chapter thirty-four
elysia
The night air bites at my skin as we step into the courtyard, snowflakes drifting like scattered ash. The Tower fades behind us, swallowed by a veil of frost and mist. Kaden walks beside me, silent save for the steady rhythm of his boots crunching in the snow.
The world around us is muted, no sound but the whisper of wind and the occasional crack of ice beneath our feet. Without a word, he lifts a hand and darkness stirs.
It unfurls around us like smoke, deliberately camouflaging us like a living thing that bends the light away. The world dulls, and sound softens as his shadows cocoon us, unseen, unheard and untouchable.
His magic thrums quietly through the bond, brushing against mine like silk. Protective and possessive.
“Stay close.” He murmurs, breath misting in the cold.
I nod, though my throat feels tight.
It shouldn’t feel this safe… walking beside someone who could unravel everything with a single word, beside someone I hated only seven months ago.
But it does.
I steal a glance at him through the dark.
The shadows cling to him like they belong there, drawn to his presence as if the night itself obeys him, which honestly…
. it does. His jaw is set, expression unreadable, but the bond hums with determination and a pulse of protectiveness that sends warmth skittering up my spine.
The snow deepens as we exit the forest between Celestria and the Tower. Branches bow under our boots, luminescent flowers flickering beneath the snow as they begin to wither. The glow of the forest fading behind us with each step.
When the cottage comes into view, half-buried in snow, I stop. The once-familiar sight twists my stomach. Coming here used to feel warm, but now my throat tightens the closer we get.
I flick my wrist as we enter, and the fireplace sparks to life. The air smells faintly of smoke as the flames crackle, beginning to warm the place I once called home.
“Shoes off,” I mutter, unlacing my boots and hanging my cloak, the heat starting to flush my skin.
He releases a huff, half-amused, half-annoyed. “Seriously? It hasn’t been cleaned in here in months… and you want me to take my shoes off?”
I raise an eyebrow, “Yes, it’s basic etiquette.”
He groans, then bends down to unlace his own boots, “You realise I didn’t take my boots off last time I was here, right?”
I scoff, sauntering towards my father’s office. “Yeah, well, that’s because you invited yourself in.”
My feet scuff over cracked floorboards as I enter the office. It’s just as I left it, the remnants of a study torn apart. The shelves are splintered, the windows cracked, shards of glass glitter faintly in the dim rune-light, tomes littering the floor alongside spilt ink.
My eyes find the scorch mark on the floor, and suddenly I’m there again… his hips pinning me, fire meeting shadow as insanity overtook logic. Heat crawls beneath my skin as his phantom touch traces my skin.
Not now.
I drag my focus back, fingers tightening around the dagger at my thigh.
“Are you sure about this?” he asks softly.
“No.” I whirl the dagger once, letting the motion steady me. “But I’m tired of running from what I don’t understand.”
The blade catches a faint glimmer of light as I skim it across the far wall.
The air ripples faintly just as it did last time, like a thin ripple of steam. Kaden exhales sharply beside me, confusion simmering through the bond.
“What the fuck. This was an illusion? the whole time?” He asks, eyes laced with question.
“Yes—”
He interrupts me, gesturing at the wall, “I had you up against that wall… how did we not fall through it?”
“It’s unlocked with my dagger. I’m not sure how, or why… but it is.” I extend my free hand, smiling faintly. “Ready?”
His fingers slide into mine, and the contact sends a small jolt through my arm. I take a steadying breath, then lead us through the illusion.
The world wavers as we step through. For a moment, it feels like walking through water, the air thick and humming with old magic. Then the warmth from the cottage fades, the silence deepens, and we’re inside that same square room.
I walk over to the small table, running a finger along the diary that uprooted everything I thought I knew about myself.
I clear my throat, voice shakier than intended, “This room was concealed by my father. I don’t know the full extent of what’s in here. I was hoping there was more information on the plague.”
His eyes scan the room, a hand running through his hair as he lowers himself into the armchair, dust engulfing him as his weight sinks into the worn leather.
“So, safe to say it wasn’t?”
I shake my head and sit on the arm of the chair, diary in hand. “No, but that’s not to say that it isn’t in here. I never got round to looking…” my eyes meet his, mismatched and searing as they search mine, as if looking for the answers lingering behind them.
“This is a diary kept by my father,” I say, placing it in his lap. “Read it.”
His brow furrows, then he begins to read, skimming his fingers over each inked word, flipping page after page. I stand, running a hand down my plait, pacing the small room, the silence becoming more suffocating with each turn of a page.
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he speaks.
“So, your father was a fae who soul-bound with your mother, a High Mage… then they had you.” He pauses, skimming over more inked secrets. “Which makes you, what? Half mage, half fae?”
