“Okay, Mr. Popular.” I rolled my eyes.
“Not by choice. Magic likes power and tends to be drawn to it.” Ender shook his head. “The night I passed you coming out of the woods, something stirred inside me. I couldn’t shake that feeling or the urge to just be near you. But there was still something more than my own desire to get to know you and my want to spend time with you. The night in the basement at the Academy, I felt it again.”
He paused before taking the back of his hand and grazing my cheek.
“Do you know what an elemental bond is?” he asked.
I stopped breathing, unable to say the wordnoout loud, but when the words came off his lips, my heart suddenly had a mouth and wanted to sayyes. I couldn’t speak and awkwardly stared up at him.
“It’s a bond between two mages where their souls connect. They have to be of the same element and may or may not share the same birthday. That part is unclear.” His hand moved from my cheek and down to my sleeve, then trailed down my bare arm. “Like us.”
He was quiet, letting the reality dawn on me.
“Same day. Not year,” I thought out loud while internally admitting that he could possibly be very right. “You’re one year older.”
“There isn’t much I could find on elemental bonds and soul-bounds.” He dropped his hand.
“We’re soul-bound,” I affirmed and he nodded. “What do you know about … it?”
“Their souls are more of a connection that mirror each other. It’s different from a familiar, where you give a part of your soul away. The bond can’t be created, either—it’s natural.”
“Can it be denied?” I asked before thinking of the repercussions of my wording, and his face fell, the vein in his neck pulsing.
“I’m not sure.” He swallowed, taking a step back. “If this is something you don’t want—”
“No. I … it just caught me off guard.” I shook my head, attempting to clear it. “I’m sorry.”
I spared a glance at Aura, who was lounging on the parapet, her back facing us. I felthappywhen I was around Ender, and not like how it was when I was with my sister. My stomach fluttered and my body hummed happily. But with everything going on, I didn’t have the time to explore it. Mom’s killer was still out there, my sister was in danger, and Ender could also be hunted by dark mages.
Something else popped into my head.
“If an elemental bond has to be accepted or denied, do you think…” I stared at him, wanting to see his reaction as I blurted out the next part uneasily. “Does that mean we would have to—”
A low growl came from Aura, snapping my attention away from Ender. Her hackles were up as she stood, staring off behind us. I turned to look, but nothing was there. My nose twitched.I thought I caught a different smoky scent—one of vanilla and cinnamon rather than Singapore’s flowers.
“Aura. What is it, girl?” I walked over to her, but she growled again, glowering in the same direction.
“Whoa.” Ender’s voice was full of shock, and my magic came to life before I could finish whirling around.
Beyond the arm Ender held out, shielding me, a sleek black dragon perched on a pipe sticking out of the hotel’s roof.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Selene
Thedragonwastwicethe size of Aura—small for a dragon—but its round, feline-orange eyes made it look fierce as it bounded off the pipe and to the rooftop. White specks sparkled like the stars above on its black scales. Its white horns matched the spikes lining its tail and claws. It looked like a baby dragon, but it carried itself like an adult as it stared directly past Ender and at me.
Aura hopped off the edge and prowled over in front of us, the dragon not even sparing a glance at her. Elemental Creatures class was in the spring semester, but I knew enough from my prior schooling to know that you never stared directly in a dragon’s eyes.
This was impossible—dragons were extinct. Yet, we still learned about them. Their powers were random, usually consisting of scorching fire, but some could create water or air. Some could even manipulate the earth around them. But theywere thought to have been killed off by the dark mages because they were natural enemies.
The dragon shifted, sitting straight up. It relaxed as it bounced on its front feet, tail giving a slight wag, like a happy dog. Its eyes shined as if it was excited to see me, and I naturally dropped the defensive magic that stirred as new, symphonic magic flitted under my skin.
“Ender.” I reached a hand out, lowering his arm. “He’s friendly.”
“I know.” Ender lowered his arm and glanced at me. At one simple glance, his acknowledgment was my own.
Somehow, Ifeltthat he understood my natural reaction to this dragon—that he wasn’t a threat.To us.
