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“Okay, we need to stand next to our imolán, er, bonded person, or intended bonded,” Lena fumbles, trying to correctly label this group. “Whatever. You know what I mean.”
“We do. Go on.” Archer grabs her flailing hand and tugs her into his side.
“We need to find and mark the cardinal directions.”
Archer has his phone out in his free hand before she even finishes her sentence.
“Is there a stick or something I can use to scrape into this floor?” Archer looks around the chamber and Ezra and Ruby both snort.
“Afraid of breaking a nail?” Ruby snickers and Lena huffs out an annoyed sigh.
Miri whips a pen out from somewhere and hands it over without comment. Archer ruffles Ruby’s hair and then smacks Ezra in the junk before either of them can shift out of his way. Or, actually, I think his shadows do the hitting. He’s getting a whole hell of a lot better at manipulating them. Which is good and also fucking terrifying.
Ezra and Ruby both look like they’re going to pounce on him, but Davis makes a growling sound that puts everyone back in their place. Archer uses the compass app on his phone to note the directions and proceeds to drag the pen through the packed dirt floor, drawing a N, S, E, and W to match what’s on his phone.
“Now we’ll form a circle, with each pair occupying the space that’s associated with their bond. I had to do some cross-referencing, but based on what we know, I was able to associate our powers to one of the Four Courts of Fairy. Each season has a direction that is historically linked to it. So, for instance, north represents winter, or the Winter Court, which in this case is Davis and Miri based on their magical affinities.” They take their place near Archer’s scratched out N without comment.
“West symbolizes spring, so that’s me and Archer.” Lena leaves her book and joins Archer on the W.
“Summer is south.” Lena points to me and Zara and we take up our spot, her fingers tangling with mine as we stand shoulder to shoulder.
“Why are we last?” Ruby huffs and Lena sighs loudly.
“Because I’m going in order of the seasons, grumpy. Get on the E.”
“Oh yeah, East Coast is totally the superior side.”
“West Coast all the way,” Ezra volleys as he moves to Ruby’s side.
“No. Not tonight. We are not going to have an argument about whether Biggie or Tupoc is the superior rapper. Not again.” Lena drags a hand down her face. Archer opens his mouth like he’s about to add fuel to the fire, but she whips her head around to glare at him. He mocks zipping his lip and I swear Lena’s eye twitches a little.
“Who are Biggie and Tupoc?” Zara murmurs next to me.
“Later,” I say, trying not to laugh. We really should be more focused. We’re definitely going to fuck this all up.
Lena’s face gets really tight and her nostrils flare as she inhales and then blows out a noisy breath. “Okay. What we all need to do is hold hands.”
Ezra snickers but lowers his gaze when Lena’s eyes all but snap fire at him.
“Miri made a potion which is supposed to make us more receptive to opening our magical sides. It will only last for a few minutes, so once she uncorks it, no more jacking around.”
When everyone nods, the perfect pictures of obedience, Lena goes on. “This is the part that’s a bit metaphorical. We’ll need everyone to reach out with their magic. Let’s focus on Miri and Davis first, since they’re the original bonded pair in the group. What we are trying to do is feel out the bonds that tie them. We want to focus in on Anthony’s bond, to see if we can identify it. I’m hoping that because of my magic, I’ll be able to sense it and light it up somehow. Or even be able to describe it. Once we get hold of his magic, we’ll try to sever the link.”
There’s a whole lot of “hopes” and “somehows” in Lena’s directions, and not a lot of concrete information for us. I’m keeping my mouth shut, though.
Miri untangles her hands from Davis and Ezra and uncorks a small glass bottle with a green liquid inside. It looks a little like a smoothie, although I doubt it tastes like one. She sets it in the middle of the circle and stands back up, reclaiming Davis and Ezra’s hands.
“Everyone focus on Miri and Davis. Try to use your magic to find their bond.” Lena, Ruby, and Ezra close their eyes. The rest of us must be suspicious bastards because we keep our eyes open. I do my best to focus on a spot on the far wall, blocking out anything that might distract me.
I’m getting better at my magic every day, but I’m by no means an expert. Still, I know what my own magic feels like now, that warm ball deep in my gut that grows when I call on it. I do that now, feeling the answering swell of power zip through my body. My fingers spark where I’m holding Zara’s hand, and surprisingly, a little with Ruby as well, but not nearly to the same extent.
That’s a discussion for later. I focus on Miri and Davis, thinking about the bond between them. The magic that exists between them, how it ties them together and makes them so much more than two parts of a whole. I nearly grunt in surprise when I find it. Their bond. I can’t see it, but it’s almost as if I can. It’s a sense that they’re connected, an invisible string linking them, but it’s so much more powerful than a bit of twine.
Fuck. Is that what will happen if Zara and I bond? I’ve never wanted to be part of the Axis. Six months ago, I would have said I was crazy if the thought of bonding my life, my magic, with someone was tempting, but fuck, I want that with her. So damn bad.
I focus on the thread of magic I find woven through their connection. It’s like blood vessels that don’t belong on an organ, feeding off it and digging roots into their bond. Fuck. The thought of Anthony’s magic working its way into the link that Zara and I might share someday, like an insidious disease, makes me sick.
How are we supposed to go about removing it? Lena didn’t actually say. Is everyone else trying to detach his magic from their bond except me? I don’t want to speak and break anyone’s concentration, so I zero in on my magic on doing what I want. Which, in this case, is to get rid of Anthony’s magic.
