“Yeah,” Marcus agreed. “It wasn’t pleasant. It was a while ago, right after the Darke Games. He was already watching us at that point.”
I didn’t ask why they hadn’t told us. It definitely wasn’t something I wanted to go through.
“Did it… hurt?” Opal asked, and she hiccupped.
“No.” Kallie shook her head. “But it was… very invasive. They have a fae cast a spell to take your bond out from your spirit and look at it, magically. It doesn’t do anything, but it feels a bit like being naked for the whole world to see.”
“But Ez will pass,” Marcus assured me. “They have a true bond. It just makes you feel really vulnerable.”
I never wanted that to happen to Charlie and me, and I hoped the Warden wouldn’t bother. Nobody needed to go prying into the connection we had.
Our next class was Elemental Magic, so we parted from Kallie and Marcus so we could practice under the instruction of Professor Summers. We cast small spells to keep Professor Summers happy, though she mostly ignored us. She knew we were talented spellcasters, so she devoted most of her time to helping others in the class.
Though we could use our normal powers under the influence of inferichite, the magic was dull and unimpressive. We had to get these cuffs off somehow.
Ez didn’t show up. The bond evaluation must be taking a long time. I wasn’t sure why, as it was clear he shared one with the peryton. The prison board had to be arguing if they were going to allow Ez to keep him at the prison. I assumed they were fighting about Ez using the peryton to escape, but if the peryton couldn’t fly over the fence due to the noxite surrounding the school, there was no reason to not let him keep his Familiar.
Charlie was quiet most of the class period. I couldn’t read his thoughts, though I was more or less scared to try. “What’s on your mind?”
Charlie waited for a moment before he replied. “Did it seem like Ez secured his bond with his Familiar right away?”
The question was gutting. “I don’t know. Maybe he did.”
I’d observed Ez carefully as the guards had led him and the peryton off. They’d practically been breathing in sync, their attention diverted toward the same place, even looking ahead at the same spot. When Ez moved, so did the deer, to mirror him. It was uncanny, something I’d only seen in bonded partners that had been together for a long time.
Though Charlie couldn’t witness any of this, he’d sensed it. Magically, something very strong resonated between Ez and the peryton. And it was unmatchable to what we had with Oberi.
“How is that possible? I thought you had to build a relationship with your Familiar before that happened,” Charlie stated.
Some bonds can be secured almost instantly, upon meeting,Oberi commented.And the situation the two of them found themselves in certainly pushed them together.
Charlie’s emotions flooded into me, and he didn’t bother to block them this time. He was jealous.
I felt a little envious, too. The three of us had been through a lot in the past two years, and our soul still hadn’t found complete unification.
Elementai who had secured their bond with their Familiar could perform stronger magic. They had a deeper connection with their magical creature that other Elementai did not, which enabled them to protect and serve each other better. It was more like the feeling of being one soul in two different bodies, rather than being two separate entities living apart. The sensation, as it had been described to me, was fluid and seamless.
The three of us weren’t even close to that. Sure, we could communicate telepathically, and our magic was strong, but it was difficult getting all three of us on the same page at the same time. We argued and had disagreements constantly, and I knew Oberi always felt like she was pulled between Charlie and me.
That wouldn’t happen when our bond was secured. She wouldn’t have to make decisions to pick and choose who to side with, because Charlie and I would truly be one soul. Despite all the work we’d put into our relationship, there was a constant tug-of-war we experienced that left Oberi confused, feeling like she wasn’t doing her job to unite us.
The disagreement about breaking out of the Institute was a prime example. Charlie and I both wanted to save the world, but we couldn’t agree on how to do it. That wouldn’t happen when our bond was finally secured, because whenever we made a decision, it would be a unified one.
Considering how different the three of us were, I worried we’d never get there.
Charlie frowned. “Why does it work for everyone else but not for us?”
It’s going to be harder. Therearethree of us, Oberi pointed out.That means three different pieces of our soul to reunite as one. And each of us have quite strong personalities that can make that difficult.
“I figured our bond would secure when we got married,” I said. “I felt something happen when we took our vows.”
We definitely came closer,Oberi said.But we’re just not there yet.
“So what can we do to make it happen?” Charlie asked. “If we secure our bond, we’ll be able to perform stronger magic. Maybe we’ll be able to get these cuffs off.”
Bonds are unified through strong emotion. The Elementai tribe once attempted to force the unification through the Elemental Cup,Oberi mused.It worked, for a time. Life-or-death situations have a way of bringing souls together
I nodded. The Elemental Cup had been a deadly competition where past Elders forced newly bonded college Elementai and their Familiars to survive against a trial of elements. My parents had participated in it when they were young, and a lot of kids had died over the years. After the Hawkei Civil War, my parents and others had changed the competition. The Cup still took place, but it wasn’t deadly anymore, and was more of a coming-of-age ceremony than an actual trial.
