Page 115 of House Ignis

"On a very specific mission."

She eyed me suspiciously, then spotted Asher looming behind me. Her brows lifted. "What kind of mission?"

I stepped back, serious now. "I need books. On blood bonds. Oaths. Anything with original text. Nothing 'cleaned' for the curriculum."

Jules blinked. "You're sure?"

"Very."

She nodded slowly, turned on her heel, and waved us along. "Come on."

We followed her past two restricted alcoves until she stopped at a heavy stone shelf marked in an older dialect I barely recognized. Jules pulled several thick, dusty volumes free and dumped them into my arms.

"Start here. I have to run before Master Elan catches me out of my row again."

"Thanks," I said, already clutching the heavy tomes close to my chest.

She looked at Asher once more and narrowed her eyes. "Behave."

He winked. "That depends entirely on her."

With a snort, Jules vanished back down the hall. I dropped the books on a long reading table, and a puff of dust billowed into the air. Asher leaned lazily against the table edge, picking up the top tome. "So... academic bonding. How thrilling."

I raised a brow. "You can leave, you know."

He opened the book with an overly graceful flourish. "Now why would I miss the chance to watch you unravel ancient blood curses in your cheer uniform?"

It was only then that I looked down and realized—yep, I was still in the damn uniform. Shadows curled over my thighs like they had a mind of their own, licking at the hem of the red skirt.

"Behave," I warned.

Asher sprawled into the seat next to me with infuriating ease.

"Okay… so, blood oaths," I said, flipping open a thick volume with golden thread stitched into its spine. "I need to understand what this bond actually is."

He stilled, just slightly. I noticed.

The first page was lined in a language I didn't recognize, but the translation below made my stomach tighten.

"The Blood Oath. A sacred rite once performed between bonded wielders in ancient times. Rare. Dangerous. Eternal."

I read aloud, my voice soft. "It allows emotional syncing… sensations shared across distances. Eventually—if deep enough—projection of thoughts. Images."

Asher leaned in, the shadows licking along his collar as if they were listening, too. "Projection? Through the bond?"

I nodded, swallowing hard. "It also says… resisting it becomes harder. The more physical the connection, the more intense the bond becomes."

There was a long, charged silence. Then he grinned—slow and wicked. "So basically, you just need to jump me."

I slammed the book shut and smacked it against his chest. "That is not what it says!"

"Not in those exact words, no," he said, catching it effortlessly. "But the vibe is there."

I grabbed another scroll, trying to ignore the heat rising up my neck. My body still remembered last night—his hands, his mouth, and the ache he'd left behind.

“Here,” he said suddenly, his silver eyes scanning another page. “Queen Alayna.”

I leaned over, my shoulder brushing his. “She was a fire wielder,” I murmured, my eyes racing across the text. “And she bonded to a shadow wielder?”