Page 15 of Eluvonia (Rift of Ages #1)

I ignore him, pacing into the room like a caged animal. Shadows coil around my feet, slithering up bookshelves and darkening the corners. Declan watches them with a flicker of irritation, then exhales sharply. A soft pulse of light radiates from him, spilling across the floor.

The glow is warm, steady, pushing my shadows back, forcing them to retreat.

I clench my fists, jaw tight. “I can’t be in my room,” I seethe, dragging a hand through my hair.

Declan raises a brow. “And why is that?”

“There’s a fucking Fae in it,” I snap. “Currently bathing.”

Declan blinks. Then—

He bursts into laughter. Loud, full-bodied laughter, like I’ve just told the funniest joke in the world.

“Well,” he wheezes between chuckles, “I’m glad you’re exploring new avenues in your personal life.”

I glare at him, the shadows at my feet twitching with irritation. “You know I would never fuck a Fae,” I growl, voice venomous. “They’re treacherous. Probably bite off my cock the moment I let my guard down.”

Declan only laughs harder, wiping a tear from his eye. “Oh, Kaida,” he says, shaking his head, “your imagination never fails to amuse me.”

I don’t have the patience for this. “My father made her my Líer,” I say flatly.

Declan’s laughter cuts off like a blade. His entire posture stiffens. “What?” His voice loses all trace of humor. “Why?”

I grind my teeth. “Because she can wield earth magic.”

Silence.

Declan stares at me, mouth slightly open.

For once, he looks like he doesn’t know what to say.

Then, slowly, he steps away from the desk, his expression shifting into something unreadable.

“Earth magic?” he echoes, his voice softer, more cautious.

“How? Even when the Fae had access to the ley lines, their magic wasn’t elemental like ours.

It was… an extension of themselves. How is this possible? ”

I exhale sharply. “That’s what my father wants to find out,” I mutter. “Hence why she’s my Líer now. I get to keep an eye on her. For life.”

Declan runs a hand through his hair, letting out a low curse. “Shit.”

I huff out a humorless laugh. “That about sums it up.”

Declan starts pacing, rubbing his chin in that thoughtful way he does when he’s piecing something together. “If she’s tapping into elemental magic, there has to be a source. It could be the ley lines—maybe there’s a fracture somewhere, or…” He trails off, muttering under his breath.

Declan stops abruptly, his expression sharpening as if a thought has just struck him. “Wait. What if a Ymiral blessed her?”

I hesitate for a fraction of a second before exhaling sharply. “We don’t have to guess,” I say, my voice edged with frustration. “We were already joined by the Light Ymiral. And I didn’t see anything in her memories showing she was blessed.”

Declan freezes. His entire body goes rigid, his eyes locked onto mine as if he’s waiting for me to take it back. When I don’t, he mutters a sharp curse under his breath and drags both hands through his hair, clearly trying to process the implications.

“Shit,” he breathes. “Kaida, that means—”Then, very slowly, he closes his eyes and exhales. “You’re joking,” he says, but he already knows I’m not.

I shake my head.

He mutters another curse, running both hands through his hair this time. “That’s… that’s permanent.” His voice is tight.

I let out a bitter laugh. “Trust me, I’m aware.”

Declan rubs his temples. “Okay. Okay. We need a plan.” He starts pacing again, his mind clearly racing through every possible scenario. “You need to find out how she’s able to do this—if we can figure out the source, maybe we can convince your father to—”

“To what?” I snap. “Undo it? That’s not how this works, Declan. The bond is sealed. If one of us dies, the other loses half their soul. We’re stuck like this.”

Declan grimaces. “Well, shit.”

I slump against the nearest wall, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Yeah.”

A long silence stretches between us. Declan is thinking— hard . I can see it in the way his brow furrows, the way his fingers tap against his arm. Then, finally, he speaks.

“Alright. If we can’t break it, we need to work with it.”

I glare at him. “What part of this situation makes you think I want to ‘work with it’?”

He sighs, crossing his arms. “Listen. If she has access to earth magic, she’s either incredibly dangerous or incredibly valuable. If we can figure out how she’s doing it, maybe we can control it. That gives you leverage.”

I narrow my eyes. “Leverage for what?”

“To get your father to loosen his hold on you,” Declan says simply. “If you can prove you’re the one who holds the key to her abilities, then maybe—just maybe—you’ll have the upper hand for once.”

The thought is… intriguing. I hadn’t considered that angle. My father values control above all else—if I become the only one who can truly control her , then I become indispensable.

Declan watches me carefully. “You’re already stuck with her, Kaida. You might as well make it work in your favor.”

I exhale sharply, dragging a hand through my hair again. “I hate how much sense you make sometimes.”

Declan smirks. “I know. It’s a real burden being this intelligent.”

I roll my eyes, but the frustration in my chest lessens—just a little.

“Fine,” I mutter. “We’ll figure it out.”

Declan grins. “That’s the spirit.”

I sigh, pushing off the wall. The weight of my new reality still presses down on me, but at least now, I have a direction.