Page 26 of Faeheart
Wild shook his head. “My parents want me to take their place in the Seelie Court when the time comes, and that requires magical proof of a strict fae ancestry, which I’ve already passed.” He glanced up at me, his green eyes sparkling with curiosity and no small amount of wonder. “If there’s a secret lovechild between the Thornes and the Briar Halls, it’s not me.”
Chapter 10
Wild
“Ithink this is the first time I’ve been to a class on time,” I grinned as we stepped up to Professor Blackwood’s private study.
Elias rolled his eyes, but I could feel his amusement rippling through our connection. “A historic moment indeed. Should we commemorate it somehow? Perhaps a plaque?”
“Don’t encourage him,” Caden muttered, though his lips twitched with a suppressed smile. “He’s insufferable enough as it is.”
I placed a hand over my heart in mock offense. “Me? Insufferable? I’m a delight.”
The three of us had been nearly inseparable since the attack two weeks ago. Not that we had much choice. Our triune bond had only strengthened after our display of wild magic in the courtyard. The pendants now seemed permanently fused to our skin, visible only to us but constantly humming with shared energy.
Elias reached for the door, his fingers brushing mine as we both moved at the same time. A jolt of electricity passed between us, making us both freeze momentarily. These accidental touches had become both more frequent and more intense, eachone sending a cascade of sensations through our bond that none of us quite knew how to handle.
“Sorry,” he murmured, pulling back to let me open the door instead.
“Don’t be,” I whispered, just low enough for him to hear.
The dynamic between us had shifted dramatically since that night in the infirmary. Elias was still uptight, still frustratingly proper most of the time, but there were moments, fleeting, precious moments, when his carefully constructed walls would slip, and I’d catch glimpses of the person beneath. Someone curious, passionate, and far more complex than the perfect Thorne heir he pretended to be.
It was driving me… well,wild.
Professor Blackwood looked up from her desk as we entered, her silver-streaked hair pulled back in its usual severe bun. “Ah, gentlemen. Right on time. Please, sit.”
We arranged ourselves in the now-familiar triangle of chairs before her desk. I sprawled in mine as always, while Elias sat ramrod straight and Caden settled somewhere in between, his posture relaxed but attentive.
“I’ve found something,” Professor Blackwood announced without preamble, placing an ancient-looking leather-bound book on her desk. “It took some... unorthodox research methods, but I believe this text contains information about your grandmother, Mr. Thorne.”
Elias leaned forward, his excitement pulsing through our bond. “What did you discover?”
“Lydia Thorne wasn’t just acquainted with the Briar Hall family,” she said, opening the book to a marked page. “She was part of a secret magical research group that included members of both the Seelie Court and several prominent witch families. They were studying the very thing that’s happened to you three, triune bonds.”
I watched as Elias reached into his bag, pulling out a small leatherbound journal with yellowed pages. “This is my grandmother’s journal,” he said, holding it out to the professor. “Some of it I can read, but most of the magic in here… is strange to me. I’ve been trying to decipher it since we started all this, but I haven’t gotten anywhere.”
Professor Blackwood’s eyes widened as she took the journal, her fingers tracing the worn leather with reverence. “This is extraordinary. Lydia’s personal grimoire... I never thought I’d see it.”
I leaned forward, my usual sprawl tightening with curiosity. “So, what’s the deal with triune bonds? Are we talking about some ancient threesome magic or what?”
Elias shot me a withering look, but I could feel his own curiosity pulsing through our connection.
“Not exactly, Mr. Briar Hall,” Professor Blackwood said, though her lips twitched slightly. “According to these texts, triune bonds were once considered the highest form of magical collaboration. A perfect balance of energies. Structure, chaos, and growth.”
“That’s us,” Caden said quietly. “Elias is structure, Wild is chaos, and I’m...”
“Growth,” I finished, nudging him with my shoulder. “Plant boy.”
Professor Blackwood nodded, flipping through Lydia’s journal with careful fingers. “Precisely. In ancient times, before the magical realms were fully separated, these bonds were cultivated deliberately to maintain balance between worlds.”
“But why were they hunted down?” Elias asked, his voice tight with tension I could feel rippling through our connection.
Professor Blackwood’s expression darkened. “Power, Mr. Thorne. The combined magic of a triune bond threatens those who wish to maintain strict hierarchies between magicalcommunities.” She tapped a page in Lydia’s journal. “Your grandmother was researching ways to restore these bonds, to heal the rifts between realms.”
“And my father’s group, whatever it was back then, wanted to stop her,” Elias said, his shoulders slumping slightly.
“Not just stop her,” Professor Blackwood said grimly. “According to these records, they tried to eliminate her research entirely. And they nearly succeeded.”