My thumb finds my ring, spinning it as my voice comes out in a whisper. “I think so. It’s not entirely clear.”
“Is it true?”
I swallow hard, “Yes.”
Kaden leans forward, his elbows braced on his knees. “This entry,” he gestures to the open book before him, “he mentions a concealment charm. That’s how you’ve appeared human all this time?”
I nod, pulse thrumming painfully against my throat. “The ring masks my true features. Keeps it buried.”
He’s silent for a long moment, his eyes searching mine, “Show me.”
My stomach twists. “Kaden, I—”
“Please,” his voice is almost pleading as he closes the diary with a soft thud. “I just… I want to see you.”
For a heartbeat, I can’t breathe.
My fingers hover above the star-iron band, trembling and unsteady as fear and dread begin to weigh heavily on my lungs. I take a steadying breath; heart lodged in my throat as I begin to slide the ring free.
Magic ripples through the room, unseen and electric in the air, and my pulse stutters as the shift takes hold.
Every sound sharpens, every shadow deepens, the air humming with life. My skin begins to glow, faint and silvery, my ears tapering into points, canines sharpening.
The sensation is overwhelming and yet right, like remembering a song I once knew by heart.
Kaden doesn’t move at first. He only stares, eyes wide and breath catching. The bond flares to life between us, and through it, I feel the flood of emotion that tears through him…shock, awe, something close to reverence.
Slowly, he stands. The chair legs scrape faintly against the floor before he crosses the short distance between us.
“Gods,” he whispers, gaze trailing over me and lingering on the faint shimmer of my skin, the delicate point of my ears, the faint glow now lacing my eyes. “You’re…” He exhales, almost laughing in disbelief. “You’re breathtaking.”
Heat floods my face, but I can’t look away.
He stops just before me, close enough that the warmth of his body seeps through the space between us. His hand rises, fingers brushing a stray strand of hair from my face before slipping beneath my chin, urging me to lift my gaze.
“You’re not afraid of me?” I breathe.
His thumb traces the edge of my jaw, sending a shiver down my spine. “How could I be? You’re moonlight in flesh. You are extraordinary.”
Then he leans in, and the world narrows until there’s only him… his breath, his warmth, the faint tremor of his hand against my skin.
“Kaden…”
Whatever warning I mean to speak dies as his mouth claims mine.
The contact steals the air from my lungs and sets my nerves alight. His lips are warm and hungry, yet careful… like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he’s not gentle. My hands find his chest instinctively, fingers curling into the fabric.
I melt beneath him, the ache in my chest dissolving into something softer. The kiss deepens, slow and reverent, tasting of promise and fear and something neither of us dares name.
When we part, our foreheads rest together, heavy breaths mingling in the quiet.
“Never hide from me again,” he whispers.
And for the first time, I think I might not want to.
The first thing I feel is warmth.
Not from my bed sheets, not from the morning sun beaming through the window, but from him.
The second is the weight of his arm around my waist and the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest pressed against my back.
The air in the room is cool, kissed with winter, but the bed is warm. Morning light filters through the frost-dusted window, spilling across us in ribbons of gold. The scent of smoke, snow, and him clings to the room.
For a moment, I don’t move. I just breathe and feel.
Kaden’s hand tightens faintly around my waist, his breath brushing my shoulder. “You’re awake,” he murmurs, voice rough and low with sleep.
A smile ghosts across my lips. “So are you.”
“Mmm,” he hums, his tone lazy. “Couldn’t sleep.”
I shift just enough to glance back at him, arching a brow. “Why?”
“Too distracted.” His eyes are hooded, still hazy as they sweep over me, “By you.”
It takes me a heartbeat to understand what he means. Then I remember…. my ring. I never put it back on last night.
“You’re staring,” I whisper.
“I’ve been staring all night,” he admits, voice barely a whisper. “Couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.”
The words make my chest ache. I turn fully toward him, the sheet slipping down my shoulder as his gaze follows the movement, not with lust alone, but wonder and reverence… genuine, disarming awe.
His hand rises, brushing a strand of hair from my cheek. “You look like something Neytiri made just to torture me.”
I scoff, shaking my head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe,” he says softly, fingers tracing the faint glow that edges my collarbone. “But that doesn’t make it less true.” He studies me like he’s memorising every inch of what I’ve kept hidden for so long.
“Do you ever… feel different?” he asks after a moment. “When you’re like this?”
I think for a second, then nod. “It’s like breathing after holding it in for too long; everything feels more alive. It’s incredible but also terrifying. I don’t know where the human part of me ends, or the fae part begins.”
He hums in thought, thumb brushing over my hipbone. “Maybe there isn’t a line, maybe you’re just… you.”
