Page 48 of Impawssible Magic

And then the part I’ve been avoiding.

“During the fight. When one of them grabbed me, when I thought—” I pause. Swallow. “Something came out of me. Out of both of us. One second he had my arm, the next he was airborne, and I didn’t do that. Not alone.”

Sakura’s eyes are huge. “Like... combined magic?”

“Like a bond.” Anouk’s voice drops. “A familiar bond.”

The silence is deafening.

Zeph breaks it first. “Wait.” She sits up straight, wine forgotten. “Wait, wait, wait. You’re bonding with Aslan Nexis?” Her voice goes up an octave.

“I didn’t ask for this!” The words come out sharper than I intend. “I don’t want a familiar. Especially not a person. Especially not⁠—”

“The most intense shifter in Mistvale?” Zeph finishes. “Yeah, I can see how that might be... a lot.”

“It’s sooo romantic, though.” Sakura’s voice goes soft, dreamy. “In a terrifying way. Fated mates saving each other in battle⁠—”

“It’s not romantic.” I drain my wine and reach for the bottle. “It’s a disaster. He doesn’t want this either. We’ve agreed it’s a fluke.”

“A fluke.” Anouk repeats the word. She doesn’t sound convinced.

“Yes. A fluke. That’s definitely what it is.”

Zeph snorts. “Honey, I’ve seen how he looks at you. That’s not a fluke. That’s a man who’s about three seconds from losing his shit every time you’re in danger.”

“He kind of does, though.” Sakura murmurs into her wine glass.

“What?”

“Nothing!”

Anouk clears her throat. The sound cuts through the chatter like a knife. “There’s something you should know. About Aslan.”

I set down my wine. Something in her tone makes my stomach clench.

“He was bonded once. But not a true mate.” Anouk’s voice is quiet. “To a witch named Dorothea.”

“He mentioned her.”

“Did he tell you the records are sealed? That no one knows exactly what went wrong?” Anouk’s dark eyes hold mine. “He nearly died going after her once the working started failing—burned through reserves no shifter should survive burning through, trying to reverse something that was already finished. That’s part of why none of it reads like a simple accident. When he finally came back to his duties, he was different. Closed off. Distant. Like he’d locked everything that made him himself behind walls too thick to breach.”

The room is silent. Even Zeph has gone quiet, her usual chaos stilled.

“None of us expect him to bond again.” Anouk continues. “And now...”

“Now, there’s me.” The words come out thicker than I expected.

“Now, there’s you.”

I think about the way he watches me. The careful distance he maintains even when I feel him wanting to close it. The pain that flickers behind his eyes when he thinks I’m not looking.

His intensity isn’t coldness. It’s armor. The kind you build when you’ve lost everything once and can’t bear the thought of losing again.

Just like mine.

“Well, fuck.” Zeph’s eloquence is unmatched. “That explains a lot.”

“He’s scared.” Sakura’s voice is soft. “He’s been scared this whole time. And so have you.”