Fragmented bond

The sorceress’ house was deep in the jungles of the northernmost part of the Magic user’s lands. Thick trees towered over me, filled with large oval yellow leaves. Lush yellow grass tickled my bare feet and was a few shades darker than the leaves. I wasn’t always barefoot, but when going into unknown situations like this, I liked to make sure I could be undressed within seconds. As beneficial as shoes were in protecting my feet, they were a pain in the ass to remove in a timely manner.

While it was morning back home, it was the middle of the night here and I was relieved to be away from the miserable suns. From what I heard, the jungles could get quite humid during the heatwave, which was something I never wanted to experience for myself. From my vantage, I could only see one of the five moons, and it was the silver one.

I didn’t know too much about this sorceress; I’d only learned about her a few days ago from the blood mage I visited. From what I learned in researching her these past couple of days, her name was Iris, and she was skilled at seeing things others couldn’t.

When I came across her house—and I was being generous calling it that—I halted, doubt and indecision rising within me. The house was small and rundown. The warm brown wood appeared fragile and ready to snap at the first sign of wind. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this. What kind of powerful sorceress would live in such a rundown and ugly place?

There was always the possibility this was an illusion—I didn’t sense any magic, but summoners weren’t as sensitive as the four other races. It seemed overkill when she was out in the middle of nowhere, but maybe she loved her privacy.

My theory both reassured me and made me even more wary. If she had gone through all the effort to create this illusion to keep others away, I doubted she’d appreciate me dropping by unannounced.

I had taken multiple steps back when my dragon reared up her head, all but calling me out for being afraid. Her determination seeped into my body, filling me with the drive to see this through. With my newfound courage, which hopefully wouldn’t get me tortured or killed, I approached the house and slowly reached for the door.

Rather than meeting wood, my hand went through it as bright golden light flared up where my hand made contact.

I was right, it was an illusion.

A nagging part of me wanted to turn around and leave, having a sneaking suspicion that something horrible was about to happen. I couldn’t describe it, but I hadn’t been able to shake this feeling all morning. Despite this heavy and unsettling feeling, I would still go through with this; I came all this way for answers and I wasn’t leaving without them.

This horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach was just my imagination; a nervous response at the possibility of receiving the same answer again. I didn’t have the powers of divination or any type of sorceress powers, so I shouldn’t put any stock into these unfounded feelings.

Pressing forward, I stepped through the rippling barrier, feeling energy brushing over my skin, testing my energy. When the magic subsided, I found myself in a spacious atrium with dark wooden floors and walls. There was an opulence to the strangely inviting space that I hadn’t been expecting.

A statuesque woman stood in the middle of the room, drawing my attention from my perusal of the room. She was wearing muted-colored clothing geared toward comfort rather than style. As a summoner, I completely understood. Thankfully, she didn’t appear enraged or put off at having a stranger in her home. She seemed a bit impatient.

“It took you long enough.” That was all she said before turning on her heel and ascending the grand staircase.

She paused at the top of the stairs, glancing back at me. “Are you waiting for an invitation, Thea?”

My body locked up at her use of my name. She chuckled at my baffled expression and continued up the stairs. It took me a few more moments before my shock finally wore off, and I rushed up the stairs after her. If she knew I was coming based on her divination skills, it gave me hope she could help me. Today was the day I’d finally get a different result. There was no other option.

I couldn’t keep doing this anymore without losing my sanity.

She led the way down a long hallway that was full of artwork I didn’t have time to observe. Right before we came to the end of the hall, she opened a nondescript door to the left and gestured for me to enter first.

It was a cozy, small room full of cushioned chairs surrounding a small circular table, and a small bed resting in the corner. The rich burgundy rug was soft under my feet, a contrast to the dark gray walls. It wasn’t too well-lit, the only lighting was a chandelier of dimly glowing crystals.

Iris shut the door behind her and took a seat in the chair furthest from the door. With a flourish of her hand, the seat next to her slid back from the table. Taking her not-so-subtle hint, I followed her wordless instructions and looked at her expectantly, meeting her probing stare. The light blue of her glowing eyes was so light, it was only a few shades removed from white. The tattoos of the same color on her left leg stood out in sharp contrast to her deep brown skin.

All of our tattoos symbolized our powers and rank in our realm—they were painful to receive, and I nearly passed out the last time I added to it—and they were always the same color as our eyes. Mine were gold and had I been tan, they probably would’ve blended in.

“So, you’ve been having a problem with an incomplete bond,” she surmised, jumping right into it and skipping the pleasantries, which I honestly preferred. “And you’ve noticed it has been deteriorating as of late.”

I nodded eagerly, feeling hope blossom. “Yes, all of this has been causing a strain on our relationship and my emotional well-being. It’s been months and no one I’ve talked to has been able to help.”

“May I?” She held out a hand toward me and when I nodded, she held her glowing blue hand over my chest. Her eyes drifted shut as she scanned my energy, prodding the fragile bond with her magic.

I patiently waited—well as much as I could since my patience on this matter had been slowly unraveling—until her eyes finally fluttered open. They were unfocused for a few moments as they stared at me unseeing.

When the glow in her eyes and hand died down, she finally focused on me. Her expression remained the same, and I had no idea if she discovered anything. “I’ve found something, one is bad news, and the other is possibly good news depending on your outlook.”

She continued holding my stare and it was like she was trying to see into my soul. It was unnerving and would’ve had me looking away if it weren’t for my dragon’s stubbornness in not appearing weak.

“I guess I’ll take the good news first,” I said hesitantly, not liking her response and dreading the bad news.

