BOUND

Branded cursed, Liora is bound to her rival Cassian. As love sparks, she must embrace her true power to free the Mavari from a greedy noble's grip.

~

"Liora Fey," Professor Caelid's voice cracked through the chatter, clipped and irritated. "How gracious of you to join us."

Her smirk came automatically, though it was habit more than humor. "Wouldn't miss it, Professor."

Snickers drifted from the upper balcony. She didn't look up. Let them laugh. One day she'd make them choke on it.

The glow underfoot brightened as she stepped into her place. The glyph at her feet ignited in red - the color of chaos, of exile, of magic without leash or law.

How fitting.

The whispers began immediately, rippling through the hall.

One by one, streams of light began to snake between glyphs, pairing students together. The magic moved like smoke, curling and merging until bonds were formed. Harmless. Symbolic. A formality to let two students' magic hum in tune.

Until hers flared.

The red deepened into a molten blaze, heat radiating off the edges until sparks snapped in the air. The crowd's murmurs sharpened into gasps.

Across the hall, another glyph erupted - a jagged column of blue-white lightning tearing upward with a crack like a split tree.

For a heartbeat, the flames and lightning hung apart, two storms refusing to touch.

Then they collided overhead.

Fire and lightning tangled together, spiraling upward into a raging helix that painted the walls in red and white light. The roar drowned out every voice. The marble floor trembled under her boots.

And then she saw him.

No. Not him.

Cassian Damaris

Golden hair catching the light like some divine hero in a portrait, jaw tight, posture as perfect as his polished boots. Son of the High Chancellor. Star pupil. Arrogant, untouchable, insufferable. Her rival in every exam, every duel, every whispered comparison from professors who thought she couldn't hear.

The one person she refused to lose to.

And now-her binding partner.