CHAPTER FIFTEEN
We ran.
The southern gate felt like the edge of the world. The forest loomed ahead, a wall of tangled thorns and ancient secrets, our bond still vibrating with the phantom heat of the Moonlit Baths. But that electricity was quickly smothered by the cold weight of panic in my chest.
Solstice, Ryven's hawk, circled above with a sharp, piercing screech. Below him, Skye—the small, white-winged fox—darted between Maddy's ankles, her fur bristling with frantic energy.
Maddy turned the second she saw us. "Ava!" she cried, lunging forward and collapsing into my arms.
My breath hitched as I caught her, holding her tight while she clung to me like I was the only thing keeping her upright. "Gods, it's happening again," she sobbed into my shoulder.
"I've got you," I whispered, my heart thundering against my ribs.
"What happened?" Asher's voice came from behind me, low and lethal.
I felt a surge of raw protectiveness unsheathe itself through the bond, sharp as a cold blade.
Maddy pulled away just enough to look at him, her eyes bloodshot and wide. I gave her a small, steadying nod, silently telling her she could trust him.
A beat of heavy silence passed—and then Asher sent a pulse of solemn approval down the bond. He was all in.
Maddy sniffled, wiping her face. "Ryven… he's been an addict. Eclipsa. Since he was eighteen."
I swallowed hard. Eclipsa. The shadow-drug that rotted magic from the inside out.
I told him when he turned twenty-one, just before we came here, that if he didn't get clean, I'd leave," she went on, her voice cracking. "He promised me—he's been clean for eight months."
She broke again, a sob racking her frame. "But last night at the party… I caught him using. I could tell. His eyes were rimmed and dazed with that horrific lilac. And he didn't even try to lie."
I remembered the fight now. The way she had looked at him with such betrayal.
"I was so angry. I left him there. And this morning, during tryouts… he apologized, but he looked worse. Shaky. Distant. I broke it off, Ava. I told him we were done."
My throat tightened.
"I still went to check on him just before—his room was empty. He didn't come back. I asked Skye to send for Solstice, and the moment the hawk flew through his window…"
Her breath caught, a hitching, terrified sound.
"He must have taken a lot… because… gods," Maddy sobbed into her hand, her shoulders shaking so violently I thought she might break.
"What is it?" Asher crouched in front of her, his eyebrows furrowed in a rare display of raw empathy, his hand steady on her shoulder.
"Our mate-bond is blocked," she finished, the words coming out in a strangled whisper.
My heart stopped. I could feel Asher's own heart constrict through the bond, a sharp, sympathetic pang that mirrored my own shock. My eyes widened, the breath leaving my lungs.
Maddy let out a hollow, hysterical laugh, her hands flying up to her face. "Right? It just happened—fuck—just before the party last night. Gods, it was amazing, Ava. It was perfect. But I hadn't known he was using until I saw his eyes later that night."
Gods, I felt so bad for her. Finding your mate is supposed to be the most incredible moment of a person's life—the gods choosing two souls to be tied together forever. And now, this. Instead of a celebration, it was a race against a needle and a shadow.
A mate-bond was sacred. It was similar to how Asher and I were tied together, but where ours was forged by blood, law, and ancient order, a mate-bond was sealed by the heavens themselves. Some people waited decades to find theirs; others never did.
Some even had more than one.
I had been so sure Jeremy was mine, but now? Looking at Asher, feeling the way our blood sang to each other... I didn't even know how a mate-bond would work now that we were already blood-bound. Could the gods even find me through the thick, dark tether Asher had wrapped around my soul?
"This is not good," Aether murmured through the bond, curling protectively around me.
Zya appeared beside Asher, her sleek black form tense. "He's in danger," she said. "And he's alone."
"Fuck," Asher muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. "We have a game on Monday."
My heart dropped.
"They're going to test him," he added grimly.
The team would lose a starter. Maddy might lose Ryven entirely.
"We'll find him," Asher said, his voice sharpening with command. "Maddy, I promise you. We'll bring your mate back."
And gods—I felt the sheer weight of that promise thrum through every thread of the bond. It wasn't just words; it was a blood-deep vow.
Maddy's lips trembled.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Solstice will stay above you. Skye and I will stay here in case he comes back." She looked toward the dark forest, worry etched into every line of her face. "Please, just... be careful."
I reached for her hand, squeezing it once. "We'll bring him back, Maddy. I promise."
Asher was already turning toward the trees, the shadows coiling at his boots like living vipers. His silver eyes found mine, dark and focused.
"Let's go, Pyreson."
