Page 21 of Spellbound and Gagged

"On three," Thaddeus said, his eyes locked with hers. "One... two... three!"

Their spells merged in a blinding flash of light, enveloping the moonlight orchid. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the plant began to grow at an alarming rate, its petals unfurling and multiplying, its stem stretching towards the ceiling.

"Keep going!" Thaddeus yelled over the creaking of rapidly expanding plant matter. "Don't let up!"

Juno gritted her teeth, pushing more power into her spell. She could feel Thaddeus's magic battling with hers, creating a swell of energy that she hadn't experienced since their student days. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

The moonlight orchid continued to grow, faster and faster, until it filled the entire greenhouse. Its light pulsed erratically, and Juno could sense the strain in its magical core.

"It's working!" she called out to Thaddeus. "Just a little more!"

With a final surge, they pushed their spells to their limits. The moonlight orchid shuddered, its glow intensifying to analmost blinding level. And then, with a sound like a thousand wind chimes shattering, it burst into a shower of shimmering pollen.

The magical backlash knocked Juno and Thaddeus off their feet. They landed in a heap among the now-docile plants, covered in powdery orchid dust.

For a long moment, they just lay there, catching their breath.

"We did it," Juno gasped when she could finally speak. "We actually did it."

"We make a good team," Thaddeus said, propping himself up on one elbow to look at her. His face was streaked with dirt and pollen, his hair a wild mess, but his eyes were bright with exhilaration. "Especially when we're trying to outdo each other."

Juno sat up, suddenly aware of how close they were. "Yeah," she said. "We do."

She examined the glittering pollen that coated every surface of the greenhouse. It sparkled with magical energy, more vibrant than any ordinary orchid pollen she'd ever seen.

"This pollen is extraordinary," she breathed, scooping up a handful. "The explosion must have concentrated the orchid's magical properties. When we pushed it to its limit, all that adaptive energy had to go somewhere."

"And instead of destroying the magic," Thaddeus added, "the plant transformed it, dispersing it into this enhanced pollen."

"But now, you can use all this pollen for your Brewfest project. It's not as concentrated as the nectar..."

"...but there's a lot of it to make up for that," Juno finished, sifting the pollen through her fingers. "The explosion magnified its properties while breaking it down into a more usable form."

She stared at the shimmering dust in amazement. With this much magically enhanced pollen, she could distill it into something just as potent as the nectar—maybe even more so. It put her back on a level playing field with Thaddeus.

And this time, she wouldn't have to turn herself green to compete.

But as she began gathering the pollen, a troubling thought crept into her mind. If she won the department head position, what would happen to this fragile reconnection with Thaddeus? Would he leave again, seeking new adventures elsewhere? And if he won, could she bear to stay and work under his authority, a constant reminder of what they'd lost?

Either outcome threatened the delicate balance they'd found. It was easier to focus on their professional rivalry than to examine these unsettling thoughts.

"Juno," Thaddeus said as she started to gather the pollen. "We need to talk."

If they talked, they would argue. Or worse, they'd end up in each other's arms again, and she wouldn't be able to think clearly about what was best for her career, her heart, her future.

"I can't talk right now. I'm busy." She had just enough time to distill the pollen into a nectar substitute to get her potion ready for Brewfest.

"Even if it's about us?"

She paused, unable to look at him. When he first came back to Grimm Mawr, she would have given up her garden to hear him say those words. But now, a part of her wondered if he was trying to distract her so that he could regain his advantage. Another part—the part that still ached when she remembered how it felt to watch him walk away—feared what truths might emerge if they finally had that conversation.

She'd accepted his help today, worked alongside him as equals, but that didn't mean she was ready to entrust him with her heart again.

"It's waited this long, hasn't it?" The words came out harsher than she intended, laced with years of buried pain.

He sighed. "I suppose it has."

"Let's talk about us after Brewfest. After the department head position has been announced," she said. If they talked now, one of two things would happen. They'd end up in bed again or bitter enemies, and she didn't want either at the moment.

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