Page 67 of Commanding Blood And Bonds

She’d been quiet since training, sheepish after losing her cool. I felt the same anger, the same fear burrowing into my marrow. I get it, I sent down the line.

She nodded, small but sure.

Kingsley sighed. “Step one—you need to learn how to navigate your Soul Bond. My guess is, your gifts are mutating because of how you draw off each other. Rosaleigh and I are happy to share what we’ve learned. But we’re all we’ve got. No other pairs like us that we know of.”

We nodded in thanks. Ally had known he’d help, but it still felt good to hear it out loud.

“And frankly, I’m offended there was ever a question about which side we’d stand on. Whatever’s going on between you and Adrastos, or his keeper—that’s your business. But Terramyst’s neutrality ends where innocent blood spills. Of course we’ll stand between the Horsemen and the mortals.”

He rolled his eyes, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Kingsley squinted at me. His lips almost twitched.

“And what the hell is your Commander doing chasing a mystery book and a crown?”

“He trusts my foresight,” Ally said. “He’s where I need him to be.”

I caught the tiny, nervous hitch in her smile. Reached out, brushed my thumb over her cheek—then over the smooth skin where I’d split her lip earlier.

Mate. Aren had a mate. I couldn’t help wondering if it was her thread that sent him on that mission.

Kingsley continued, unfazed. “Back to the Bond. Until we break whatever’s binding your visions, we work with what we’ve got—which is you. You were channeling power through each other before you even understood what you were doing. That tells me you’ll pick it up fast.”

He jerked his chin at Rosaleigh.

She stood gracefully, backing toward the hallway she’d emerged from. Her sweater sleeves rolled up, gold-stacked earrings catching the light.

“Think of it like catch. But with elements,” she said with a wink. Water spiraled above her hands in shimmering coils.

“Kingsley’s an air elemental. I’m water.” She twisted her hands, steam curling into a glowing sphere. With a toss, it arced toward him.

Kingsley caught it with a burst of wind, his magic shaping the water like thread between his fingers. It climbed up his arms in elegant spirals, never soaking him—just dancing.

I grinned. Our coven played element games too, but this? This was art.

They don’t have all four elements? I asked.

Most can wield earth. Beyond that, or shifting, second affinities are rare.

Do they jump?

Short distances. In battle. But they rely on mortal transport. Now, focus, baby.

Kingsley went on, eyes still on Rosaleigh.

“Magic is alive. It lives in the body, in the blood—as much as it does in the world. Too much, and it drains us like a parasite. Too little, and we’re mortal. Just enough?” He smiled. “And you can do things you’ve never even dreamed of. Your Bond should speak for itself. Magic should listen to you. Between you two? It’ll speak fluently.”

He glanced back at us. “I assume you haven’t been able to keep your hands off each other.”

Rosaleigh laughed and settled herself on his lap, energy between them thick and humming.

I stared. So did Ally.

So that’s what nauseating looks like.

“We’re definitely in the honeymoon stage,” Ally said cheerfully, not the least bit shy.

“If you keep connecting,” Rosaleigh said, trailing her fingers down Kingsley’s neck, “there doesn’t have to be a stage. Mates are a gift—common, yes. But nothing’s more precious. Your intimacy—it’ll build your power faster than anything else.”