"It’s cruel…" Holly says under her breath so quietly that I doubt she meant for any of us to hear. Questioning faction politics is dangerous.
The quiet anxiety in the room makes sense. I don’t feel so alone because everyone in this room is questioning if they’ll still be here tomorrow, just like I am.
By the time the seniors finish the ceremony, everyone has publicly acknowledged only the forbidden, cross-faction bond.
"How much longer…" Tabby whines, "I thought we’d at least witness a passionate make out by now."
Cleo replies, "These seniors have been through this academy bond ceremony together three times already. If they bond, it will be with someone new entering the academy. The chance of that is very low. Just give it time."
***
The sophomores are churning one by one through the arch.
"Why do they even bother sending Lust through the arches? Lust never bonds; monogamy isn’t their way. What a waste of time," Tabby continues to complain as she sinks down in her chair.
"Don’t pay attention to Tabby. She’s just pissed she didn’t bond with the hot new professor," Holly says with a snark.
"Don’t be ridiculous, Holly; the faculty never get tethered to students. The universe isn’t that cruel," she responds.
Tabby clearly has spent little time on the universe’s bad side like I have.
"You’re awfully quiet, little sinless. Afraid a big bad magical bond is going to cramp your style?" Brix whispers next to me.
“Not too worried about my style, Brix. You saw this morning at breakfast that there’s not much style left to cramp.”
Despite my confident words, I’m dying on the inside.
What will happen if the Academy finds out I bonded with a professor? I’ll get kicked out before even having a chance to manifest my power.
“On the contrary, you are a Wrath at the top academy in Vail, with unmatched, unlimited power. Once you manifest, you’ll be the baddest bitch in this place,” he replies with full confidence.
It’s refreshing to have someone in my corner instead of rooting for me to fail, but I’m not sure what his end goal is here. We weren’t friends back in Furycliff.
As I wonder why Brixton James is being so nice to me, I start to have the feeling again. This time, it happens quickly, now that I recognize the sensation and what it means. There’s a tug in my chest, a warm, tingling feeling that builds up as a ball of radiant light soars towards the stage and straight into the body of…Atticus Willshire?
No, it can’tbe.
My heart feels like it’s about to rip out of my body as my head pounds. I’m not fated for Councilor Willshire’s son. That arrogant jerk is not my bond. This magical relic is broken—I’m certain of it.
I look around to see if others have noticed the arch throwing a magical hissy fit.
“What’s wrong?” Holly asks. “Did something happen?”
“Huh? Oh, no, it’s nothing. I thought I saw… I thought another person was going to stand up.”
“Oh!” Holly says and looks the way I was glancing.
Everything is speeding up around me. I hear murmurs from my friends, but I’m not digesting what they are saying.
My chest continues to hurt, and my breathing picks up. What is going on? Even if I somehow had two bonds, Atticus is a Pride. This is not good.
The sophomores continue crossing the stage. Soon, someone else will notice the arch is acting up.Maybe it’s not even the real arch?
Maybe the rebel groups who wield forbidden magic have enchanted it somehow, and we are under attack?
My mind is running through possibilities when it happens again. Tug. Warm. Tingly. Ball. Light.
I look up at the next mage the broken arch thinks is my mate. He looks so familiar, even from my seat in the back.
