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Fern was tall, gaunt, and long-limbed—he reminded me of a fawn. He was also bald and wore thick-lensed glasses perched on the bridge of his crooked nose. He pursed his lips at us and nodded his greeting.
Maggie was a short and plump older woman. Her hair was tied into a colorful headwrap, and she wore a loose-fitting dress in the same exact pattern. She also smelled like fresh fruit and something Earthy. Her reaction was to smile at us.
“Have a seat,” Hemlock said, after which dark roots sprouted from the ground and tangled themselves together to form a bench. Sariel and I sat on it obediently. “Fern is our Head Historian. Hopefully, he can find something in the books on fated mates that can help with your task.”
Fern frowned. “How far back should I look? I considered finding the first recorded pair, but I’m not sure how helpful that would be.”
Hemlock nodded. “Find it. Find anything you have on wolves, fallen-blood and blessed-blood each, and angels, fallen and Heaven-appointed each. Anything on soulmates, as well.”
Maggie tilted her head as she turned to us. “Your bond is fragile,” she noted. “I can tell that your other halves want dominance, but you’re very good at keeping them at bay.”
“What do you mean, ‘fragile?’” Sariel asked. “Fragile, how?”
“The bond has not been solidified, so it’s natural that it’s fragile. It’s like a bridge being built between two minds, and right now, you have a superficial structure. There is no foundation, nothing solid. Put too much weight on that bridge, and it will collapse.”
Sariel and I glanced at each other. “And solidifying the bond will fix that?”
“It will be the foundation. Foundations run deep but can still be destroyed if exposed for too long.”
I hated that she was making sense. The uncertainty between Sariel and me and the stress of running for our lives hadn’t given us much of a chance to do anything but try to survive. As for right now, solidifying the bond was impossible because we couldn’t have sex without risking a child being born.
It didn’t matter that I had no idea whether I could even go into heat anymore or if my reproductive system was still functioning properly after consuming wolfsbane for years. It was a chance that Sariel and I could not take, even if it meant we would be stronger.
“Maggie’s been around long enough that she doesn’t need to reference the books anymore. She’s the headmaster of our school, as well as an excellent scholar,” Hemlock explained. “But she’s right; it’s easy to sense the bond if you know what you’re looking for, and yours is weak compared to the ones we’ve sensed before.”
“Is there anything we can do to strengthen it in the meantime?” Sariel asked.
“Not really,” Hemlock answered just as Maggie said, “There is.”
Hemlock glared at Maggie. “It’s not something feasible, so forget it.”
Her eyes narrowed on him. “It’s been done before, which makes it feasible.”
“It’s too dangerous, Maggie,” Hemlock warned.
Maggie sighed. Sariel and I exchanged glances.
“Now, about honing the abilities you’ve already developed,” he continued, “we’ll meet here three times a week for an hour or two. We’ll focus on drawing on the strength of your mate and preparing you for the change you’ll undergo when you solidify the bond.”
“Change?” I asked, just as Fern returned with a stack of books. “What change?”
He paused at the door. “In history, the strongest pairs of mates were able to shift into a form similar to their mates.”
Sariel blanched. “What?”
“Yes,” Maggie agreed, looking at him. “You should be able to shift into a wolf, and she should develop an angel of her own.”
Sariel and I froze at that.
Holy fucking shit, Sariel.
No wonder the Upper Council tried to ban interspecies mates,Sariel thought.This is insane.
“And how many mated pairs have you seen do something like that?” I asked.
Hemlock considered my words. “Five others, perhaps? An angel-fae pair was the last. The angel is still here, but she’s not particularly amicable. She became a bit violent after her mate was killed.
“Their pairing wasn’t quite it, either, because while her mate was able to grow wings, he never developed an angel the way she had, and while she could shift into some animals like him, she couldn’t manage any predators.”
