Elara's POV
You're supposed to be dead.
Caspian's voice is hollow. Broken. Through the bond, I feel his world shattering everything he believed, everything he grieved, all lies.
His mother Celeste Noir smiles like she didn't just rise from the grave.
Death is such a permanent word, darling. I prefer 'strategically absent.' She gestures at her guards. Lower your weapons. My son isn't a threat. Yet.
The guards obey instantly. Too instantly. These aren't regular security they move like soldiers. Like people who've killed before.
How? Caspian manages. I saw your body. I went to your funeral. I
You saw what Viktor wanted you to see. Celeste steps closer, her heels clicking on concrete. A body double. Convincing magic. Your uncle was always thorough when eliminating obstacles.
So you let everyone think you were dead? My voice cuts through. Let your son grieve for twelve years?
Celeste's eyes shift to me. They're the same storm-gray as Caspian's but colder. Empty.
Ah. The Thorne girl. You look just like your mother. She had that same self-righteous fire. Celeste tilts her head. Tell me, dear, did she scream when she died? Or was it quick?
Rage explodes through me. My magic flares ice and fire crackling around my fists.
But Caspian catches my arm. Through the bond: Don't. This is what she wants.
He's right. She's baiting me.
I force my magic down. Barely.
What do you want? Caspian asks his mother.
To fix your mistake. Celeste pulls out a small vial filled with silver liquid. This will break your bond. Temporarily. Long enough to separate you before day nine.
My heart stutters. You know about day nine.
Of course I know. I helped design the vulnerability. She says it casually, like discussing the weather. Viktor and I worked on it together. Before he got sloppy. Before he let Vivienne manipulate him.
Vivienne was working with Viktor, I say. She admitted it.
Vivienne was working for me. Celeste corrects. Viktor thought he was the mastermind. Poor fool. I was the one feeding him targets. The one selecting which families to destroy. Viktor was just my weapon.
Through the bond, I feel Caspian's horror. His mother orchestrated everything.
Why? His voice cracks. Why kill all those people?
Power, darling. The old families hoarded it. Passed it down through bloodlines like it was property. I wanted to redistribute it. Control it. Celeste walks in a slow circle around us. Viktor eliminated the families. Vivienne collected the children. And I studied their blood, their magic, their potential.
The Collector, I breathe. You're the Collector.
Celeste smiles. Clever girl. Yes. I've been collecting magical bloodlines for thirty years. Creating bonds. Testing theories. And you two She looks between us. You're my masterpiece.
We're not your anything, Caspian snarls.
You are. Shadow and elemental magic, perfectly bonded. The exact combination needed for what comes next. Celeste holds up the vial again. But first, you need to separate. This potion will break the bond for seventy-two hours. Enough time to avoid the day nine vulnerability.
Why would you help us? I demand.
Because Vivienne went rogue. She thinks she can control your bond, use you for her own purposes. But you're mine. My research. My investment. Celeste's smile vanishes. I don't share.
Marcus steps forward from behind us, his voice weak but steady. Don't trust her, Ellie. She's lying. I heard Vivienne talking about her. They're working together.
Was working together, Celeste corrects. Past tense. Vivienne betrayed me. Tried to steal my research. So now I'm offering you a choice. She sets the vial on the ground between us. Drink this, separate, survive day nine. Then we renegotiate our arrangement.
Or? Caspian asks.
Or Vivienne takes you tomorrow. You become her puppets. And eventually, she'll use you to kill me. Celeste shrugs. Either way, one of us wins. The question is which of us do you prefer?
Neither, I spit.
Not an option, dear. Celeste checks her watch. You have ten seconds to decide. Then my guards escort you upstairs to face the council's investigation. And we all know how that ends.
Through the bond, Caspian and I have a silent conversation:
Is she telling the truth?
About Vivienne? Probably. About helping us? No way.
The potion could be poison.
Or it could be our only chance.
Five seconds, Celeste announces.
We take it, Caspian says suddenly.
What? I turn to him. You can't be serious.
