“It’s a suklune plant. It’s a magical plant the Elves have tended for centuries. It contains powerful pain-killing properties that we use in our medicine. However, one must take special care tending them, because they’re actually two plants in one.”
I ran my fingers over the tough flower again and realized it wasn’t really a flower. It was an entire plant that was separate from the first— some sort of succulent.
“These plants share a magical bond that allows them to grow together through a symbiotic relationship. It is only together that they produce their pain-killing properties, whichin turn promotes a harvest that allows the plants to reproduce effectively.”
“Each plant is so different,” I remarked as I felt along the leaves. “Yet my magic can’t tell the difference between them.”
“Yes, because bonded, they’re technically one being,” my grandfather confirmed. “The broad leaf portion of the suklune plant comes from marshes, while the succulent grows in deserts. The leaves are good at pulling water from the soil, which nourishes the succulent. The succulent can store the water. Together, they may withstand a variety of environments. Traditionally, both of these plants would benefit from one another, but in this case, the succulent is overtaking the leaves.”
I noted that the succulent felt firm and healthy, while the leaves were crusty and breaking off.
“They can no longer survive in the same soil. For both to live, the magical bond must be broken, so that they can grow separately.”
My chest felt heavy. I knew it was just a plant, but it made me really sad to think about breaking them apart. “So all we have to do is break the bond and replant them?”
“You must take special care. Once separated, they must return to their respective environments to survive. They can either live together or live apart. There is no in-between.”
“So I can use this against my enemies to divide them from the people they love? Not just the people they love, but the people who make them…them. I can destroy their spirits.” I shuddered, because it was a big responsibility— a choice I hesitated to make, even on someone as evil as the Warden.
“Yes,” my grandfather confirmed. “If your enemy happens to be magically bound, and you can get close enough to them to break the bond, a decision such as this can win you a war. But you must understand how powerful this magic can be. Once you break a bond, there is nothing but the power of the gods that canrestore it. This type of magic can save your people, or ruin you. I’ve seen Elves lose their temper and break bonds they can never restore, even accidentally break their own. You have a bond yourself, and you must tend to it with care.”
“I would never break my bond with Ava or Oberi,” I snapped. “I don’t care how angry I get. That’s never happening.”
“Hold on to that promise,” he urged. “I’ve broken very few bonds in my time, yet there are several I deeply regret. The only reason I’m teaching you this is because it might be necessary to use it against your enemies. One day, you might run across a magical being that is so powerful, the only way for you to stop it is to break a bond they hold.”
“You mean… I could potentially take away someone’s casting abilities if I severed their bond?” I asked.
“Yes. Bonds hold magic, and sometimes, if one piece of a bond is cut off from their partner, they will lose access to their powers entirely,” he instructed. “Though this isn’t always the case. For example, if a fae’s bond is broken with their mate, both parties will still retain their own magic, because their power comes from Edinmyre, and that’s a channel they can still access without use of the bond.”
“They might still be able to fight, but the loss would be crippling. They’d lose the will to keep going,” I said.
“Precisely. But as you know, if a Familiar dies, so does an Elementai. And if you were to break an Elementai’s bond with a Familiar, the elemental would lose their magic.”
“Wouldn’t the Elementai die, then, without the bond to hold them here?”
“It would be a possibility, but in this circumstance, we’re considering splitting a soul,” my grandfather said. “It would be more likely the Elementai themselves would remain alive, but be unable to cast or communicate with their Familiar. The body would remain, but the spirit would be separated.”
I felt sick just thinking about it. I nearly wanted to run back to my room, clutch Oberi to my chest and never let her go. “It wouldn’t be much of an existence.”
“No. It would be a cursed life. Which is why you must understand how absolutely cataclysmic this ability to break bonds is. It’s not a power to use lightly. In some circumstances, you’re playing the role of the gods. Which is why I beg you to use it only when absolutely necessary.”
The Warden may not be magically bound to anyone, but I was sure as hell some of his followers were. We needed every advantage we could get.
“I want to be powerful,” I stated. “Teach me.”
My grandfather sounded more than proud. “First, you must find the bond and draw it out. Observe the plant, and use your powers to explore the magic inside of it. It will feel like a rope, tethering one bonded partner to the other. Gently draw back your magic, pulling that bond to the surface.”
I did as I was told, tangling my magic within its leaves. I could feel every leaf and every pulse of water through its vascular system. The plant seemed tobreathe, and I could sense it as if it were my own body… but I didn’t feel any magical tether. Beneath my fingers, the withering leaves began to grow stronger. But it lasted for only a moment before the succulent took the energy for its own. The leaves withered once more. I realized I was inadvertently using my Earth magic on them.
I drew back my elemental powers and focused on my Elf magic. Illusion magic tingled through my fingers. I pulled back on that and tried to find an energy signature within my body I’d never used before.
My grandfather waited silently. Minutes must’ve passed as I meditated, quieting my body and mind so that I could tune into my magic. My mind brushed up against something centered in my heart. It was a smooth magic I hadn’t ever noticed before, butit was powerful, too— waiting dormant until I was ready to give it purpose.
I drew the magic to the surface and funneled it into the plant. To my amazement, I quickly found the tether that my grandfather described. My magic curled around it as surely as if I had touched it with my fingers. I dragged my magic back, pulling the bond with it.
I gasped as an ethereal strand took shape in my vision. I couldseethe bond tying these plants together, because it was a spiritual connection, and I didn’t need my eyes to observe it, just my soul.
“I’ve got it,” I announced.
