The word hung in the air like a blade.
Bond.
Sleek's pulse thundered in his ears, but he kept his gaze locked on Elyon. "What do you mean 'choose'? Choose what?"
Elyon stepped into the room, the lamplight catching the silver threads woven into his dark coat. "The Seal has recognized you as her tether. Your mark, her mark — they are now one. If you complete the bond, you'll break the curse. But the price…" He let his eyes drift toward Bixy, his voice dropping lower. "The price will demand more than you realize."
Bibxy's hands trembled. "What price?"
Elyon's gaze softened, almost regretful. "Bloodbound magic is ancient. Once you seal it, your soul will be tied to his for as long as you live. If one of you dies… so will the other."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Josh moved forward, his jaw tight. "Then we find another way. She doesn't need him—"
"She does," Elyon interrupted sharply. "The bond is already forming. If it's not completed, the Seal will devour her completely within three days."
Bibxy's knees went weak, and Sleek instinctively reached for her. For a moment, her weight settled into his chest, and it felt… right. Dangerous, but right.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Three days?"
Elyon nodded. "Three days."
Josh's eyes burned into Sleek's. "You can't do this. You don't know what it will do to you—"
"And I don't care," Sleek snapped. The words came before he could think. "If it saves her, I'll do it."
Bibxy looked up at him, her lips parting slightly — not in relief, but in something closer to fear. "Sleek…"
Elyon's expression was unreadable. "Then you should know — completing the bond is not as simple as spilling blood. It requires a vow. A vow so binding that even death cannot sever it. Once spoken, it cannot be taken back."
The air in the room thickened, the glow from their marks pulsing in time with each other, as if responding to the very idea.
Josh's voice was a low growl. "And if you fail?"
Elyon looked at him steadily. "If he fails, both their souls will be lost to the Void."
A chill swept over Bibxy. She could almost hear the whisper of that word — Void — like it came from somewhere far away and very, very dark.
Sleek tightened his hold on her, his jaw set. "Then I don't fail."
Elyon gave a single, solemn nod. "Prepare yourself. The ritual begins at dusk tomorrow."
And just like that, he turned and left, his footsteps echoing down the hall.
The door shut behind him, leaving Sleek, Bixy, and Josh in a silence so heavy it felt like the walls were leaning in.
Bibxy stepped back, her eyes darting between them. "This isn't fair. I didn't choose this. Either of you."
Josh reached for her, but she moved away, clutching her wrist as if to hide the mark. "I need to think."
She slipped past them, her footsteps fading into the corridor.
Sleek and Josh stood there, the tension between them now sharper than ever.
"This isn't over," Josh said quietly, his voice almost a warning.
Bibxy didn't stop walking until she reached the far end of the campus — the abandoned east courtyard, where moss had crept up the stone arches and the air smelled faintly of rain even when the sky was clear.
Her chest rose and fell too fast. She pressed her back against the cold wall, clutching her wrist.
The glow beneath her skin was stronger now, a steady throb that made her fingers twitch. She tried to slow her breathing, but the mark pulsed harder, almost like it was… calling to something.
And then she heard it.
Bibxy…
She froze. The voice was faint, as though carried on a current of air no one else could feel.
You don't have to trust him.
Her mouth went dry. "Who—?"
He will bind you to him… and you will fade with him. But with me… you can be free.
She shook her head. "You're not real."
The voice chuckled — low, deep, wrong. I am as real as the mark burning into your bones. The boy with the green eyes will fail you. He always does.
Her pulse stumbled. Green eyes. Sleek.
The shadows between the arches deepened, stretching unnaturally, and she felt something inside her mind shift — like a door unlocking without her consent.
Come closer, the whisper urged. I can unmake the Seal. No bond. No blood. Just freedom.
The ground beneath her feet seemed to tilt slightly, pulling her toward that darker corner.
But then another voice broke through — sharp and familiar. "Bibxy!"
She spun around. Josh was running toward her, his face pale. "What are you doing out here?"
Her lips parted, but no words came. She glanced back toward the shadows… and they were gone.
The courtyard was still, silent, ordinary again.
Josh reached her, grabbing her shoulders. "You can't be here. Not alone. This place—" He stopped, eyes dropping to her wrist. "It's spreading."
She followed his gaze. The glow was climbing higher now, curling toward her elbow.
Josh's voice lowered. "You need to decide, Bixy. And if you're not sure about him… tell me now."
But Bibxy barely heard him. The whisper was still in her head, curling around her thoughts like smoke.
Three days… or the Void will take you.
Alright — here's Chapter Fifteen, where Sleek finds out about the Void's temptation and the stakes jump sharply.
Sleek hadn't seen Bixy since last night.
And that was starting to make his skin crawl.
He paced the length of his dorm room, the faint glow on his hand pulsing in time with a pressure in his chest he couldn't explain. He didn't understand the mark's magic, but he knew one thing
when it burned like this, Bixy was in trouble.
He was halfway to the door when it slammed open. Elyon stood there, his expression unusually grim.
"You need to come with me," Elyon said.
Sleek frowned. "Why? What's happened?"
"Your girl wandered into the east courtyard. The Void whispered to her."
Sleek froze. "The what?"
"The oldest hunger in this world," Elyon said sharply. "It feeds on despair. It offers a way out—but the price is… everything. She was lucky Josh found her before she stepped too far in."
Sleek's stomach knotted. "She listened to it?"
Elyon's gaze was steady. "She's afraid, Sleek. The bond terrifies her as much as the Seal does. And the Void knows how to use that fear."
Something hot and ugly twisted in Sleek's chest. "Where is she?"
Elyon's lips tightened. "With Josh."
That single word felt like a blade. Sleek shoved past him, his strides long and fast.
He found them in one of the library's hidden study rooms. Josh was seated across from Bixy, leaning forward, speaking low. She was pale, her eyes downcast, her sleeve tugged over her wrist.
Sleek stepped inside, shutting the door harder than necessary. "So, this is where you've been."
Bibxy looked up quickly. "Sleek—"
Josh rose slowly. "She needed someone who wasn't going to force her into a choice she doesn't want."
Sleek's jaw clenched. "And you think feeding her doubts will save her?"
Josh's eyes narrowed. "It's better than chaining her to a bond that might kill you both."
Bibxy stood abruptly, her voice trembling. "Stop! Both of you!"
The glow from her wrist flared again—this time answered by Sleek's hand, and something in the air shifted. The books on the nearby shelves shivered, a faint hum filling the room.
Elyon's voice came from the doorway, calm but cutting. "It's starting."
Sleek turned sharply. "What's starting?"
"The final tether," Elyon said. His eyes flicked to Bibxy. "You have seventy-two hours to choose the bond… or the Void will claim you."
Bibxy's breathing quickened. The air seemed heavier.
Sleek took a step toward her. "Then choose me."
She held his gaze—eyes full of fear, longing, and something that made his chest ache.
"I… don't know if I can."