I'm serious about surviving. His eyes meet mine. Through the bond, I feel his plan forming. Risky. Crazy. We take the potion. We separate. And then we find a way to destroy both of them.
Celeste laughs. Now you sound like my son. Calculating. Ruthless. She kicks the vial toward us. Drink up.
Caspian picks it up. Studies it.
Together? I ask.
Together.
We each take half. The liquid tastes like metal and regret.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then the bond our constant shared heartbeat starts to slow. To separate.
Thump-thump... thump...thump... thump.
Two hearts. Two separate rhythms.
The pain is immediate and excruciating. Not the sharp pain of distance, but something deeper. Like my soul is being torn in half.
I scream. Caspian screams.
We collapse, still clutching each other as the bond fights the potion. Magic wars inside us the bond trying to stay connected, the potion forcing us apart.
Through the fading connection, I feel Caspian's last coherent thought: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Then nothing.
Silence where the bond used to hum.
Emptiness where his emotions used to bleed through.
I'm alone in my own head for the first time in eight days.
It feels like dying.
Excellent, Celeste says. The separation is temporary but effective. You now have seventy-two hours. Use them wisely.
She turns to leave, guards following.
Wait! I manage, still gasping. Why? Why did you really give us this?
Celeste pauses. Looks back.
Because, Miss Thorne, you're going to do something for me. Something that requires the bond to be temporarily broken. Her smile is pure evil. You're going to kill Vivienne. And you're going to bring me her research on permanent bond control.
Why would we do that?
Because if you don't, I activate the failsafe I built into every child I collected. Including your brother. She glances at Marcus. One command word, and all six of them die. Simultaneously. Painfully.
Horror floods through me. You're bluffing.
Marcus, dear boy, tell your sister what I did to you when you were fourteen.
Marcus goes pale. Starts shaking. She... she put something inside us. All of us. A magical trigger. She could activate it anytime. Make our hearts stop.
Good memory. Celeste heads for the elevator. You have seventy-two hours to kill Vivienne and bring me her notes. After that, the bond re-forms whether you want it to or not. And if you fail She presses the elevator button. Well. Let's just say six funerals are expensive.
The elevator doors close.
We're alone. Separated. Threatened.
And I can't feel Caspian anymore.
Can't feel his thoughts, his emotions, and his heartbeat.
It's like being blind and deaf simultaneously.
Elara? His voice sounds distant even though he's right next to me. Are you okay?
No. I try to stand. My legs don't work properly. Everything feels wrong without the bond. You?
Same. He manages to sit up. Can you... can you feel me at all?
I search inside myself for that connection. That constant presence.
Nothing.
No, I whisper. You're gone.
Through his eyes, I see the same devastation I feel. We got used to the bond. Relied on it.
And now it's gone.
Marcus helps us both stand. What do we do?
Good question.
We have three days to kill Vivienne, steal her research, and deliver it to Celeste or six kids die.
But without the bond, without that connection, we're vulnerable. Weaker.
Separate.
We do what we always do, Caspian says, voice rough. We fight.
His hand finds mine. The touch is just physical now no magical connection, no emotional bleed.
But I hold on anyway.
Together? I ask.
Together, he confirms.
We head for the stairs can't use the elevator Celeste took.
But as we climb, my phone buzzes. Text from unknown number:
Saw you take mother's potion. Big mistake. The separation doesn't last 72 hours. It lasts 8. After that, the bond snaps back HARD. Strong enough to kill you both if you're not in physical contact when it happens. Tick tock. V
I show Caspian. Watch his face go white.
Eight hours, he says. We have eight hours to decide if we kill Vivienne or kill your mother.
Or both, Marcus adds darkly.
Or both, I agree.
We reach the ground floor. The council investigators are probably still upstairs, searching the penthouse.
We need to disappear. Fast.
But as we head for the exit, I feel ita flutter in my chest.
Thump-thump.
The bond. Already trying to reconnect.
Caspian, I gasp. I think eight hours is optimistic.
Through his shocked expression, I know he feels it too.
We have maybe four hours before the bond snaps back.
And if we're not ready if we're not touching when it happens
We'll both die.
The clock is ticking.