BLOOD BOUND: MY WITCH MATE

d the musty odour of centuries of accumulated dust. Sera Thorne had long since stopped noticing the

verhead. The main floors above her had been cleared out hours before. Sera had the entire archive to herself at

way she

r that had condemned her people when the novel was written in 1625. The stamped date on the spine, worn smooth by time and inn

ss she had created. She took pictures of documents she wasn't

ution of Morgana Thorne and the

at-great-grandmother. The woman whose alleged crime had sentenc

majority of it was pointless, including trade deals, property transfers, and the rout

r tiny grains of truth since her grandmother's death, when she was le

ed to prove it her entire life. Sera was carrying the torch

ng line: "Council meeting, 1

page. King Aldric had been planning reforms. She'd found oblique references to this before, but never details. What kind of reforms? Why had

was either lost or had never been

, glimpses of something bigger, but never enough to create a whole picture. Because she so much wanted the

in, aren't you?" texted Marco, one of the fe

rstand. He thought she was obsessed with local history as a quirky hobby. He didn't know she

few, like Rowan and his resistance network, still actively fought against vampire rule. And even fewer, like Ser

ony redacted. But sometimes information leaked through in other records-mentions in personal letters, footno

ead tiny handwriting. But since this was all she had, she persisted. When she was eight years old, a v

be invisible, to avoid using magic in publ

s ago. A single, tiny spell to

omeone had reported. T

grandmother dead on the floor, furniture overturned, and their apartment do

on her grandmother's wrists-spelt ch

she has been

ly. Few

sition at the archives, and her personal battle f

lipping between the pages of an ancient le

rtion of one. It appeared as though someone had attempted to destr

ficult to decipher due to its antiquated style. Due to time and fire damage, the majori

. "will look like the witch's doing, and none will question." Sera's hands started to shake. This wa

like a blow. It began with an abrupt tug in her chest, as though something had caught in her

as her magic reacted to it. O

ldn't be what sh

soul resonated with yours. Among witches, it was rare but celebrated. Two witches find each other, their powers complemen

way from the desk, backing up until she hit the bookshelf. This was impossible. Witches didn't bond with

her magic erupted in response. She could see her hands glowing slightly green i

traction was so strong that it overpowered reason. Every cell in her body

tter inside. Using the flashlight on her phone, she staggered in the direction of the

e. There were a few late-night passersby on the street, and most

led hard in the wrong directio

ed to herself. "

ad stopped mov

ely physical. She was experiencing feelings that were not her own, such as restlessness,

. Her mate.

nd the gentle glow of gas lamps, which the vampires favoured over contemporary lighting. She would never go

p a river with her bare hands. Beneath the horror and the rational terror of what she w

without them. "This is insane," she told

s, with stone and wrought iron replacing steel and glass. The lighting becomes more dramatic and dimmer. The

hey appeared to be humans returning to safer neighbourhoods after

sed it as soon as she crossed-a tingle of ancient magic that de

r human law after this point. S

er hood and

ses were illuminated by gaslight, creating swirling shadows. The streets were lined with expensive vehicle

rently than huma

atory economy of motion. They exu

ew who she was, t

e bond, past residential neighbourhoods and t

eing with business here by keeping her head down, but she couldn't

dark wood restaurant that would likely cost more f

ed her direct

a single figure visi

al of vampires. However, she could tell which one he was from the outside, even before she gave

almost too flawless, and even at this distance, she could see his eyes. He had

hose eyes locked with hers

his disbelief, his bewilderment, his hunger-and behind it all, the

ctive in her whi

ft from shock to realization to something more complex.

moment he decided

a r