Chapter 3 Vallynn
The sky above Blackthorne felt unnaturally dark as I stepped out of the portal from the castle.
I wasn’t sure if it was a reflection of my current state or if even the skies above were commiserating with me.
My boots scraped across the ground as I all but dragged myself toward the gates.
The runes etched into my skin for the first soul-bonding preparation ritual flared white-hot as I passed through the invisible warding that kept the grounds a sanctuary for students.
I hissed in pain, the heat flaring to unbearable levels before gradually subsiding.
“I only have to make it to Magus House, then I can rest,” I murmured to myself.
Each step shot lightning bolts of pain through my very bones, leaving behind a deepening weariness that I hadn’t been able to shake.
The Elders claimed it was an unavoidable side effect of the “purification” required to bind my soul to a chosen.
It felt more like they’d hollowed me out from the inside by turning my own magic against me.
I’d never feared my shadows before. Not when they emerged early, not when they wreaked destruction around me, not when the only beings capable of withstanding them were myself and the gargoyles that protected my family.
Now that I’d experienced their destructive nature first-hand during the ritual, I was wary of the way they writhed beneath my skin.
As if they were no longer mine to control.
I stumbled, my thoughts scattering, as the air thickened near the center of the courtyard.
My hand brushed one of the stone pillars, and for a second, the shadows inside me reacted.
Power coiled through my veins, dark and sharp, reaching for the surface like smoke under pressure.
The pillar blackened where I touched it before I wrenched my hand away.
“Selir, Vallynn.” The voice cut through the haze. Dante. He was moving quickly in my direction.
Relief crashed over me, and my body sagged against the pillar as I turned toward my friend.
He looked worse than I expected. His face was pinched in a worried frown, his shoulders hunched under the weight of the tension thrumming through his own body.
His clothing was rumpled, dust clinging to it as if he’d shifted more frequently than he’d changed his uniform.
His steps were unusually hurried as he closed the distance to my side.
The moment his hand gripped my arm, the shadows stilled.
He tightened his grip on my arm, and I saw his jaw flex, his nostrils flare. “Selir above, Val, you look like death.”
“Ritual side-effects,” I muttered, forcing a wry smile as I allowed him to support my weight. “Apparently, the preparation rituals for soul bonding come with a side of near-death experience.”
Dante didn’t smile back, looping my arm over his shoulders as one of his slid around my waist. “They shouldn’t have made you go through them alone.”
“They said a gargoyle’s presence would interfere,” I replied as we started toward Magus House again.
His expression darkened. “They said that because they didn’t want witnesses.”
I looked up at him, the weight of exhaustion turning my words soft. “You’d have stopped them.”
“You’re damn right I would’ve. This whole betrothal to Daena is bullshit. You have a mate, Vallynn. I know you’re trying to ignore that fact to keep her safe, but is it really worth getting yourself killed in these fucking rituals?”
“Can we not?” I grimaced.
“If I didn’t think your father was using these preparation rituals as a cover to try and murder you.
..” he paused, clenching his teeth so hard it caused the muscles in his jaw to twitch.
“Daena returned a week ago, looking no worse for wear, and here you are, barely able to stand and leaking shadows.”
I swallowed. “I’m trying to keep it contained.”
“We need to get you to our room before anyone else sees you like this.”
We fell into an uneasy silence as Dante half-guided, half-carried me across campus to Magus House. Bone-deep exhaustion made every step leaden, and I was ready to collapse by the time we reached our dorm suite.
“Tell me what they did,” Dante demanded as he lowered me onto the couch.
I ran a hand through my hair, keeping my gaze on the floor. “You don’t want the details.”
“Don’t tell me what I want,” Dante snapped, wings twitching with irritation. “You left here whole, Val. And from the look of you, your magic is trying to tear you apart from the inside. So, yeah, I want the details.”
I exhaled, long and slow, watching the faint threads of shadow curl from my fingertips before I willed them away.
“They called it purification .” I raised a hand, my arm trembling from the exertion, and pulled up my sleeve to show him the runes still etched into my skin.
Dante cursed under his breath as he grabbed my arm to take a closer look, before motioning for me to continue.
“I don’t know what sort of magic it was, they said it was aether, something primordial.
The runes were meant to channel and guide it as they stripped everything away.
My defenses, my control… my limits. All in the name of making space in my soul for a piece of someone else's. "
“If that were true, Daena would be just as fucked up as you are. That harpy strutted onto campus like she’d been on holiday. Perfect hair, perfect smile, not a single mark on her.”
I swallowed hard. “Maybe they didn’t need to break her the way they did me.”
“They shouldn’t have to break you in the first place, Vallynn.
There’s nothing you can tell me about the rituals that will make me believe they’re anything other than an attempt on your life.
We should talk to the dragon about these rituals.
