Page 64 of Apple Boy

“What do you mean when you call Adam a tether?” I asked again.

The mage’s eyes darted to Adam, who stood tall, his shoulder’s bullish and determined.

“I was beginning to believe the existence of tethered mages was but a myth.” He admitted in a softer tone than before.

“A tethered mage absorbs magic from the world around them. They can store it and become wildly powerful, but they cannot use the magic without the help of a blood mage. You, Winter Aeling, are a blood mage, meaning that you inherited the gift. However, you are not yet bloomed so, for the moment your talent is weak. But, you also possess your family’s Star-fall, so already know that with the addition of a Star-fall, when you touch your tether the power increases, and—”

“Adam, my friend’s name is Adam.” I spat, frustrated at how this man spoke of my lover as if he were a workhorse or some such utilitarian beast.

“Indeed. Adam.” The mage said in a regretful tone, bowing a little to my partner.

“The relationship is symbiotic. A blood mage and a tether mage assist one another in the practice of magic. It is the most longed for partnership in the arcane world. Akin to true love, all mages want to find their tether, but, to my knowledge, you are the only one who has done so in my lifetime.”

I was stunned by the enormity of this information. I turned to Adam. His dark curls were wild from our escape, and his cheeks flushed crimson. Adam’s emerald eyes met mine and immediately softened with affection. I adored this man to my very bones and could feel Adam’s agreement that what the mage told us made sense. His anxiety eased, and his mouth twitched into a wry grin. We would need to have a long private conversation later.

The mage coughed to recapture our attention and continued with his explanation. “The seven mages who created our great city each had a tether to give them the power to work relentlessly on building the wonders you see around you.” He said, gesturing to the city at large.

“But power corrupts, and there are many accounts that tell of the misuse of tethered companions. They were not used only for creating good magic, and they were not always touched with consent.”

I could imagine all too clearly that a power-hungry mage could abuse a gifted person like Adam and leech their magic without consent. The thought of such violation chilled me.

“You and Adam need not worry. The only way to ensure that a tether is not abused by another mage is to bond through a consensual sexual union. You are already life-bonded.”

“Errr… excuse me?” Adam spluttered.

“T’is true. I can tell because I felt not a spark of power when I touched you, Adam.”

Life-bonded? What! Our lovemaking, while holding the Star-fall had been the most extraordinary experience, and in hindsight, there was something ritualistic about our joining. But I’d had no idea that it would mean we were bonded for life. I turned to Adam and saw in his stunned expression that he looked as perplexed as I felt.

“The only way to break a bond with a tethered mage is death. So—“ The mage laid a paternal hand upon first my shoulder and then Adam’s.

“May I be the first to congratulate you both on your union!” He said brightly giving us a blinding toothy smile..

Adam and I shared a sheepish look.

The mage was indeed correct, we had been so ignorant. I was truly smitten with Adam Sewell and hoped he felt the same about me, but I also felt guilty that he had entered into our coupling knowing less than I did about the true enormity of what we were doing. I was his first lover, and now, by the sounds of it, I was to be his only lover until death parted us. I did not know how Adam felt about that.

I could hear the rioter’s a few streets away and the acrid scent of burning alarmed me. The mage heard it too.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done this night?” He said reproachfully. “War is coming to the Empire, and now the people of Serein are in turmoil with the weight of memories you unleashed!” He berated. His shoulders slumped, and he seemed to lose some of his earlier bravado.

“I tried so hard to make it easier for them, to let their lives play out without the weight of grief, and you pair just wondered into the tower and broke my damn spell!”

“Oh”, Adam and I said in unison, and then shot one another an uncomfortable look. I now understood this mage was indeed far older than either of us, and we had just undone the spell that he set before I was even born!

“No matter. What’s done is done.” He said sharply, and then he pursed his lips, “Listen, young magelings,” He said in a gentler tone as he returned to pacing back and forth in front of us.

“I understand, the first signs of talent would be a surprise, especially if you were not schooled to expect it. Things should have been so different for you—better. Your parents should have warned what was coming when you were children, but all families with a seam of talent now stay quiet to protect their kin from the Kings men. I have done my best in the short time I have spent with my new arcane family, and as neither of you received schooling I will try to do the same for you.” He said cryptically.

Using his long, elegant right index finger, the mage drew a series of sigils that appeared as silver mage-light. I noticed that these sigils were similar to those I’d seen etched around the frames of portraits at Copperdall House. The grate in the cobbles started to glow once more, and then in the blink of an eye, a cloud of red mist from the grate became a young man. He looked rather pleased with himself. He swept back his long inky hair and then stepped aside. Another man apparated. This newcomer had wheat-blond hair, then a third young man, this one, a redhead and finally a dark-skinned woman appeared. The four newcomers were dressed in long black cloaks. The mage turned to them, and they huddled in private conversation.

I gave Adam a wary sidelong glance. If this mage was a liar and really a rogue agent for the Kings, we were now outnumbered, and the only weapons I possessed were my Star-fall and my partner, who I now knew to be quite a rarity in arcane circles. Adam leaned in and whispered to my ear.

“I’ve seen these fellas before, and the girl.”

“You have?”

“Aye, she bumped into me in the market square.” He said of the girl with caramel skin and white blonde hair. “That fella was sellin’ fish, and the redhead; we thought he’d picked my pocket. The one with the long dark hair was near the depository; he gave us directions to the news sheet seller.”