CHAPTER THREE
Elysia
The Binding Hall is unnervingly silent, and the stone beneath my feet vibrates like an unseen pulse, matching the rhythm of my heartbeat.
We stand framed beneath the crystal altar, warm light fracturing across our features. Kaden’s gaze slides to the dagger sheathed at my thigh, its star-iron reflecting the amber light casting down on us.
He leans in slightly, his voice a low whisper so that only I can hear it, yet sharp enough to send a shiver down my spine. “And here I thought we’d be defenceless.”
I scoff under my breath, my eyes meeting his briefly enough to catch the flicker of amusement glinting behind his mismatched irises.
The Council’s High Mage steps forward, holding a ceremonial blade forged of mirrorsteel, its edge sharp and humming with every slight movement, catching and reflecting light from the lanterns in a thousand shards.
“Honoured Councillors and witnesses of the ceremonial binding,” He begins, “We gather here today to bear witness to a soulbond sworn not in ink or vow, but in magic and blood. Elysia Morningstar of the Emberfall line and Kaden Reinheart of the Arcanis line, you come before us by decree of The Council. Your souls, magic and lives joined in service to Celestria. Let this bond be witnessed, recorded, and bound by blood and magic.”
He lifts the blade.
“Hands.” He commands, voice booming from the enchanted rune hung around his neck.
I hesitate, my eyes darting between the High Mage and Kaden as the walls seem to shrink around me.
My breath catches, heart hammering in my ears, pulse drumming against my temples.
Panic claws at my chest, sharp and insistent, but I swallow it down, gritting my teeth as I extend my arm.
My hand trembles as I hold out my palm to him, every nerve screaming against the inevitability of this moment.
He drags the blade across the crease of my palm, quick and sharp, and I suck in a hiss between my teeth as a cut forms, crimson welling up across the wound and falling onto the platform.
Kaden follows suit, his blood striking the ground alongside mine.
The air hisses and the blood bubbles at our feet, as if the stone beneath is scorching hot.
Threads of light erupt from the altar, strands of magic curling around us like serpents.
They wrap around my wrist and his, winding tighter and tighter until our hands are drawn together, bound palm to palm, our blood mixing and trailing down our conjoined arms. My skin burns at the contact, not from the heat but from the foreignness of him.
Then the bond begins to push at the corner of my mind, violent and relentless. It doesn’t ask for permission as it breaks through the walls I spent years building and sinks deep.
I gasp, my lungs going tight as the air is forced from them, staggering under the weight of the bond’s intrusion.
It’s as if invisible fingers are peeling me open, threading through my chest, my veins and my very soul.
Crawling beneath my skin and into flesh like a shadow-born parasite, a presence I know I will never be able to escape.
I feel my own magic, wild and strong, reaching out against my will, pulling towards his like a moth to a flame.
His presence crashes into me with the force of a storm. Anger coils beneath his calm, buried beneath walls thicker than star-iron. I feel his hate scraping against my skin, and beneath it all, something darker… a shadow I can’t name, ancient and whispering at the edges of my mind.
It feels wrong to know him this intimately in an instant. Each breath he takes shudders into my lungs, each flicker of his emotion bleeds into mine until the boundaries between us blur.
I can’t tell where he ends, and I begin.
“One heart, one soul, one life, one fate.” The Council chants, the air sharpening at their words.
“Through vein, through bone, through magic’s weight.” Strands of light weave tighter around us, pulling harder until our bodies connect.
“Threads of power, threads of pain. By blood we bind, as one you remain.”
SNAP.
The world collapses into nothing but him and me.
My body is flooded with a torrent of magic so strong I nearly collapse. My heart now seemingly pumping pure, overwhelming power through my veins.
The runes of my dagger flare alive against my thigh without a single drop of blood, silver-blue light dancing across the hilt in response to this new force.
I can feel him everywhere.
His heart beating, steady but fast. His pulse in my ears like a second rhythm overlaying my own. The weight of his body and the heat of his skin. My fear feeding into his hunger, his iron discipline pushing against my defiance.
It’s all-consuming, and for a moment, I can’t breathe.
The chanting ceases, and the swirling strands of magic fade. Then, with smug and satisfied voices, The Council proclaims our soulbond complete.
Kaden releases my hand slowly; his mismatched eyes fixed on mine. Heat crawls up my neck under his gaze, and I push it back with a hard swallow.
Applause begins to ripple through the hall, mocking in its civility, congratulations spreading through the air as if we willingly chose this.
He slides a hand to the small of my back as he nudges me forward, guiding me with a careful weight that speaks of dominance and consideration all at once.
We walk down the aisle together, every step measured, every heartbeat a battle to hold back the fire coiling beneath my skin, begging to be released, to turn the hall into ash in my wake.
The escort leads us to the living quarters, a gilded cage in every sense.
