Page 124 of House Ignis

Maddy let out a hollow, hysterical laugh, her hands flying up to her face. "Right? It just happened—fuck—just before the party last night. Gods, it was amazing, Ava. It was perfect. But I hadn't known he was using until I saw his eyes later that night."

Gods, I felt so bad for her. Finding your mate is supposed to be the most incredible moment of a person's life—the gods choosing two souls to be tied together forever. And now, this. Instead of a celebration, it was a race against a needle and a shadow.

A mate-bond was sacred. It was similar to how Asher and I were tied together, but where ours was forged by blood, law, and ancient order, a mate-bond was sealed by the heavens themselves. Some people waited decades to find theirs; others never did.

Some even had more than one.

I had been so sure Jeremy was mine, but now? Looking at Asher, feeling the way our blood sang to each other... I didn't even know how a mate-bond would work now that we were already blood-bound. Could the gods even find me through the thick, dark tether Asher had wrapped around my soul?

"This is not good," Aether murmured through the bond, curling protectively around me.

Zya appeared beside Asher, her sleek black form tense. "He's in danger," she said. "And he's alone."

"Fuck," Asher muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. "We have a game on Monday."

My heart dropped.

"They're going to test him," he added grimly.

The team would lose a starter. Maddy might lose Ryven entirely.

"We'll find him," Asher said, his voice sharpening with command. "Maddy, I promise you. We'll bring your mate back."

And gods—I felt the sheer weight of that promise thrum through every thread of the bond. It wasn't just words; it was a blood-deep vow.

Maddy's lips trembled.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Solstice will stay above you. Skye and I will stay here in case he comes back." She looked toward the dark forest, worry etched into every line of her face. "Please, just... be careful."

I reached for her hand, squeezing it once. "We'll bring him back, Maddy. I promise."

Asher was already turning toward the trees, the shadows coiling at his boots like living vipers. His silver eyes found mine, dark and focused.

"Let's go, Pyreson."

•••

The Academy sat nestled in the burning heart of Zymarra—a fortress of stone, flame, and secrets. Dense, enchanted forests sprawled out around it like a crown of thorns, stretching for miles in every direction. But beyond that—where even magic refused to tread—the real danger began.

The Veylaith Woods. Known to all as the Forbidden Forest. And somewhere out there… was Ryven.

He could've slipped past the Astral Guard sentries patrolling the Aegos Wall day and night.

He could've found the old tunnels—hidden cracks, whispered through time by Fae who knew where to step. If he was desperate enough, he would've gone straight to the source. The heart of the Forbidden Forest, where Eclipsa bloomed in thick, venomous tangles and magic hissed through the soil like poison.

The forest was a labyrinth of twisted silver boughs, but we weren't just fighting the terrain; we were fighting the most heavily fortified perimeter in Zymarra.

The Aegos Wall of the Zymarrian Hold loomed in the distance, a massive obsidian spine that separated the Academy's controlled grounds from the untamed wild.

At intervals, the Ignivar Monoliths glowed with a low, rhythmic heat—ancient stone pillars acting as magical tripwires. Between them sat the Outposts Division, a network of guard towers swarming with Astral Guard sentries. Their armor glimmered like starlight even in the dusk, their eyes trained for the slightest ripple in the air.

"We can't go over," Asher murmured, his voice barely a breath. "The Monoliths will incinerate anything with a magical signature before we even hit the top of the wall."

"The tunnels," I whispered back, my heart hammering against my ribs. "The ones the older students whisper about. They run under the Outposts."

Asher nodded, his shadows pulling tight around his frame. "The Academy uses them for 'discreet' transport, but they're always crawled over by Astral Guards.

" He paused, a dark, knowing glint in his silver eyes. "But even the stars have a price. Those guards are underpaid and bored. They can be bribed if you know which palms to grease."