Page 85 of The Bound Blood
“He protected you with us, after the council tried to bind you,” Raiden says. “You’ll be safe with him.”
My eyebrows shoot up so high they practically hit my hairline as my eyes swing to Raiden in shock. Why did no one mention that to me already? I mean Nolan said he started the movement, but neither of them said anything about him fighting next to my guys.
“He what?”
“It’s true,” Nolan admits quietly as though he feels guilty for not telling me sooner. “He… arrived when I thought we were going to lose. He didn’t let them get near you.”
I stare at them, my pulse thudding in my ears. Auron. The same guy who has gone out of his way to taunt me on multiple occasions. The one who ran during the dance. It feels like my brain is getting mixed signals. He protected me.
“Okay,” I breathe. “That… is not information I expected today.”
Raiden nudges my shoulder gently. “That’s why you can trust him on patrol.”
My brain still feels like it’s lagging three steps behind the conversation, but Nolan clears his throat and nods toward the nearest building.
“We should—um—sit. And read this before patrols start.” He lifts his stack of books a little. “Some of it is… intense.”
Raiden immediately angles his body toward me, as if escorting me anywhere is now a sacred duty. “Dining hall?”
“It’s closest,” Mira says. “And the tables are bigger.” She glances at the top book. “We’ll need space.”
Great. Nothing screamsfun eveninglike ancient ritual homework.
The four of us start walking together, Nolan and Mira discussing page numbers while Raiden stays close enough that his shoulder brushes mine with every few steps. His protective instincts are so strong they probably have their own zip code.
We reach the dining hall and it’s buzzing—students grabbing food, professors whispering at corners of tables, fae nervously fidgeting with jewelry and wards. But there’s an empty spot near the windows, so we claim it.
Mira drops her books onto the table with a thud that echoes the hall.
“Okay,” she says, tying her hair up with a pencil, “let’s break this down.”
Nolan flips open the top book, adjusting his glasses. “The original Solstice Rite wasn’t just a protection ritual. It was used to reinforce the Veil after catastrophic weakening events.”
“Like right now,” Raiden mutters.
I sit across from him, leaning my elbows on the table. “So what do we do during the ritual?”
Mira slides a heavy, rune-covered book toward me. “It’s… complicated. There are four sections, each tied to elemental and Veil-aligned magic. Different groups perform different parts.”
“Students weren’t usually participants,” Nolan adds softly. “It was mostly fae and the oldest magic users.”
“But now we all are,” I say.
Raiden nods grimly. “Seems like it.”
I flip open the book, scanning old sketches of ritual circles, incantation spirals, and diagrams of energy flow.
“This is insane,” I whisper. “Half of this looks like it was written during caveman times.”
“Ancient magic survived because it works,” Mira says, tapping a diagram. “Even if it’s dramatic about it.”
Nolan points at a passage. “‘Participants stand at the cardinal points, channeling resonance into the Veil.’”
“Resonance,” Raiden repeats slowly. “As in… the thing the headmaster says we have with the veil because we’ve touched it?”
Mira grimaces. “Yeah. But it is also what the monsters hunt. That’s why we’re walking in pairs. The faculty pairs are supposed to keep us grounded so the creatures don’t follow a single signature.”
“And Auron is on patrol with me,” I say dryly. “So his dad and the Circle of Blood think I’m safer with him.”
