Elara's POV
Marcus won't stop shaking.
We're back at Caspian's penthouse all seven of us. Marcus and five other kids who spent years in Vivienne's basement prison. The youngest is fourteen. The oldest, besides Marcus, is nineteen.
They're all traumatized. All broken. All staring at me and Caspian like we're miracles.
She got away, Adrian reports grimly, ending his phone call. Vivienne escaped while we were getting the kids out. Magical transport. Could be anywhere by now.
I want to scream. We had her. We saved the kids but lost the monster.
She'll come back, Caspian says quietly. He's sitting next to Marcus, who hasn't let go of my hand since we freed him. People like Vivienne always come back.
Through the bond, I feel Caspian's exhaustion. The magical absorption nearly killed us both. We're still processing six different types of power, and it feels like lightning under my skin.
Ten days. We have ten days before this bond becomes permanent.
And I still don't know if I want it to be.
Marcus squeezes my hand weakly. Ellie, I need to tell you something. About Aunt Vivienne. About what she did
Rest first, I interrupt. We'll talk when you're stronger.
No. His voice cracks. You need to know. She didn't just keep us prisoner. She used us. Our blood, our magic. She was building something. A weapon.
Caspian goes still. What kind of weapon?
I don't know exactly. But she kept saying once it was finished, no one could stop her. Not the council. Not the families. No one. Marcus's eyes are haunted. She's been planning this for years, Ellie. Everything the massacre, the kidnappings, even your bond with Caspian it's all part of some bigger plan.
Cold dread fills my stomach. What do you mean, even our bond?
The building where you tried to kill him. She owns it. She sold it to Noir Industries twenty years ago, but she kept the basement levels. Where the old ritual grounds are. Marcus looks between us. She wanted you two to bond. I don't know why, but she did.
The room spins.
Vivienne planned this. All of it.
That's impossible, Caspian says, but his voice wavers. The bond was an accident. Random ancient magic
Nothing about Vivienne Thorne is random, Marcus interrupts. She's brilliant. Patient. Every move calculated. He looks at me. Why do you think she never helped you after the fire? She wanted you desperate. Angry. Ready to do anything for revenge. Ready to walk right into that gala with explosives.
But how could she know the bond would form? I demand.
Because she's been studying Blood Bonds for decades. I heard her talking about it. She needed two specific types of magic users elemental and shadow to try killing each other on sacred ground at the exact moment when He stops, coughing.
A medical team Caspian hired rushes over to help Marcus. The other kids are being examined too, given food and water and blankets.
While they work, Caspian pulls me aside.
If Marcus is right, he says quietly, then Vivienne wanted us bonded for a reason. We need to figure out what before
His phone rings. He answers, listens, then his face goes pale.
What? I ask.
That was the magical council. They want to see us. Immediately. Someone reported that we absorbed power from six different magical bloodlines without authorization. They're calling it theft.
Theft? We saved those kids!
I know. But the council doesn't care. They want answers. And if we don't go willingly... He doesn't finish, but through the bond, I feel his fear.
We could be arrested. Stripped of our magic. Separated.
And separation means death for both of us.
One hour later, we stand before the magical council twelve powerful mages sitting in judgment. The chamber is cold and imposing, designed to make people feel small.
It's working.
Caspian Noir and Elara Thorne, the head councilor says. She's ancient, with white hair and eyes that have seen centuries. You stand accused of magical theft, unauthorized bonding, and interfering with established bloodline protocols. How do you plead?
Not guilty, Caspian says firmly. We saved six kidnapped children from a woman who's been committing atrocities for nine years. The power absorption was necessary to break her draining spell.
Necessary, the councilor repeats. Or convenient? You two now possess more combined magical power than any bonded pair in history. Some might see that as... ambitious.
Some might see six dead kids as a bigger problem, I snap.
Murmurs ripple through the council.
Miss Thorne, another councilor says, your family was destroyed in what we ruled as legitimate corporate warfare. Yet you attempted to murder Mr. Noir in a public venue. Why should we believe anything you say?
Because I can prove Vivienne Thorne orchestrated my family's massacre! I pull out my phone, show them the evidence Adrian gathered. Financial records. Communications. Everything.
The council examines it. Whispers among themselves.
Finally, the head councilor speaks: This is... concerning. If true, it would mean one of our own council members has been lying for nearly a decade.
My blood freezes. What?
Vivienne Thorne serves on the disciplinary subcommittee. Has for eight years. The councilor's face is grave. She helped rule your family's deaths as legitimate. She helped suppress investigations. She... The woman trails off, understanding dawning. She's been manipulating us.
For how long? Caspian demands.
We don't know. But effective immediately, we're issuing a warrant for her arrest. The head councilor stands. As for you two your bond is highly irregular, but given the circumstances, we'll allow it to proceed. However. Her eyes sharpen. You have ten days before it becomes permanent. Use that time wisely. Because once you're permanently bonded, you'll be the most powerful magical pair alive. And power attracts enemies.
We're dismissed.
In the hallway, I lean against the wall, trying to process everything.
She's on the council, I whisper. She's been protected this whole time.
Not anymore. Caspian's jaw is tight. But she knows they're coming for her now. She'll accelerate whatever plan she has.
The weapon Marcus mentioned.
Yeah.
My phone buzzes. Text from an unknown number:
Clever children. You freed my test subjects. But I have what I need. The weapon is almost complete. Ten days, Elara. That's how long you have before I activate it. And when I do, your precious bond will be the key that destroys everything. Sleep well. V
I show Caspian. Watch his face go from angry to horrify.
Our bond is the key? I ask. What does that mean?
I don't know. But we need to find out. Fast.
We head back to the penthouse. Marcus is sleeping, finally. The other kids are settling in. Adrian has guards posted everywhere.
That night, I can't sleep. The absorbed magic churns inside me, restless and wild. I feel Caspian's wakefulness too, through the bond.
I find him on the balcony, staring at the city.
Can't sleep either? I ask.
Too much magic. Too many questions. He glances at me. How are you handling it?
The power? Or the fact that my aunt planned my entire life like a chess game?
Both.
I lean on the railing beside him. Our shoulders touch. The bond hums contentedly at the contact.
I keep thinking about what Marcus said. That she wanted us bonded. Why? I look at Caspian. What's so special about shadow magic and elemental magic combined?
I've been wondering the same thing. He pulls out his phone, shows me research he's been doing. Blood Bonds are rare because they require perfect magical compatibility. Opposite but complementary powers. Like yours and mine.
So?
So according to this, bonded pairs with opposite magic's can do something no single mage can do. He meets my eyes. They can break fundamental magical laws. Rewrite them. Create new ones.
Understanding hits me like ice water.
A weapon, I breathe. Not a physical weapon. Us. We're the weapon.
If she forces us to use our bonded power the way she wants... Caspian's voice is grim. We could tear down every magical protection in the world. Destroy the council. Eliminate anyone who opposes her.
But we'd never agree to that.
She doesn't need us to agree. She just needs us bonded. Connected. He turns to face me fully. Elara, what if the permanent bond doesn't just link our hearts? What if it gives her a way to control us both?
The question hangs in the air.
Ten days until permanent bond.
Ten days until Vivienne activates her weapon.
We're not just racing against time.
We're racing against becoming the very thing that destroys the world.
And somewhere out there, Vivienne is laughing.