Page 67 of Stolen Magic of the Deep

“If one holds a conflicted soul, the bond will never be complete,” she states.

Her words are always hard to decipher. Orion seems to understand what she means, as he lowers himself down to the desk and raises his hand, running it down his face, holding his chin in his palm.

“Both mates must have a peaceful mind and soul. Once that has been achieved, the bond will tie you to each other,” she reiterates.

“I can already sense Sarah’s emotions. Would that not mean our bond is complete?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“A bond is not forged through feelings alone,” Velmira replies. “Emotions may be sensed, but a true connection lies within the soul. Your power has always allowed you to hear her tides—yet the sea mates bond amplifies them, until even her quietest stirrings cannot be hidden.”

My mouth drops open. He’s always been one step ahead. I used to chalk it up to charm. Or luck. But now . . . I realize it’s not luck at all. The realization hits like a slap to the face. And anger flares in my chest. He’s been reading me this whole time? Why didn’t I see it?

What absolute bullshit.

twenty-seven

Sarah

Velmira sits in silence, letting her last words linger, and my thoughts spiral. I become increasingly irritated at this notion, but that quickly dissolves when Orion shifts. He’s dragging both hands through his midnight hair, and his spine straightens just as Velmira poses an abstruse question.

“How do you know the sea has knotted your souls, and not merely stirred your blood?” she presses.

“I would rather not discuss my personal life in this setting, Velmira,” he says, his brows knitting together. He gives a glance in my direction and swallows, returning his focus to Velmira.

“My apologies for what I must say, your majesty, but do not forget, it was you who came to me for answers. If your souls are truly meant to bind as you suspect,” she pauses, her milky eyes searching the unseen, as though straining to glimpse something just out of reach.

Orion doesn’t rise to her rebuke. Instead, his attention sharpens on that pause.

“What did you see, Velmira?” His posture unfurls to its full height as he inches closer, his voice edged with demand.

“Your majesty, do you recall what I stated when I entered? Her future has changed. It is not a simple shifting of paths. No . . . her thread has unraveled altogether. I can no longer see where it leads.”

“What can I do?” he asks immediately, as if the choice rests solely with him. Another choice made on my behalf.

No words come. Should I speak?

I wouldn’t say I’m afraid. However, it’s hard not to be slightly freaked out. Magical powers. Being uprooted from my life and thrust into an underwater kingdom with a king I’m somehow connected to. And now the magical riddle lady can’t see where my future leads? When does all the craziness stop?

“The solution is not yours alone,” she murmurs to Orion, her voice like water folding over stone. She tilts her head, her opaque eyes piercing through me. “She must release herself from the lining of her old life and rise fully to become who she is meant to be.”

My life, from the moment I was adopted, has been all about focus. Top schools, the best teachers, and earning my way to the top. I’ve dipped my toe in the dating pool twice, and both times, epic fails. Maybe I have terrible taste, or maybe there’s a giant neon sign over me that says, “Fuck me over.” Who knows.

She says I need to rise into who I’m meant to be—as if I haven’t already become the person I fought to be. Still, I can’t deny the constant pull I feel toward him, or the physical attraction. Anyone would notice. I mean, he could easily be on the front cover of Calvin Klein if he were from the surface world. But one thing is certain: I’m in a new world, learning new things. Why jeopardize this opportunity by letting a new man-beast-monster thing into my life? Bond or no bond, I’m not sure I’m ready to fully comprehend what becoming his mate would mean and risking everything I have worked for over it.

I refocus on the situation at hand, and before I can even think through my decision, the question I’ve been holding back slips out. “Can a sea mate’s bond be denied by one of the parties?”

Velmira, eyes already fixed on me, smirks slightly. Orion’s own eyes widen so much they might pop from their sockets.

“The choice lies within your hand, child,” she says, her voice steady, “But with so little known, none can tell what may come.”

Velmira rises from the high-backed chair and exits the Archives without so much as another word.

The archives are exceptional in every sense. Each towering shelf stretches to the ceiling, curving to meet its edges as though embracing the room itself. The stone-grey cases are crowned with intricate etchings, their deep carvings framing the massive tomes they guard. Seaweed drifts lazily through the designs, threading between shelves like living vines. Some carvings are simple, curves and flowing lines, while others depict mermaids bearing tridents or crowns nestled inside open shells.

Orion disappears shortly after Velmira exits the archives.

Rising from the chaise, I move slowly from shelf to shelf, studying the placement of each book. The higher I rise, the narrower the shelves become, the books shrinking in size to match. Every section carries its own unique design: an oval-shaped case standing sentinel behind the study desk, a half-moon shelf by the entrance, and another, much larger, curving behind the oval one. On the left side of the room, a second half-moon structure emerges, split by a passageway that disappears into shadow, hinting at hidden depths. But my favorite feature is the one I can see perfectly from the chaise where I usually sit. The shelves there ripple outward in a curtain-like sweep, dipping and folding with such elegance I’ve never seen its equal. Narrow passageways at either end slip away into mystery, promising more secrets yet to be found.

Not many titles catch my attention as I roam, though a few linger in memory—Introduction to Royalty, resting near the desk, or, higher in the back, a slim volume lying flat against the stone: A Kingdom’s Way to Survival.