Basics of Magical Bonds: Ember Academy for Magical Beings, #2

By L.C. Mawson

Of course, it was too good to be true...

What kind of desperate fool believes the handsome Great Dragon in her dreams when he tells her that he loves her and wants her to share his power?

Me, apparently.

And now I've given him free access to my mind. I can keep him out, but only by binding myself to my girlfriend, my old crush who is apparently open to dating me as well, and the guy I almost incinerated when I first drew on the Great Dragon's powers.

The bond will only keep me safe if the four of us keep it strong, but I don't see how that's going to happen...

BASICS OF MAGICAL BONDS is the second book in the Ember Academy for Magical Beings New Adult slow-burn Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy Academy series. If you love sarcastic, bisexual heroines; dragon-related mysteries; and magical universities, you'll love this latest fast-paced series in L.C. Mawson's Snowverse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: L.C. Mawson
• Release date: Nov 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9798201670566

Book preview

Chapter One

My Auntie Nyssa regarded me for a moment before nodding, accepting my decision to cast the warding spell. The spell that would bind me to three of my friends in order to protect me from the Great Dragon trying to claim me as his bride.

Though, ‘friends’ might be a stretch, I realised as I bit my lip.

Lorelei and I were together, but Naveen and James... Well, I guessed even our awkward attempt at dating couldn’t get between me and Naveen after being friends for most of our lives, but I wasn’t so sure about James.

After all, the last time I’d seen him, I’d almost killed him.

In my defence, he had told an entire school full of magical beings, the school that I also attended, that I was Enhanced - a genetically engineered soldier designed by Humans to fight against magic.

Or, at least, my parents were, but I didn’t think it made much difference to the students here.

No, now that they knew the truth about my Enhanced heritage, they saw me as just another monster, come to steal their magic. I’d finally started to belong, and suddenly it was all taken away from me...

And magic is powered by emotions, so when I tried to confront James in a non-lethal way... Well, I didn’t realise just how deadly my abilities could be, especially not when I was drawing on the strength of a Great Dragon.

Back before I knew how dangerous he truly was, before I knew that he’d managed to take control of his last bride to try to force her to kill their child.

Yeah, I couldn’t risk letting him in my head.

But, foolishly, I’d already bonded with him. So, the only thing that could keep him out was this warding spell, which would require binding me to Lorelei, Naveen and James, my relationships with them grounding me and keeping Xiatyan out of my head.

Hopefully...

I shall prepare the spell, Nyssa said as she stood up, and I attempted to swing my legs off the sofa that I’d woken up on, only to have to grip the cushions beneath me as blood rushed to my head. While I do so, you should perhaps speak with the others and make sure that you’re all onboard with this spell.

I thought you said that they’d already agreed.

They have, but that does not mean that you shouldn’t speak to them yourself before I bind you all in such a permanent way.

I nodded, knowing that she was right. And I did want to talk to Lorelei and Naveen. But James...

I turned to Nyssa. Why did you choose Lorelei, Naveen and James to bind me to? I mean, Lorelei and Naveen I understand, but James and I have hardly gotten on in the past few weeks.

I didn’t choose them. As soon as I realised that Xiatyan had you in his sights, I went to Persephone in the hopes that she would be able to use her powers as a Seer to figure out how to keep you from him. She said that our plan to keep you away would only work for a while, and when it failed, I would need a warding spell. I’ve spent years trying to figure out why the spell had three components powering it, made of water, fire and Dark magic. And then a Mermaid and a Dragon bring you to my door when it’s clear that Xiatyan has you in his thrall, and a Demon appears not long after.

You realised that the components of the spell were people?

She nodded. People who could keep you grounded through your relationships with them, keeping Xiatyan at bay.

How exactly does that work?

Nyssa sighed. "In all honesty, I’m not sure. I know that it will use the connections between the four of you to keep you safe, but this kind of spellcraft... Well, there’s a reason why Persephone and her wives were able to have such a hand in warding their city so that it was a safe place to tell Humans about magic. Even if they had... Well, even if there was some unsavoury help involved.

I may have been a High Priestess for many years, but this kind of spellcraft eludes me, and Persephone has never been one for giving more details about the future than she has to. Either way, I trust Persephone and I trust that this spell will work.

I looked down at my hands in my lap, not entirely sure about this. But then my stomach twisted. Persephone had always been kind to me whenever I went to visit the twins. I couldn’t imagine that she meant me harm, so if this spell really did come from her... Well, it was my best shot, wasn’t it?

Nyssa gave me a kind smile, but that just made the twisting in my stomach worse. We were only in this mess because she’d lied to me, and I couldn’t even approach that thought without white hot anger flooding through me.

Perhaps you should speak with Lorelei alone to start.

I nodded, figuring that that wasn’t the worst idea in the world.

I could handle talking to my girlfriend.

But then my memories went back to Xiatyan’s hands on me and I cringed.

It never felt real, always like a dream, but did that matter here? I’d still slept with him while dating Lorelei...