He’s been around long enough; he might have information on how they’re supposed to work. ”
“No,” my voice was steadier than I felt. “We need him focused on getting people out before my father gets to them. I will be fine. I just need rest.”
“Fine?” he repeated, incredulous. “Vallynn, you can’t even stand without help. You’re leaking shadows like smoke from a cracked lantern, and you think you just need a nap?”
I didn’t look up. The faint tremor in my hands betrayed me anyway. “You’ve seen worse.”
“Yeah,” he snapped, stepping closer. “On corpses! When your father got to them before we could save them. It’s my duty to protect you, and when I look at the state you’re in and account for the fact that your father executed Linoran while you were undergoing these rituals –”
“My father did what?!” I interrupted, shock rocking through me.
“Linoran is dead. Labeled a traitor.”
Dread pooled in my gut as his words sank in. Linoran had been our inside man, sending me information about my father’s plans so that we could intervene. His execution could have been due to my father’s growing paranoia, but the coincidence wasn’t something I could just ignore.
“If Linoran–”
“If Linoran, nothing.” I interrupted. “We’d both be dead alongside him if he’d told my father he was spying for us. The fact that we’re still breathing means he took that information to his grave.”
“Or your father’s biding his time, and the magic protecting the Academy keeps him from acting while we’re here.” Dante countered. “Campus is still on lockdown; nobody leaves without special permission from the Dean.”
“Except I wasn’t on campus for the last couple of months, Dante.” I sighed, raking a hand through my hair. “My father could have had me killed at any point over the break between terms.”
“Which brings me back to your current state. You may not be dead, but just barely. Your father may have lost his grip on reality, but he’s still cunning. We can’t ignore the real possibility that he has plans to eliminate you.”
“I know what my father is,” I said, my voice low. “I don’t need you reminding me.”
Dante swore under his breath before pinning me with an angry glare. “Clearly you do. Listen to sense for once in your Selir-damned life and end this farce of a betrothal before he uses these rituals as a cover for murdering you!”
“You know I can’t do that, not until we know my father’s plans and how to stop them.”
“To hell with his plans, Vallynn. If you’re dead, we can’t stop him anyway!
At least if you refuse this farce of a betrothal to that fucking harpy, you’ll be alive for us to figure out how to weather the consequences.
Fucking hell, I can’t believe I’m even saying this, but maybe you should inform Bechora Knight of your mate bond and complete the damned thing.
It could be beneficial enough to help you through whatever your insane father throws at us next. ”
“I’m not dragging her into this.” I snapped.
“Look around, Vallynn. She’s already in it.
We all are.” Dante’s voice cracked through the quiet like a blade drawn too fast. “Every one of us is neck-deep in your father’s mess, whether we chose it or not.
You think hiding the bond protects her? It doesn’t—it just makes her blind to what’s coming. ”
“She’s safer away from me.” The words came out rougher than I meant, low and final. “My father doesn’t know she exists. If I bond her, he’ll sense it. He’ll know exactly who she is. And the first thing he’ll do is hunt her down so he can use her to keep me in line.”
“And what happens when the next ritual kills you before she ever gets the chance to fight back? What then? What good is protecting her if you die for it?”
I stood, shadows curling faintly around my feet. The movement pulled at the new runes seared into my chest and arms, each one pulsing in time with my heart. “Then I die knowing she lives.”
“Bullshit!” Dante’s eyes flashed, molten and furious as he began to angrily pace. “He can’t get to her here, and you know it.”
“For now, maybe. But what about when he turns his sights here?”
He stopped pacing, turning an angry glare in my direction. “And what if bonding with her is what you need to do to stop him? Have you considered that?”
“Would you take that risk if it were your mate’s safety on the line?”
He went rigid at my words, face blanching slightly. The anger seemed to slowly seep out of him, replaced by an invisible weight that dragged him down into the recliner, opposite where I sat. I watched him, my eyelids growing heavier by the second, but he didn’t answer my question.
“The safest place for her is as far away from me and our mate bond as possible,” I said wearily.
“Until we find a way to stop my father, that’s how it has to be.
” Dante’s lips pinched into a thin line as if he were physically holding back a retort, but I pressed on.
“I need rest. Tomorrow we can meet with Thrackborne and figure out how to keep working against my father when we can’t leave campus. ”
“Fine,” he said with a curt nod before standing from his seat. “Get some rest. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
Dante strode from our suite without another word, and I forced myself to move to my bedroom on unsteady feet.
I didn’t bother undressing as I sank into the embrace of my mattress, my eyes closing before my head even hit the pillow.
A flicker of warmth tugged at the bond I’d tried to ignore for months.
Bechora was close enough for the bond to take notice.
For a moment, the residual ache from the rituals eased.
But only for a moment. The return of that ever-insistent tug toward my mate caused my shadows to stir beneath my skin again, angrier than before.
And I knew, no matter what I told Dante, no matter how much I lied to myself, I wouldn’t be able to keep away from her much longer.