The simplicity of it steals my words.
The bond hums between us, and before I can say anything else, he kisses me. Slow and deep, tender in a way that unravels me more than I thought possible. He hums against my lips, hand tightening on my hip before pulling away.
“We should probably get up.”
I groan into his neck. “Why?”
He chuckles, the sound rumbling low in his chest. “Because, Moonfire… if we don’t, I’m not going to let you leave this bed.”
I groan into his neck, clutching the sheets as I reluctantly prepare myself to move, then his words actually land. The nickname that sounds so familiar and warm yet completely new from his lips.
“I’m sorry,” I say, blinking at him. “What did you just call me?”
His brow furrows, “Moonfire?”
“Yes,” I breathe. “Why did you call me that?”
He studies me for a second, then shrugs like it’s obvious. “Because you’re moonlight in flesh,” he says. “Soft and bright and impossible to ignore… and then there’s the fire, you’re all heat and attitude and chaos wrapped in skin.”
I laugh quietly. “So that’s your logic?”
“Absolutely. Don’t you like it?”
“No,” I say immediately. “I love it. It just caught me off guard… that’s what my parents used to call me; I haven’t heard it in years.”
He places a soft kiss on my forehead, “You’re okay with me using it?
“Yes,” I whisper, smiling softly.
“Good.” He flicks my nose, “because I’m emotionally attached to it now.”
A chuckle works up my throat as he sits up, the sheet slipping down his torso, revealing the ridges of muscle and shadowed lines that make it very difficult to think clearly.
He catches me looking, a smirk tugging at his lips. “What?” he asks, tone teasing.
“Nothing,” I mutter, reaching for my robe.
He hums, his features softening but unconvinced. “Elysia, last night… the information in your father’s journals, it changes everything.”
My stomach tightens. “I know.”
“There are stories,” he continues, voice low. “About fae being hunted to extinction by The Council centuries ago, even experimented on.”
I turn to face him fully, dread coiling low in my gut. “You think they’d do that to me? Even with our soulbond?”
“I think they’d do worse… soulbond or not,” he says simply. “Which is why we’re not breathing a word about this until we understand it.”
I nod slowly. “Okay. We should leave everything here then, until we know more.”
He nods in agreement, “As soon as we have the chance, we’ll come back and dig through every page and every secret your father left behind. But until then…” His hand finds mine, thumb brushing over the faint mark where my ring usually rests. “This goes back on.”
My throat tightens. “To stay hidden?”
His gaze holds mine, steady and fierce. “To stay safe.”
I study him as he stands, dressing in silence. The way the muscles in his back flex as he pulls on his shirt, the faint scars across his torso, the ripple of his tattoos, the effortless grace in every movement.
Gods, he shouldn’t look that good doing something so mundane.
My eyes trace the line of his jaw, the curve of his mouth, the dark strands of hair that fall over his forehead. My cheeks warm, and I catch myself wondering why I ever fought the pull between us to begin with.
“I don’t know why you did either,” he says, voice dripping with that infuriating blend of smugness and affection.
My mouth parts in disbelief, but a small smile tugs at my lips anyway.
“Stop listening to my thoughts.”
He chuckles, buttoning his shirt. “Can’t. You think very loudly in the mornings.”
I throw a pillow at him, but he catches it effortlessly, laughter rumbling through the room, low and heart-warmingly real.
I stand and begin dressing, then head into my bathing chambers to brush my teeth. Once I’m done and I’ve convinced Kaden that my spare toothbrush hasn’t been used by anyone else, I return to my private quarters and comb my hair.
I’m tying off my braid when a sharp pull rattles through the room, a pulse of magic that rings sharp in our ears as translucent envelopes appear in front of us. The familiar hiss of magic fills the air as they both fully materialise.
My brows furrow as I shoot Kaden a look, half confusion, half masked panic.
“Do you think somehow—”
“No, there is no way they could have found out.” He looks down at his own summon, continuing. “Looks like a summons to a Council meeting.”
“Why would we need to be present for a High Council meeting?”
Slight unease trickles through the bond, but he smothers it a breath later. So quick, I almost question if I felt it at all.
“Could be a number of things.” He shrugs, tearing open the summons.
I turn my attention to my own, running a finger over Celestria’s emblem before prying out the letter within. The words on the page are vague, leaving me with more questions than answers.
To Elysia Morningstar, and all Soul-Bound pairs residing within the Tower.
By command of the High Council, your presence is hereby required in The Council Atrium at the turning of afternoon light.
Matters of utmost urgency are to be discussed pertaining to the service and duty of bonded mages.
Attendance is compulsory and will be recorded by name and seal.
Signed and Sealed,
The High Council of Celestria
By our word, so it is decreed.