The Divine Gambit Ch. 04

I asked the one question I had from this morning, "Is there any way to undo my connection to Beth?" She tensed up, and I could smell her anxiety. She held her breath while waiting for a response.

He waited a moment, expecting me to say something more. When nothing else was forthcoming, he started laughing.

"Drakeling, did you hear what I said? You have her soul in you, and she has yours. Yes, you can undo it. Kill her."

The beast I shared my body with exploded in fury at the thought of harm to her. I remained in control still, but he was just a hair below the surface, and he was absolutely screaming to be let out and silence this worm that was threatening one of our mates. I shouted him down internally -- the old man was giving us information, not threats. He wasn't actually saying we should harm Beth.

The old elf in question spoke again, "You are just as enraptured with her as she is with you. That is good for her. The whole city probably just shivered when I said that to you, and they'll spend the next week trying to figure out why without a forthcoming answer. That amuses me greatly, but I don't want a headache from Aisling so I will ask that you actually put that ring on.."

"Yeah, the beast was really displeased to hear that. If I can't undo it, not that either of us really wanted that, is there a way to make sure I don't do it again to anyone else?"

For the first time since I had met him, Antonin's demeanor changed. He was no longer a haughty, dauntless, borderline arrogant senior with the answers to everything anyone wanted from him. In that moment, he became a small, frail old man, aware that he was dealing with something much more significant than himself. His now deathly serious voice answered me, "Drakeling, I know not how you could do it in the first place. There are several ways of achieving the familiar bond; All are old fae ceremonies of obligation and servitude, and are singular in direction. It should have required a ritual where the girl agreed to give herself to you. If I couldn't see the two of you here, smell your fingerprints all over her, and only see her reflection in your mana, I would've laughed whoever told me about it out of town. It is unbelievable. I don't know how you did, and I hope against all reason that I never will because that would mean it will have only happened once, and we cannot study it further." Evidently, even the most experienced and observant scholar needed answers to the questions I was desperately asking. What a mess I had found myself entrenched in.

His slow, measured cadence meant that we were standing outside his office when he concluded. His cocksure, certain affectation gradually returned, and he took his things from me and reminded me not to forget the coffee when we came back tomorrow for a properly scheduled lesson.

After depositing the books with Antonin in his office, the three of us left the building and hailed a cab to return home. Evgenia relayed a text message from Cynthia that they were still picking up a few things and that they would be bringing home food. I was paying. That was fine with me -- and anyway, I didn't have the energy to argue.

~

AN: Originally, chapter four included the majority of what is now in chapter five, including another lewd scene, but the resulting megachapter was a bit long for even my tastes at over 18,000 words. I'm going to upload that as soon as this is approved (so you should have it two or three days from reading this note). Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!