“I know why you’ve been overly emotional lately, and it’s not because of the Great Heat or the strain from the bond.” I sat forward, eager to discover this even though I hadn’t come here to find this out. “You’re pregnant.”

That was one of the last things I expected her to say and my sharp inhale showcased it. I didn’t bother denying it or accusing her of being wrong. It made sense. I was only seven when my mother was pregnant with Liana, but I remembered how intense her emotions were. She would cry when she normally had better emotional control.

Not only that, but I recently had my fertility period. Pregnancy hadn’t even occurred to me since I thought I’d been careful with taking my potions twice a day. All of my thoughts lately had been on Lukas and our bond.

Once a year for nearly two months—two months of Summoner land time, since the day lengths varied between lands—women of all five races could get pregnant. Our fertility periods thankfully weren’t all synchronized, otherwise, that would be an absolute nightmare. If someone wanted to have sex during this time, they’d need to take a potion made by either a magic user or an elemental. When we took these potions, we had to be aware of how long it had been, especially if jumping between the lands and their different time zones like I had been. Accidental pregnancies were known to happen this way.

I knew for certain I wasn’t too far along, otherwise everyone else would’ve been able to smell the change in my scent, which usually happened around the one-month mark. Liana would’ve said something if she’d scented my pregnancy.

Would this accidental pregnancy be just what we needed to bridge the gap between us? Maybe this was a blessing in disguise and was exactly what we needed to put everything into motion. I already knew my parents would be overjoyed at me starting a family and continuing on our family line. My mother was eager to have grandchildren she could spoil. But what would Lukas think?

Before I lost myself to those types of questions, I remembered Iris had bad news for me. What could she have discovered that was bad news? After discovering the miracle of pregnancy, I didn’t think anything could bring me down.

I was so fucking wrong.

She’d been carefully watching my reaction, her lips pressed into a thin line, and I could feel her hesitancy. “What’s the bad?” I finally asked, knowing I couldn’t and shouldn’t put this off, I needed to know everything she found even if I probably wouldn’t like it.

“You’ve been to see other magic users for guidance?” She asked instead of answering.

She was stalling and that made me even more nervous as I gave a shallow nod.

“I can’t speak about their skills or the state of your bond when you saw them, but if it was anything like it is now, they are either incompetent or they lied to you.” My stomach pitched at her words, and I had the same sinking feeling that I’d been having all morning. I knew if I let her finish, my life would never be the same.

“There is only one way for a bond to be as underdeveloped and withered as yours, and I think you know what it is even if you don’t want to admit it. You know the reason why there is a crack in the cord.”

I firmly shook my head before she finished speaking. There was no way this was happening to me. She was wrong. “No. That’s not possible. He wouldn’t cheat on me. He’d never hurt me like that. I don’t even know why you’re suggesting this, even if he wanted to, he can’t. Fated mates can’t—”

“Touch another in a romantic way without angering the cord of the fates, yes I know. But that only occurs when they are committed to their mate. Anyone who harbors doubt about the bond or isn’t fully committed can easily cheat and have no adverse effects. I’ve seen this many times. A bond forms and one of them isn’t ready to be mated and sleeps around. As a result, the bond suffers and begins withering away until there is nothing left.”

Her eyes were kind and filled with sympathy swirling in their depths as they held mine. I’d been grabbing the table in a death grip, trying to even out my panicked breathing and stop the tears building at the back of my eyes. Stupid pregnancy hormones.

“You know I’m speaking the truth; maybe even at the back of your mind you've suspected it but shoved it aside. You’ve noticed the distance lately. How he barely touches or even looks at you lately,” she whispered, her tone low and soothing.

I wasn’t upset that she most likely read my mind, either now or earlier when she was scanning my energy. Normally I would be, but I came to her asking for help, and reading my mind was a part of the process I guess. My dragon protected the more important details I knew, and I hadn’t sensed her trying to pry out that information.

“What am I supposed to do now?” I asked in a broken whisper, just barely holding back a sob as a fissure felt like it opened up in my chest. She’d been right, I had suspected it for a moment the other day, but I’d immediately discarded it because I assumed he couldn’t. I assumed he was as committed as I was. Maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see all along.

“That is not for me to decide. This is your decision, but I can tell you what I would do.” She paused, waiting for me to confirm I wanted to hear what she had to say. “First, I’d get confirmation before doing anything else. I’d want to hear from him why he would betray me like this, why he let me go through all the pain and agony. And if it turned out to be true, well…”

The dark smile on her face as she trailed off said more than words could ever say. But I couldn’t do that; the thought of hurting Lukas made my stomach and chest clench, adding to the pain I was already experiencing. Even though he hurt me, I couldn’t inflict any pain on him.

“Why would the fates give me a mate that doesn’t care about me and would betray me like this?” I asked in a low whisper as a tear slipped free. I hastily brushed it away, only for another to roll down my cheek.

Iris held out a handkerchief and I thanked her as I wiped away the still-falling tears. Fucking hormones.

“Fated mates are a tricky deal. Some of them are chosen because their souls match and they complete each other, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes they are chosen because of the heirs they could produce.”

I knew about the latter, but I never thought it would happen to me. I guess I made the naive assumption that if I ever found my fated mate, they would be my other half. Like I said, it was naive and now looking back, I felt like an idiot.

Iris let out a low sigh as her intense eyes held mine. “Other times the pairing is chosen, not because they are meant to be together, but because their meeting will set forth a series of events that need to happen. At the time, it’s hard to know which one is which, but in hindsight, it’s clear as day.”