Most of the room giggles, knowing that's far from the truth. The bond is a blessing, a joy beyond compare that only a small group gets to experience. Not only the personal benefits, but a completed bond increases both parties’ power. A unit is stronger than one. There would have to be a very significant, concerning reason not to complete the bond within four years.
“Quiet,” Dean Bellows commands, and the room quiets.
“Although you can complete the bond whenever you choose, prepare that your tether will draw you toward your fated bond, as it yearns to be fulfilled. You may have already sensed this feeling. Some powerful bonds will express the urgency to unite even before the bonding ceremony. This sensation might manifest as intense attraction, curiosity, or even obsession—it varies for everyone. Once your tether clicks into place, these feelings will only intensify.
"Remember, the only way to fully complete the bond is through blood sharing. While physical intimacy can strengthen the bond, it is not a substitute for blood sharing. If you engage in intimate acts, you will find yourself unable to distance yourself from your mate beyond what the bond tether allows, compelling you to complete it. So be sureyou are ready for this commitment if you choose to pursue a sexual relationship, or you will face the consequences ofa very short leash.
"For all the grandeur of the idea of bonds, I must warn you not to get your hopes up. Most of you will leave the same as you arrived. Last, if you bond with someone from outside your faction, please see me immediately after the ceremony.”
A heavy silence falls over the room, the smell of fear thick in the air. No one wants to bond outside of their faction, as the pain of being unable to complete the bond would be unbearable.
“What happens if someone bonds outside their faction at the academy?” Brix asks, looking around at us.
“They send the weaker partner away to the stronger partner’s faction. They can’t have two eternally bonded students, each returning home to their separate factions. Because of the higher status of most academy students, it opens the door for collusion. So one must join the other faction.” Cleo explains, her expression grim.
Tabby looks as though she might be sick.
The Dean invites another professor onto the stage who gives a particularly uncomfortable and clinical speech about the practices of safe sex, even in the heated throes of a fresh mate bond.
After the very nervous and sweat-drenched professor finishes his health talk, Dean Bellows takes the stage again.
“Arch Guard, please prepare for the ceremony.” A magical hum fills the air, and the blood-colored runes glow brighter.
“Staff and faculty, head to the stage. We will file through in a single file line. When it is your turn, you will remain on your marker at the front of the stage until the person before you reachesthe stairs. During the ceremony, others are not permitted on the stage. Anyone to interfere will be judged and punished by the Council…”
She casts a deliberate, stern gaze across the room, making each student feel as if her eyes are piercing into theirs.
"As Dean of this Academy, I will begin."
The room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop as Dean Bellows walks through the arches. Once she reaches the end of the stage, the staff files in.
When Dean Bellows said everyone at the academy would take part in the ceremony, she meant everyone. Staff members dressed in a mix of work uniforms—cooks, janitors, security guards—line up, waiting their turn to pass through the arch, followed by the faculty. I guess it makes sense, as this would be the first time most of us are together.
As more people enter and exit the stage, the tension in the room fades as nothing of significance happens.
“Wow, is it always this boring?” Tabby asks.
“You’ve never been to a bonding ceremony?” Holly replies.
“My parents wouldn’t let me.” She huffs. “They said I needed to keep my focus on getting into the academy. They didn’t want a bond disrupting that.”
“This is typical for a bonding ceremony,” I tell her. “Everyone arrives so excited, expecting to witness mates being bonded, drama unfolding, tears from scorned lovers, and heated exchanges from new bonds…. but within the first 15 minutes, they find themselves bored out of their minds.”
“It’s estimated that only 30% of the citizens have a mate,” Cleo says. “And even then, you have to be lucky enough to be at the same bondceremony. You still might witness a dramatic exchange since there are so many of us.”
An older woman with gray hair, no teeth, and a cook's uniform hobbles through the arch, relying on a cane. Some jerk whistles a catcall from the front rows as multiple people laugh. The intense ritualistic aura from earlier has died down.
The faculty steps through, and the robust professor who gave the sweaty, nervous sex speech is walking toward the arch. Tabby has her head turned away; eyes closed tight like she’s trying not to witness a dismemberment.
"No, please, no, no, no," she mutters.
"It would serve you right. You need an older, sensible gentleman to tame you down," Cleo says. Her evil genius of a roommate has been torturing her with the idea of a lackluster mate since the safe sex speech ended. She’s getting her payback for the sexual gossip she’s had to hear since she arrived.
Holly is cracking up on my left.
Brix adds fuel to the fire. "I bet he has a sex safety closet in his faculty room. It probably has an entire shelf stocked with dental dams."
Tabby breathes a heavy sigh of relief as he steps off the stage.
