Thornhill Academy. Chapter 84

**Cassian**

The silver lights fell from the heavens like shards of divine glass. At first, I’d watched. I was just here as an observer, doing my duty as a member of the teaching staff to help host the event. I hadn't expected anything extraordinary to happen to me. It hadn't before in the other years I had attended. The air crackled with energy, the moon swollen and bright above, the threads of fate weaving through the courtyard in shimmering arcs of silver and blue. And then one of those threads turned toward me. I couldn't believe it. I had been blessed. I felt it before I saw it. There was this ancient pull inside of my soul. My lungs locked, and my body refused to move. The light struck my chest, searing through my rib cage, and I staggered back a step as heat, pure live heat, shot through every vein of my body. It wasn’t pain, not exactly. It was recognition. The bond ignited, and I saw her. Allison Rivers. Of course, it was her. My hand trembled where it pressed against my sternum, right over the glowing sigil that had flared to life beneath my shirt. My eyes locked onto her, and the world fell away. There was no sound, no students, no council expectations or academy politics. Only her.

She was across the room, dark hair catching moonlight, wide blue eyes glowing as the threads of fate poured into her chest. I could feel her soul from here. I could feel it from anywhere now. It wasn't just me bonded to her, though, of course not. The same silver-blue beams of light connected her to four others. Drayke, predictably. Pierce. Cage, of all gods-damned people. And then the final shadow, someone whom I have only ever heard of in stories. A beast of this realm, the monster in people's nightmares. He was here and bonded with her, too. The King of the Demons, Rhaziel Veyne. My stomach twisted.

Five bonds.

Five mates.

Even for a siphon, it was rare. For a professor? Unthinkable. I forced myself to breathe, my mind sharpening around the chaos. The light still pulsed faintly under my skin, an echo of her heartbeat. Professionally, it was an abomination. Morally, it was… impossible. And yet, I knew. The Fates had spoken, and to defy them was to invite ruin. But I could not, would not, let it spiral into a scandal. No, this needs to be done in a controlled manner. From a professional standpoint, this was catastrophic. From a personal one… it was divine. The Fates had given me something I never thought I’d have. Her. And I was not going to let anyone take her from me. Not the Council. Not Scorched. Not even her other mates. I tore my eyes away from the spectacle, away from the way Drayke reached for her hand, the way the demon bowed to her with such submission, and exhaled through my nose, schooling every emotion off my face. My pulse still thundered in my ears, but I pushed through the crowd until I found Headmaster Scorched standing near the dais, his attention locked on the final fading threads of light.

“Scorched,” I said, my voice low but urgent.

He turned, brow furrowing when he saw my expression. “Professor Hill. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Something… significant has occurred,” I replied carefully. I glanced around us, making sure no one was close enough to overhear. “I need to speak with you. Privately. Now.”

Scorched studied me for a long, measuring moment, then gave a curt nod and gestured for me to follow him toward the far corner of the courtyard. Once we were out of earshot, I drew in a slow breath, steadying myself. “A mating bond has been formed tonight between myself and a student under my supervision.”

Scorched’s brow lifted. “You’re referring to Miss Rivers.”

Of course, he already knew. The magic was impossible to hide. He could probably smell her soul tethered to mine. It would be weak, for now, but it is nonetheless there.

“Yes,” I said quietly. "And I intend to honour the bond."

He stared at me, eyes narrowing. “You understand the severity of what you’re saying?”

“I do.” My tone was even, steady. “Which is why I came to you first. The council will need to be informed, but I intend to request a formal exemption. The Fates do not make mistakes, and I will not violate their will. I will not ignore this bond. But it must be sanctioned properly so neither I nor the academy face consequences.”

Scorched exhaled slowly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “You realise the uproar this will cause. A professor fated to a student, one already under scrutiny for her… unusual arrival here?”

"Yes. I understand." I say through gritted teeth.

He sighed heavily again and stared hard at me. "I will put through a request to have a meeting with the council, but until then, you are still bound to the laws of this school. You will not act on this bond until it is put before the council, do you understand?"

My jaw clenched at his words. *You will not act on this bond.*

Every instinct inside me recoiled. The pull toward her was like a living thing. It was tugging on my soul, screaming in my mind. Even now, I could feel the thread humming between us, as if her heartbeat echoed faintly under my own, the bond is whispering silently, *Come to me.*

I forced myself to exhale, to remember who I am. A professor. A soldier once. A man bound by duty.

“Understood,” I said at last, though the word scraped raw against my throat.

Scorched’s gaze softened, just barely. He’d been young once, too, and I knew he understood what it meant to fight a bond that the Fates themselves designed. “Good,” he said. “You’ve always been a man of control, Cassian. Don’t lose that now.”

I gave a short nod, then turned from him before the strain of holding myself together broke through my façade. I didn't look up from my feet the whole way back to my cabin. This is not how I expected finding my mate would go. I had dreamed of this day for years, and now it was finally here, and I...I had to stay away from her.

Pulling open my liquor cabinet, I grabbed the strongest bottle of gin and sat with it at my table, staring out the window to the distance where the festival is.

"Soon, my little siphon. I'll be with you soon."