The black envelope stayed on her desk all night, untouched — yet pulsing with magic she couldn't ignore.
By morning, Elara hadn't slept. She'd read every spellbook she owned, checked every binding sigil, and re-drawn her ward circles twice. None of it made sense.
A bond couldn't form unless it was fated. Magical. Divine. It wasn't something that just happened. Not to her.
And certainly not with someone like Orion.
She'd heard of hunters before. Most witches had. They were descendants of ancient bloodlines — part soldier, part spell-breaker, part executioner. They were taught to see magic as a disease, and witches as its carriers.
But Orion didn't kill her when their bond triggered. He didn't even threaten her.
He just looked… shocked. Like he was feeling something he didn't understand. Something forbidden.
Elara stared at the broken spell circle in her journal.
You were never cursed… you were bound.
Bound. Like… sealed. Hidden. Buried under layers of false protection.
If that was true — someone had lied to her. Her whole life.
At exactly noon, the shop bell rang again.
This time, he didn't look like a stranger. He looked like a warning.
Orion stepped inside, hands empty. His jacket was unzipped, revealing a black T-shirt and a faint scar near his collarbone. His hair was damp from rain. His expression? Guarded.
"You got my message," Elara said, pretending calm.
He raised an eyebrow. "You think I sent that envelope?"
"You didn't?"
"I thought you did."
Her blood went cold.
That meant a third party knew about the bond. The Circle. And they were watching.
"Look," he said, voice low, "I don't know what you are. But yesterday wasn't normal. That—" he gestured vaguely between them "—shouldn't happen. Not with me."
Elara crossed her arms. "Because you're a hunter?"
His face twitched. "I never said I was."
"You didn't have to. You smell like iron and ash, and you asked for nightroot."
Orion looked away. "I haven't… hunted in years. Not since I left the Order."
That caught her off guard.
"You left?"
"Doesn't matter. I shouldn't be here. But I can't stay away either. Not since—"
"The bond," she finished.
He nodded once.
They stood in silence, the tension between them as thick as storm air. Elara could feel the bond pulsing — not painful, but present. Like a wire connecting two magnets, always pulling.
"Did you ever wonder why you didn't have one?" Orion asked suddenly.
"A bond?" she said. "I was cursed."
He shook his head. "No, you weren't."
"How do you know?"
"Because hunters are trained to sense truth. And right now, you're glowing with something ancient. Powerful. Hidden. That's not a curse. That's a cage."
Elara swallowed hard. Her hands began to tremble.
"If that's true… then who caged me?"
Orion looked at her like he already knew. But he didn't say it.
He didn't have to.
Before either of them could speak again, the window behind them shattered.
A silver blade spun through the air and buried itself in the back wall. Smoke exploded where it hit, filling the room with burning incense.
Elara dropped instantly, drawing a sigil in the air that deflected the next projectile — a throwing knife tipped with salt.
"Someone followed you!" she shouted.
Orion pulled her behind the counter, his movements sharp and practiced. "Not me. You."
From the smoke stepped a figure in a dark hood, runes glowing faintly on their gloves.
A hunter.
No — a Seeker. Trained to locate soul bonds… and sever them.
"You've violated the Pact," the Seeker said coldly. "Your bond must be purged."
They raised a glowing blade.
Elara's heart pounded. Not just from fear — but because she could feel it now, fully awakened:
The bond between her and Orion wasn't just fate.
It was dangerous.
And someone wanted it destroyed.