Tall ceilings etched with floral carvings, floors of polished wood and tall arched windows, allowing the sun to spill sunbeams across every surface.
The main living area is adorned with two ivory couches, scattered with forest-green pillows and throws.
Opposite to them, a fireplace crackles, tiny amber sparks flicking out onto the green, patterned rug.
Behind the living area, through a tall arched doorway, lies the kitchen.
White units inlaid with star-iron handles, wooden countertops and a matching island make up the room.
Twin private quarters are split off at either end of the living room, with joint bathing chambers between them.
The envoy clears his throat. “You will reside here while the bond tempers. Training begins in a couple of weeks, and you will remain together until your bond has fully stabilised. The Council expects nothing less than harmony.” His lips twitch with amusement at the word.
Neither Kaden nor I reply.
He bows and exits, the lock clicking shut behind him, and suddenly it is just us.
I exhale slowly, arms crossing over my chest. “Well. That was horrifying.”
Kaden chuckles low in his throat, hands dipping into his pockets “Horrifying? I thought it was almost… exhilarating.”
I glare at him, eyes narrowing. “You would.”
He takes a slow step toward me, then another. “Tell me, Elysia darling, do you plan to scowl at me for the rest of our lives, or will you at least pretend to be civil?”
“I don’t pretend well. And let’s get one thing straight…. you’re not my partner, and you’re not my ally. You’re The Council’s weapon, a means to an end. That’s all you’ll ever be.”
His smirk sharpens. “Careful, you’re sharing your head with that weapon now.”
The bond thrums at his words, amplifying the simmering tension until it feels as though the very air between us might ignite. He closes the last step of distance, crowding me against the wall.
“I don’t like you any more than you like me. So, you really don’t want to piss me off. It would serve you well to learn some manners, unless you want to find out firsthand how good a weapon I can be?” he growls, voice dripping with venom.
The surge of anger that flares in me is echoed in him, reflected and magnified until it burns through both of us. My hand moves before thought can catch it, my dagger flashing free, the point of its blade pressed to the underside of his throat.
“I urge you not to underestimate me, Reinheart.” My voice is steel. “Threaten me again, and it’ll be the last one you make.”
His pulse flutters against my blade, but instead of fear, I feel a ripple of excitement through the bond.
Then he fucking laughs.
The sound rumbles against my skin like thunder.
His hand tangles in my hair, tugging just enough to tilt my head aside, forcing me to meet the full intensity of those mismatched eyes. My breath hitches when he leans in, his lips brushing the tip of my ear as I press the dagger harder to his throat.
His tone drops to something dark and quiet. “If you kill me, you go with me. That’s how this works now, isn’t it?”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t find a way. Maybe if I kill you fast enough, I won’t die with you.” A smile ghosts across my lips, thin and poisonous as I push my blade against his throat.
A thin cut begins to bloom beneath the star-iron, and a second later, a sting tingles across my own throat… mirroring his injury.
Fuck, he’s right.
He grins back, sharp and humourless. “See? That’s not how it works,” he says, voice dipped in mockery. “Though I admire your valour.”
He yanks at my hair, not enough to truly hurt, but enough to remind me of the imbalance between us. The bond flares with the fury threading through our veins in perfect, hateful unison.
“You can’t kill me without killing yourself. You’ve bound yourself to me,” he murmurs, breath a whisper against my ear. “Made yourself part of the very thing you claim to hate.”
I shove at his chest, but he doesn’t move. “I did what I had to.”
He laughs low and without joy. “Then live with it. There are no masks with me now. I see you. I feel you. Every thought, every breath, every emotion. I’m living in your mind now.
” His hand drifts from my hair to my jaw, thumb brushing the cut across my throat in mock tenderness.
“So, like it or not… You. Belong. To me.” He punctuates the last words with a finality that makes my skin crawl.
For a moment, neither of us moves, then after a heartbeat, I wrench free of his grip. The motion sends a fresh surge of pain across my scalp as his hold breaks.
“I’d rather die than belong to you,” I spit, sheathing the dagger in one sharp movement and pushing off the wall.
He clicks his tongue, voice going low as I walk away. “You’re already mine.”
That does it.
I slam the door behind me so hard the hinges shriek.
Now inside my assigned private quarters, I pace like a caged animal, fists clenched until my palms sting.
I drag my hand over my thigh, grasp my dagger and hurl it at the wall. The bond burns hot, answering my anger with his own until I can’t tell which is whose anymore.
“I had to bond,” I whisper to no one. “It was the only way. The only way to stay alive, the only way to find a cure.”
The bond tightens like a chain, a reminder of what I’ve done and who I’ve done it with.
I sink onto the floor, shaking with fury.
Bound to him.
Bound to Reinheart.
The Council’s perfect weapon and my worst fucking nightmare.
And now, for better or worse, the other half of my soul.