Nyssa left the room before I could tell her to stop, and a few moments later, Lorelei gently knocked on the door.

Hey, she said, her voice surprisingly soft for her as she made her way into the room, closing the door behind her so that we were alone. Are you okay? When you fell from the sky... I was so scared...

I’m okay, I said with the best smile I could force, though I knew it was a feeble effort. I’m a little groggy, but okay.

She sighed as she went to sit in the chair that Nyssa had just left. Skye... Why didn’t you tell me about Xiatyan? Nyssa said that you had to be talking to him for days, if not weeks.

In my defence, I’ve only been speaking to him in my sleep. I thought that they were all just weird dreams. It wasn’t until this morning, when I took a chance and solidified the bond between us, on the off chance that it was real, that I realised that it was. But then I was so focused on settling things with James...

Lorelei sighed. Well, I guess that explains why you seemed so off this morning.

Yeah... I just... It’s so strange, Lorelei. I don’t quite feel like my time with him is real when I’m awake, but when I’m there... It’s like my time here isn’t real.

Lorelei’s gaze dropped. Is that your way of explaining why you were with him?

It took me several moments to even begin to find my words again, and Lorelei just sighed, speaking again before I could.

You were passed out for hours, so I did some reading to keep my mind occupied. From what I read, no chosen bride has ever refused a Great Dragon, even if they were in a relationship before. Even if they were married with a family... I couldn’t figure out if that was to do with the social norms of the Vulcan Plains or some kind of magic from the Dragons.

I frowned. Some kind of magic that forced the brides to be with them?

She shrugged. Like I said, it’s impossible to say, and I’m not trying to pressure you to say anything for my sake. I wish that you’d asked me first, but I get why you didn’t, and I’m not the jealous type. I’m more worried about him being a danger to you than a sexy night-time escapade. Which is why I’m worried about whether or not he used magic to force you to do anything.

I paused for several moments before shaking my head. No. There was a draw to him at first, but it wore off fast, and I was able to say no to him when I wanted. I just... I didn’t realise that the bond meant that he could use it to take over my mind when I made it, or when I was with him. I foolishly lowered my guard and let him close, but it was my own mistake, not anything to do with magic.

Lorelei frowned. I didn’t come across anything about Great Dragons being able to take over the minds of their brides in my reading.

I shrugged. Nyssa said that he did it to his last bride, and if that’s true... If that’s true then he didn’t tell me everything about the bond before I formed it, and in that case, I don’t want to keep the bond or ever see him again. Not if Nyssa’s spell can keep him at bay.

And you’re sure that you’re okay with the spell, and what will probably be needed to maintain it?

I frowned. What do you mean?

I mean that the bond we’re supposedly countering is a romantic one. Magic likes symmetry, Skye. It would make sense that the bonds to keep this Great Dragon at bay would also need to be romantic. So, you know, it’s probably a good thing that I’m not the jealous type, as this would bring your number of lovers up to four.

I... Are you sure? Nyssa didn’t mention anything about this when I asked her about the spell.

She didn’t mention it to us, either, but she also said that she didn’t know a lot of details about the spell. I’m just saying, it would make the most sense, and you did have something going on with Naveen before we started dating, right?

I sighed, brushing my hand through my long, dark hair to keep it from my eyes. Yeah, I guess you’re right. And he did mention... Well, I was upset because he kept avoiding me, but it turned out that he was preoccupied with trying to save his sister’s life. Anyway, now that I know and he doesn’t have to hide why he’s busy from me...

If we hadn’t been dating, you would have given it another shot?

Yeah. And Naveen has three mothers, so he also suggested, if you were okay with it, that I potentially date both of you. But I didn’t know how you felt about it, so I didn’t want to bring it up so early in the relationship. I’m not sure if this kind of thing is normal for Mermaids or not.

For Mermaids in general? No, it’s not normal. But they never had anything nice to say about the hybrid princess anyway, so I don’t really care what they might think about this.

I moved over to place a hand on her knee, and she gave me a small smile.

I’m not used to talking about this, she admitted. Thank you for not... Well, for being okay about it, I guess.

Of course, I said, though my heart twisted at the reminder that Lorelei hadn’t really known even friendship before now.

Was that why she was so willing to let me off the hook for what had happened with Xiatyan? She wasn’t used to anyone treating her well, so she had no idea where to draw the line...

Okay, well, I think you need to talk to the others before we cast the spell. I mean, I imagine Naveen will be fine with everything, but you probably need to speak with James.

I frowned. Nyssa said that he was worried when he brought me here. I thought... I thought he would be mad about me so nearly hurting him.

Nyssa’s right, he wasn’t mad, just worried, but you two probably need to speak between the non-lethal duel that almost turned lethal and binding yourselves together like this.

Yeah, you’re probably right.

I’ll go get him.

As she stood up, however, there was a knock at the door.

Lorelei answered it before I could stand up - probably a good thing, given my difficulty just sitting up - and she opened