks cascading over the backs of my eyelids, shining so brightly it’s almost blinding, as the thunder of gasps bounce around the room.
I jolt as my hands are blasted away from the Stone of Love, my palms frozen in mid-air as I follow the pink smoke through the room, but it quickly becomes overwhelming when I realize there is more than one path to take.
“Archer Bowen.”
My gaze collides with hazel balls of fury.
“Theodore Lupus.”
My eyes fall to a charismatic smile.
“Baron Linton.”
I suck in a breath at the deep-green eyes that narrow in my direction.
“Sax Linton.”
Pursed lips fill my vision as I sway on my feet, the whispers around the room cranking up into all-out disbelief as I remain frozen in place, my fate slowly washing over me as I stare across the room.
Not one fated mate.
Four.
F.O.U.R.
Each set of eyes bore into me as my hands finally fall to my sides, but it’s still impossible to breathe as I stare in disbelief.
One by one, they step forward, forming a line in front of the stage, not one of them taking their eyes off me as they move.
Nausea and hope blossom in my stomach at the same time, leaving me jittery as silence descends over the room, each spectator awaiting the sweet declaration of acceptance to ricochet across the grand hall.
I shuffle from foot to foot, certain it never takes this long when I’m the one watching and not participating. My mind reels over the fact that there are four of them, but it doesn’t matter. Not when the end result and my ticket to Neverbound Academy remains.
My breath hitches as their mouths part, the four of them speaking as one.
“Reject.”