Page 44 of Eternal Light (Fated in the Stars #5)

His bonds ebb and flow, their beautiful colors brighter than ever.

Right now, Jamie and Finn are satisfied, the tang of sweet pleasure swirling reddish-blue.

Gideon, Leo, and Luca are farther away, and slightly…

sad. Rowan and Grayson are the brightest, as they’re here with him, but they are curious, too.

“If you’d rather not say, that’s alright,” Vaayu says. “We have no right to your truth.”

The other magic users nod in agreement.

It makes Nix doubly sure they have good intentions.

“Thank you, it’s just that it’s sort of personal? Weird, maybe? Do you know much about Weres?”

The irony that he is explaining Were physiology to others when, less than six months ago, he’d been on the receiving end of his own instruction, is not lost on him.

“As part of the magical community and our affinity for the Moon, we bridge that space between Were and Human. It’s part of our magical training. So the answer would be…some?”

Ignatius’s gaze is kind, content to let Nix say whatever he wants, in his own time.

“Good. Well, we are bonded to our mates, and usually, those bonds are invisible to the eye,” Grayson says, squeezing Nix’s hand. “Rowan and I don’t see our bonds with Nix, we can only feel them.”

“Right. But I see mine.” Nix shrugs. “They’re every color of the rainbow except yellow, which is weird. I have since the beginning. So when you described Chandrakant’s painting, it made me curious. Gray’s flow, and then those tendrils you described. Maybe he was magic and Were.”

Maybe he was omega too, Nix wonders, but he keeps that bit to himself.

The room is quiet, except for the occasional snore from Aldis high in the rafters.

How does a bird even snore , Nix thinks to himself when the lack of reaction starts to get to him.

Emre finally breaks the silence. “That is something to think about. I have to ask, when Grayson is using magic, how do you feel? Are your bonds stronger, or unaffected?”

“They’re really good now. I hadn’t realized how much his using The Plain affected them.”

It’s true; Nix’s bonds were strong, and it made sense that even though Grayson was the other half of his soul, his bonds as an omega were also soul-deep.

“But I’m not a magic user, right?”

Emre smiles and shakes his head. “I suspect not on your own. May I see if they’re visible to me?” He gestures to Nix’s chest, implying he’d like to see Nix’s bonds or if there’s some reservoir of The Plain there.

Rowan-wolf jumps to the floor, wedging himself between the table and Emre, growling and baring his teeth.

“Rowan! You aren’t the boss of me. Sit back down. Emre is only looking.” Nix grabs him by his furry head so he can look him in the eyes. “I’m alright.”

Rowan shakes him off and then takes his hand between his teeth, just holding it. He doesn’t move away, and then he huffs as if to say get on with it, I’m not moving an inch.

“Okay, point taken, Rowan. I’ll be gentle,” Emre says as his eyes go hazy again.

He sucks in his breath and, after a few moments, speaks reverently.

“They’re beautiful. Magical in their own way.

The only residual magic from The Plain is from your shared soul, though.

But your bonds are made of magic, too, just different.

” The instructor sighs before he blinks.

“Thank you for letting me see them. I don’t think I’ll forget them anytime soon. ”

“You’re very welcome.”

So Nix wasn’t magic in the same way Grayson was. He’s not disappointed, not even a little, only relieved.

Withers’s theories had made Nix think there was something to his certainty that Nix must be magic every time they’d had the misfortune of interacting. “So Withers was tracking Grayson’s residual magic, not my own?”

Vaayu nods. “Yes, that is most likely. His Biometric Compass Affinity is attuned to The Plain, not to the specifics of the user themselves. Well, I think Emre learned something about his own Affinity today.” They nod at the still-thinking instructor; it startles his companion out of his reverie.

“I’ve been seeing The Plain since I was ten.

Auras, my grandfather called them. Of course, we later knew it was my Affinity.

I’ve seen magic users accessing The Plain in many incarnations, from the smallest trickle to a larger flow, like Selinde and Ignatius, who, by magical standards, can draw more than most. But today, I have seen a legendary Chandrakant- worthy flow and a completely new manifestation of magic.

” He shakes his head and then grins. “It’s exciting to learn the world is not as you always imagined. Thank you.”

“What about Rowan?” Grayson asks, as Rowan bumps their legs in passing, bored again now that the danger is over and the compliments are flowing.

It makes him stop and turn for the answer, whatever had caught his eye forgotten in curiosity.

“If I concentrate, I can see that he’s made of magic in this form, too. ”

Emre raises his eyebrow. “Really? Are you taking notes, Ignatius? Fascinating. Let me see. Do you mind, Rowan?”

Rowan remains still and nods his agreement. “Thank you.”

Nix wishes he could see what puts that look of surprise on Emre’s face for the third time today.

“Magical for sure, and a magic user of sorts. No access to The Plain in the same way we do, but more that you are made of magic. Curious.” Emre comes back to them, his eyes clearing but a thoughtful frown creasing his brow.

“Made of magic?” Nix looks at his mate, who rolls his eyes and heads toward the ladder that leads to the upper level of Ignatius’ library. “How is it different from you, or Grayson, or even me?”

“Good question. A kaleidoscope of rainbow light just manifested in different ways. Rowan is magic, you are connected to your mates by tethers of magic, and Grayson can manipulate magic. It’s still the same force.”

Vaayu rubs their goatee again, setting their cup back on the table.

“Magic has long been thought to be a gift from the Moon Goddess. Their gift to the world, both Human and Were alike, although long lost to Weres before now, for whatever evolutionary reason. It makes strange sense to me that it might manifest anew in a multitude of ways.”

“I see what you are saying.” Selinde nods. “If magic is changing in one way, why not others? Access, bonds, transformation. Maybe these are the ways Weres have always felt the Moon Goddess’s gifts. They are her beloved children, after all.”

“Yes! Exactly. Makes me wonder how the world is changing in ways we haven’t seen yet. We are living history. So exciting.”

Ignatius happy-claps.

“We live in unprecedented times,” Emre adds sagely.

Unprecedented times.

Nix thinks of all the ways his life has changed since last fall. Especially his omega “superpowers,” as Finn calls them. They’re not something Nix wants to talk about with Grayson’s tutors, but this is a conversation Finn will have been sorry to have missed.

The thought of his mate’s future exaggerated hang-dog expression makes Nix chuckle.

“Nix?” Grayson asks, squeezing the hand he hasn’t let go of since he took it shortly after they’d arrived.

“Just thinking about how Finn is going to be so annoyed he missed this conversation.”

“Oof. No kidding. But I’m sure I’ll be back before we leave. I’ve got a lot to learn.”

“Dr. Merritt is, of course, welcome anytime. But speaking of things to learn, perhaps we could move to the practice gym and see if we can teach you some practical skills before Rowan figures out there are stairs to Aldis’s perch behind that door.”

As one, the rest of the room looks to where Rowan-wolf is standing on his hind legs with his front paws resting on a ladder underneath the sleeping phoenix far above, his nose in the air.

Nix can only agree with Ignatius; maybe it would be wise to reconvene in the gym before Rowan-wolf shifts back to his human form to use the ladder…bare-naked.