Confiance moved to stand at the edge of the circle, her movements graceful and deliberate. “The circle will reveal all magical connections between the two of you. If there is a true love spell present, it will manifest as golden threads connecting your hearts. If there is a mate bond, it will appear as silver cords that originate from your souls.”
“And if there’s both?” Ash asked quietly.
The Elder’s expression softened slightly. “Then we will see both. Though I must warn you, such an occurrence is... unprecedented. In all my centuries of service, I have never witnessed a true love spell and a mate bond existing simultaneously.”
“That’s because it shouldn’t be possible,” Professor Blackwood added from where she stood near the door. “The two magics operate on entirely different principles. A true love spell is artificial, created through will and intent. A mate bond is natural, written into the very fabric of a person’s soul.”
“But they could coexist?” I pressed, needing to understand.
“Theoretically,” Confiance replied. “Though the strain on both individuals would be... considerable. The spell would constantly be trying to force a connection while the bond would be pulling you together naturally. It would create a feedback loop of magic that could be quite dangerous.”
I swallowed hard, thinking about all the times Ash’s magic had spiraled out of control when we touched. The hole in the wards. The shadows exploding at the football game. Was that what she was talking about?
“Are you both ready?” Confiance asked, her hands already beginning to glow with pale green light.
I looked at Ash across the circle. His blue eyes met mine, and I saw my own fear reflected back at me. But I also saw determination. Whatever we were about to discover, we’d face it together.
“We’re ready,” I said.
Confiance nodded and began to chant in a language I didn’t recognize. The arcane symbols on the floor started to glow, first a soft white, then brighter and brighter until I had to squint against the light. I felt magic wash over me like a wave, searching, probing, pulling at something deep inside my chest.
Then I saw them.
Silver cords erupted from my chest, thick and pulsing with ethereal light. They stretched across the circle toward Ash, and I watched in awe as matching cords emerged from him, reaching for me. The moment they met in the middle of the circle, they intertwined, braiding together in a complex pattern that seemed to shift and move with each breath we took.
“A mate bond,” Professor Blackwood breathed from behind us. “A genuine mate bond between a dark elf and a witch. A rare sight indeed.”
But that wasn’t all.
As I watched, golden threads began to emerge from Ash’s chest as well. They were thinner than the silver cords, more delicate, but no less powerful. They wove through the silver, wrapping around each cord in an intricate dance that made my head spin just looking at it.
“The true love spell,” Confiance said, her voice filled with wonder. “By the gods... they’re both there.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the display. The silver and gold were so tightly intertwined that in some places I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. They pulsed in time with our heartbeats, and I realized with a start that Ash’s heart and mine were beating in perfect synchronization.
“How is this possible?” Ash whispered, his voice trembling. “I was twelve when I cast that spell. It never should’ve worked…”
Confiance stepped closer to the circle, her eyes wide as she studied the magical connections between us. “The spell must have... adapted. When Mr. Vale cast it as a child, his intentions were pure, and it searched for histruelove. So, instead of creating an artificial connection like most love spells, it found the natural mate bond that was already destined to exist between you and amplified it.”
“So, the spell didn’t ruin anything?” I asked, hope rising in my chest.
“Not exactly,” she replied, her expression troubled. “The spell amplified the bond. It’s why your connection is so intense, why Mr. Vale’s magic responds so strongly to your presence. The true love spell is feeding power into the mate bond, making it far more potent than it should be at this stage.”
“Is that dangerous?” Ash asked, his hands gripping the arms of his chair so tightly his knuckles were white.
Confiance was quiet for a long moment, her eyes never leaving the threads connecting us. “Potentially. The feedback loop I mentioned earlier... it’s already occurring. Every time you touch, every time you’re intimate, the spell feeds more power into the bond, which in turn strengthens the spell. It’s creating a cycle that will only grow more intense.”
My stomach dropped. “What does that mean for us?”
“It means,” Professor Blackwood said carefully, “that separating you two could be catastrophic. The bond is already far stronger than it should be. If you were to be forcibly separated for an extended period...” She trailed off, but I understood what she wasn’t saying.
“We could die,” Ash finished, his voice hollow.
Confiance turned to look at him, her expression sympathetic. “Or worse. The magical backlash could destroy your minds, leave you both empty shells. I’ve seen it happen once before, a couple centuries ago, when a bonded pair was torn apart. It was... not a fate I would wish on anyone.”
I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The beautiful display of silver and gold between us suddenly felt like chains, binding us together whether we wanted it or not. Of course I didn’t want to leave Ash. Ineverwanted that. But I knew the couple Confiance spoke of, the two forced apart so much that it destroyed them. Caldwell had found them in his research. But they were only bonded. Ash and I… well, if we were separated it could destroyus and unleash a nuclear bomb’s worth of magic at the same time.
“This creates a problem, Mr. Erestolal,” Confiance said, slicing her hand through the air to sever the revealing circle’s magic. The glow faded, replaced by the light of the sconces around the room. “Your father will not take this well.”
