"This doesn't solve it," he says quietly. "What we argued about. I'm still terrified of what I might become without the bond's structure. And you're still terrified of becoming like her if you try to maintain it the old way."
"I know." I reach for his hand. "But now we know why it's happening. And we know there's a path forward. If we're brave enough to take it."
"Are you?" His voice drops. "Brave enough to let go of all control? To trust that I'll choose to stay?"
"Are you?" I counter. "Brave enough to believe that you can choose? That you won't lose yourself?"
We stand there, hands clasped, both afraid.
"I don't know," he admits.
"Neither do I." I squeeze his hand. "But I want to try. I want to give you the choice. Even if it terrifies me."
Something shifts in his expression. "You really mean that."
"Yes." My heart is hammering. "I won't become her, Cadeon. I won't hold you through dominance, even if it means losing you. You deserve to choose your own life."
He stares at me for a long moment. Then, very carefully, he raises my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles.
"I don't want to be free of you," he whispers against my skin. "I want to be free with you. There's a difference."
Oh.
My throat tightens. "That's... that's what I want too."
"But I'm still afraid." He lowers my hand but doesn't let go. "I meant what I said before. I don't know what I am without the bond's structure. What if I choose to stay and then discover I can't handle it? What if I hurt you?"
"And I'm still afraid," I admit, "that I don't know how to let go of control properly. What if I try to relinquish dominance but end up doing it wrong? What if the transformation doesn't work because I can't surrender completely?"
We're both terrified. Both trapped between what we want and what we fear.
"The discovery doesn't make it less scary," he says quietly.
"No," I agree. "But at least now we know it's possible. That there's a path forward, even if we don't know how to walk it yet."
We take the news to the village gathering that evening. The informal meeting at the inn is more crowded than usual. Word has spread that Petra found something important.
Magnus is there, of course, looking skeptical before Petra even speaks. Thea and Ash sit together, her hand in his, both leaning forward with interest. Other mages and familiars I've met only briefly fill the remaining seats.
Petra presents her findings with the enthusiasm of a scholar who's solved a centuries-old mystery. She shows the ancient text, explains the celestial alignment, details the transformation process.
The reactions are mixed.
"Ridiculous," Magnus scoffs. "The bonds have functioned the same way for millennia. Some astronomical coincidence isn't going to fundamentally alter their nature."
"It's not a coincidence," Petra argues. "It's a pattern. It happened 217 years ago, and historical records show bond disruptions then too. We just didn't have the context to understand what was happening."
"Even if you're right," a middle-aged mage says nervously, "this transformation you're describing, relinquishing all control, that sounds dangerous. What's to stop familiars from turning on their masters?"
Ash speaks up, his voice calm but firm. "The same thing that stops partners from turning on each other, mutual respect and care. Not all bonds are built on fear of consequences."
"Easy to say when you have a partnership bond," Magnus mutters. "Some of us maintain the old traditions for good reason."
Oof. I’m glad his hawk isn’t present to hear that.
Thea squeezes Ash's hand. "The old traditions are why we're in this mess. Maybe the magic itself is telling us it's time to change."
The debate continues, voices rising and falling, but I'm barely listening. I can feel Cadeon beside me, silent and tense, and through the thin bond I sense his conflict. He wants to believe transformation is possible. He's terrified it isn't.
