The afternoon sun filtered weakly through the stained glass windows of the Academy's Forbidden Library, casting fractured rainbows onto the dust-covered tomes. Rose and Belladoma sat at a heavy oak table, surrounded by books thicker than her arm and older than the Academy itself.
"Binding magic," Belladoma whispered, tracing an ancient symbol in the air. "It's how we'll protect ourselves. How we'll protect this." She glanced at Rose, a shadow of something vulnerable in her eyes.
Rose swallowed, heart thudding—not from fear, but something far more complicated.
"Binding magic," Rose repeated, "ties two forces together, doesn't it?"
"Yes. In ways that can be both powerful and perilous." Belladoma's gaze held hers, steady and intense.
Rose nodded. "Then let's make sure we're ready."
Together, they began the incantation, voices low and weaving. The air around them thickened, magic crackling like static between two magnets. A glowing ribbon of light wrapped around their joined hands, warm and pulsing.
Nimbus hovered nearby, humming nervously. "You do realize this means no more sneaking off alone, right?"
Belladoma smiled faintly. "No. It means we face what's coming… together."
As the binding took hold, Rose felt a surge—a tether pulling them closer, a promise and a warning.
The danger outside was closing in, but inside the library's ancient walls, something new was beginning.
A fragile, fiery connection that neither of them could ignore.