“Immediately?”
“Yes.”
“Do you wish for the bond to be broken completely?”
“Yes,” I shouted while the wind picked up more, magic charging the air and buzzing through me.
“You heard her, Fates!” Trixie yelled, slicing her palm on a dagger and holding it over one of the crystals on the sides.
“The blood of the one who begs to be pardoned.” She passed me the knife. “The ground will soak up the offering, not a crystal.”
I nodded as I took it with shaky hands. “Please take Grayson’s and my bond away. It hurts.” Holding the dagger in one hand, I used slight pressure and slid it across my hand before passing it back to Trixie.
Blood trickled from my palm to the ground, and the circle got brighter. Another unnatural wind swept through. The crystal Trixie put her blood on exploded, and the shards hit in the shape that was etched in the ground.
Trixie’s eyes widened, and she spread her arms out wide before clapping them together with a deafening echo.
We were blown off the summoning circle with force, and my body smacked hard into the grass next to Trixie.
My body was thrumming with magic and excitement alike as I pushed up and climbed to my feet. The summoning circle looked brand new. No broken crystals and no random shards, and my heart felt free.
I threw my head back as giggles bubbled out of me.
It worked! It had to have worked. I could think about Grayson without emotional or physical pain, and it was something I hadn’t been able to do since the rejection.
“Did you two just perform black magic?” A sharp voice cut in, and Trixie huffed a laugh.
“Yeah, we did,” she answered. “And it fucking worked.”
“Black magic is forbidden and feared for a reason,” Professor Fallon pressed. “You two are coming with me now. The headmaster has to know what two of his students are doing in the middle of campus at night.”
Trixie stiffened, but I turned my head toward her with a smile as I shrugged.
Professor Fallon led us toward Arcane Hall while spouting off nonsense about black magic, and I trailed behind Trixie in a daze.
My body and soul felt so light. It was like I was drunk off the magic and feeling of being unshackled by the Fates.
I was no longer bonded to Grayson, which meant he couldn’t hurt me anymore.
THIRTY
Wren
“Theheadmasterisgoingto kick you out for using such forbidden magic at his academy,” Professor Fallon said smugly. “I can’t wait to see his reaction.”
I rolled my eyes, practically skipping down the hall toward the headmaster’s office. I’d never been one to get in trouble, but for once in my life, I didn’t mind.
Trixie kept shooting me ‘are you crazy’ or ‘did I break you’ glances, but I just smiled at her.
She single-handedly broke a rejected matebond that I had honestly started to think was going to kill me. The pain when Grayson was near was increasingly getting worse. I was so thankful that it was gone.
“Are you even listening to me?” Fallon asked, shooting me a glare as we stopped in front of a large wooden door with the sign ‘headmaster’ hanging on the front of it. “He’s a firedrake, and he’s very reputable. If you don’t get your act together, who knows what he’ll do to you.” She paused, pursing her lips. “Second thought, keep it up.”
Trixie elbowed my arm, and I slapped my hand over my mouth to contain a giggle.
Fallon knocked gently on the door, and the voice that rumbled through the door sent me over the edge.
“Come in.”
