The Bound (Ascension #2)(108)

“Ideally,” Vera said, “all of your magic should be able to flow seamlessly, individually and together, so that when you’re linked, using your powers in tandem will be like breathing. I want you to each grasp your powers and then reach out for the other. Since one of you is Leif and the other is Doma, the magic will feel a little different, but that is perfectly normal. When you touch, you should actually be able to see what the other person is doing. Give it a try.”

Cyrene took a breath and pulled her magic to herself. It came to her so easily this time. She and Avoca reached for each other at the same time. It felt comforting like touching her hand.

She prodded Avoca’s magic, as if it were a separate entity from herself, but then, with a sigh, it seemed to wrap around her. They had done this before in their Bound ceremony, but Cyrene hadn’t known what it was at the time. And it felt amazing. So much more strength and power, and from Avoca’s end…control. Years of practiced control. It gave Cyrene a sense of calm and understanding. They were better as a team than she could ever be alone.

“I didn’t know this was possible,” Avoca breathed in surprise.

“Good,” Vera said. “Now, begin.”

With Avoca’s guidance, they moved on from droplets to moving buckets of water to feeling the wave of the ocean on the beach. It was so much easier with her, but when they weren’t linked, Cyrene still had trouble with the control. She knew that she shouldn’t use Avoca’s control as a crutch, but it was undeniably easier with her assistance.

Matilde stood up and paced at the tenth time when Cyrene couldn’t move water from one bucket to the next without being linked to Avoca. “There’s something else!” she cried.

“Kathrine, sit,” Vera said.

“Something is wrong. You can feel it, too. I know you can.”

“I’m doing the best I can,” Cyrene said.

“But something is holding you back. I can’t place my finger on it.”

Vera sighed. “Cyrene, when you were Bound to Avoca, how was the ceremony performed?”

Cyrene explained what had happened with everything, except the specifics between their visions.

“And Shira used powers to bind you at the end?” Vera confirmed.

“Yes,” Avoca and Cyrene said in unison.

“This might seem strange, but…you haven’t been Bound to anyone before this, have you?”

Cyrene opened her mouth to immediately contradict that statement, but then images of her Rose Garden test back in Byern came to her mind. “I…I’m not sure.”

Matilde’s head snapped to her. “What do you mean?”

She chewed on her lip and looked away. She knew it was ridiculous to hide Byern secrets from them, but the thought of telling them about what had occurred was horrifying. It made her stomach knot up and her body tense. She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about this. She had given the Byern royalty her word that she would never speak about this.

“Are you all right?” Vera asked.

Avoca reached out and touched her head. “You’re all clammy.”

Cyrene took a deep breath and then forced the words out, “When you become an Affiliate, you go through a loyalty ceremony called the Rose Garden ceremony. It is similar to what happened with Avoca, but magic couldn’t have happened in Byern. It doesn’t exist in Byern.”

Matilde and Vera looked at each other in horror. There was a moment of stunned silence before everyone began speaking at once.

“How could you never mention this?” Avoca asked.

“What happened in the ceremony?” Vera asked.

“Those Dremylons! I can’t believe they would do this,” Matilde spat.

“Slow down!” Cyrene cried. “I didn’t realize how important this was. I had to declare my loyalty to Byern by drinking out of a vial. I had…visions, and at the end, they told me not to speak of it to anyone.”

“At the end, was any kind of magic used? Did you feel anything out of the ordinary? Anything at all?” Matilde pressed.

Cyrene thought back and realized it with a shock. “A jolt. I felt this electric pulse go through me. I didn’t know what it was at the time—”

“Gods,” Matilde murmured.

“What does that mean?” Avoca asked shakily.

“It means,” Vera said, “that Byern has been binding people to them…to the country and the land and the entire Dremylon line.”

“I thought only people with magic could be Bound,” Avoca said quickly.

“So did I,” Matilde said. “But it explains so much. These are just done to Affiliates and High Order?”

“Yes,” Cyrene confirmed.

“Somehow, the Dremylons have figured out how to get around the laws of magical nature, and in binding people to the country and the line, they are forcing these people to work in Byern’s interests. It starts with the conditioning and is solidified with the Bound ceremony.”

Cyrene swallowed. “No. That can’t be it. I’m here. I went against the wishes of the Dremylons and Byern. I used my powers and escaped. I’m here!” She didn’t want to believe that to be the truth. It would mean so much more of her life was a lie.

“Have you felt drawn to go back home? A need to return? An unnatural need for either of the Dremylon boys?” Vera asked clinically.