···
The Academy sat nestled in the burning heart of Zymarra—a fortress of stone, flame, and secrets. Dense, enchanted forests sprawled out around it like a crown of thorns, stretching for miles in every direction. But beyond that—where even magic refused to tread—the real danger began.
The Veylaith Woods. Known to all as the Forbidden Forest. And somewhere out there… was Ryven.
He could've slipped past the Astral Guard sentries patrolling the Aegos Wall day and night.
He could've found the old tunnels—hidden cracks, whispered through time by Fae who knew where to step.
If he was desperate enough, he would've gone straight to the source.
The heart of the Forbidden Forest, where Eclipsa bloomed in thick, venomous tangles and magic hissed through the soil like poison.
The forest was a labyrinth of twisted silver boughs, but we weren't just fighting the terrain; we were fighting the most heavily fortified perimeter in Zymarra.
The Aegos Wall of the Zymarrian Hold loomed in the distance, a massive obsidian spine that separated the Academy's controlled grounds from the untamed wild.
At intervals, the Ignivar Monoliths glowed with a low, rhythmic heat—ancient stone pillars acting as magical tripwires.
Between them sat the Outposts Division, a network of guard towers swarming with Astral Guard sentries.
Their armor glimmered like starlight even in the dusk, their eyes trained for the slightest ripple in the air.
"We can't go over," Asher murmured, his voice barely a breath. "The Monoliths will incinerate anything with a magical signature before we even hit the top of the wall."
"The tunnels," I whispered back, my heart hammering against my ribs. "The ones the older students whisper about. They run under the Outposts."
Asher nodded, his shadows pulling tight around his frame. "The Academy uses them for 'discreet' transport, but they're always crawled over by Astral Guards.
" He paused, a dark, knowing glint in his silver eyes. "But even the stars have a price. Those guards are underpaid and bored. They can be bribed if you know which palms to grease."
We veered toward a cluster of jagged rocks near the base of the Aegos Wall, where the earth seemed to dip unnaturally.
"Ryven would have known that," I said, the realization sickening me. "If he was desperate for a fix, he wouldn't have cared about the cost. He would've paid whatever they asked to get to the Veylaith side."
We reached a heavy iron grate hidden by enchanted ivy. Two Astral Guards stood there, their halberds crossed.
They didn't look heroic; they looked exhausted. Asher stepped forward, his shadows coiling like a silent bribe of their own, but he reached into his pocket instead.
"Stay back, Ava," he murmured. "Let me handle the 'negotiations.'"
I watched from the gloom as he approached them, his movements fluid and predatory. I saw the flash of gold—and the way the guards' eyes darted around before the grate creaked open.
"Come on," Asher hissed.
We jumped into the tunnel, slipping into the damp, echoing dark. The smell of wet stone and old magic filled my lungs, and as the gate clanged shut, the silence of the underground felt heavier than the forest above.
We made it through, but halfway down the passage, we were met with another sentry.
A tall male stepped into view—lean, broad-shouldered, and dressed in House Umbra Astral Guard armor.
His skin was a rich brown, his head shaved at the sides with runes carved into the remaining black curls.
His eyes were a striking shade of violet like Darcy’s.
"Zander," Asher said, nodding. "This is Ava."
Asher's hand stayed firmly in mine, like he wasn't letting go unless someone forced him. Zander's eyes cut to me, then dropped to my exposed collarbone where the bond mark glowed faintly above the line of my sports bra.
"You two are blood bound?" he asked, one brow raised in surprise.
Asher didn't answer. I swallowed hard. "Hi," I offered awkwardly. "Nice… tunnel."
His eyes lingered on me a second longer than I liked before shifting back to Asher. Something unsaid passed between them—old tension that made Asher's jaw twitch. I felt the pulse of a warning ripple down the bond.
"Let us through," Asher said flatly, all charm gone.
Zander gave a slow smirk. "Fine."
But then—something massive moved in the dark. A shape peeled itself from the tunnel wall, and a deep, guttural growl echoed through the stone. I jumped back instinctively, barely biting back a yelp.
"Whoa, hey, it's okay," Zander said, stepping to the side.
The creature slunk forward—a shadow hound the size of a lion, with fur like smoke and eyes that glowed blood-red.
"This is Kova, my boundling," he added, ruffling the beast's ears like it was a harmless pup. Kova's tongue lolled slightly, but the growl in his throat didn't stop.
"Gods," I muttered, my heart still racing. "He's… big."
"He doesn't bite," Zander said, then paused. "Unless told to."