Page 50 of At the Mercy of Midnight
Silas swivelled to face Amelia, her brown eyes meeting his.
“Place a hand each upon the table,” Fabian instructed.
Amelia sighed, tugging off her gloves. Following suit, they both laid a hand across the wax-covered wood.
Fabian tutted. “No, you silly pair. Your left hands—yourcuthands.”
Silas glanced at Fabian, stunned that he may change his mind about the authenticity of his magical prowess. Looking back to Amelia, they both placed their injured hands onto the table between them.
“Hands together. Form your bond,” Fabian ordered.
Silas breathed out slowly, meeting Amelia’s eyes. He sought something like approval for the unwanted touch. She reached for him, so he placed his hand over hers, fingers still chilled from the cold.
Fabian remained silent, so Silas looked to him questioningly. Fabian stared, unimpressed, and mildly…judgemental?
“What?”
Fabian eyed Silas’ hand resting lightly on Amelia’s. “I asked you to form yourbond, that is merely a physical touch.”
Silas glared, jaw hardening. To his surprise, Amelia adjusted her hand, turning it to wrap her fingers tightly around his. His head whipped around, eyes falling to the firm grip. Silas swallowed and looked up, Amelia looking pointedly away.
“Better,” Fabian said appreciatively. “A meeting of not only hands, but of the portal where magic meets the mundane. A mingling of spirits…but not enough!” he said, tone rising abruptly. “A mingling is but a breath of wind, what we need is a gale that would knock you over in the street!”
Silas scowled, but Fabian only tutted again, pointing to Amelia. “Look at each other, see not only the exterior, but within, seek the soul andjoin.”
Frustrated, he turned back. She was looking at him, though he sensed her discomfort. Her dark eyes darted between his.
“Focus on one another, on yourself, on both of you as one,” Fabian muttered, waving the smoking scroll in Silas’ periphery.
He wanted to roll his eyes, to murmur how ridiculous this was, but before he could, an odd sensation washed over him. His eyes relaxed, vision fading at the edges as he kept her gaze, sinking into the sight of her before him.
A small sigh escaped his body, like a deep, stark relief had settled over him. A feeling of comfort overtook everything, like all he needed to be happy was to haveher, to be withher.
Amelia’s features relaxed before him, her fingers twitching as they sunk into each other, mesmerised, eyes locked on one another.
Fabian was muttering, but Silas no longer heard the words, so focused was he on the beautiful, captivating woman.
Darkness edged into his vision, and with it came a sense of foreboding, slowly erasing the wondrous comfort.
Within his next breath, he was standing in a shadowy place next to her, their hands still joined. Silas was unable to move, eyes darting around at the writhing shadows before them, his sense of direction eliminated.
Amelia’s hand shook in his tightening grip as two shadowed figures moved towards them. He winced when a resonant voice spoke, so loud it was as though they shouted in his ear.
Alara and Vestia, the first bonded pair, were strangers. Each touching the Monoliths at the same moment even as the vast lands separated them. Without knowing it, they were fated to be bonded, brought together by the power of midnight. They could not right the magic. Fate seized them, and together they became part of the Midnight Realm.
The two shadows evaporated like smoke in a heavy wind with a guttural cry.
Two more shadows disengaged from the thick, black mist coating the air and walked forwards to stand before them.
The voice echoed in his ears again.
The bonded rulers, Helia and Frederick, had researched the legendary pairing, intentionally forging a bond in the hopes of joining the lands of north and south to create a power over the lands of Aethrial. At the forging of the pair bond, all magic unravelled further, and fate seized them for the Midnight Realm, declaring them unworthy of bringing balance.
The shadows vanished with the shriek of a banshee.
More pairs of shadows appeared and vanished in quick succession.
So many followed, none succeeded. All claimed. All consumed.
