Updated Nov 6, 2025 • ~7 min read
Sage woke to the sensation of magic humming through her veins.
Not just her earth magic—Thorne’s shadow magic too. It flowed through the bond like a second heartbeat, dark and protective and utterly familiar.
She opened her eyes to find Thorne already awake, watching her.
“Morning,” he said softly.
“Morning.” She stretched, and felt him feel it through the bond—the way her muscles moved, the sleepy contentment. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
“The emotional sharing?”
“All of it.” She propped herself up on one elbow. “Can you feel everything I feel?”
“Not everything. It’s like… background noise unless you’re feeling something strongly. Then it comes through clearly.”
“What am I feeling now?”
Thorne’s expression shifted, becoming thoughtful. “Curious. A little overwhelmed. And…” A smile tugged at his lips. “Happy. You’re happy.”
“I am,” Sage admitted. “Terrifyingly happy, given we still have a curse to break.”
“About that.” Thorne sat up, and Sage felt his determination through the bond. “I want to try something. The bond merged our magic. What if we use that combined power to trace the curse again? Last time you tried alone, it attacked you. But together, with both earth and shadow magic—”
“We might be strong enough to push through the curse’s defenses,” Sage finished, excitement rising. “See who cast it.”
“Exactly.”
They set up in the living room, pulling out the items they’d used before—Lily’s bracelet and Catherine’s ring. But this time, they sat facing each other, hands clasped, bond marks glowing.
“Ready?” Thorne asked.
“Ready.”
They began the tracing spell together, their voices in perfect harmony. Earth magic and shadow magic twined together, stronger than either could manage alone.
The curse signature appeared immediately—dark, ancient, furious.
But this time, when it lunged for Sage’s mind, Thorne’s shadow magic wrapped around her, protective. And when it tried to corrupt Thorne, Sage’s earth magic purified it away.
Together, they were strong enough.
They pushed deeper into the curse, following its thread back through time and space, seeking its origin.
Images flashed—
A ritual circle drawn in blood.
Chanting in an old language.
A figure in dark robes, face hidden.
Laughter, cold and calculating.
And something else. A reason.
Force the bond. Make them choose each other. Only together can they break what was broken.
Sage gasped, the vision fragmenting.
They pulled back from the curse simultaneously, breathing hard.
“Did you see that?” Sage demanded.
“The caster wanted us to bond,” Thorne said, looking shaken. “This whole thing—the curse, the deaths, the destined marks—it was all deliberate. Someone forced us together.”
“But why? What’s the endgame?”
“I don’t know. But the curse said something about breaking what was broken. Like this is about more than just killing our families.”
Sage stood, pacing. Her magic crackled around her—green and purple now, earth and shadow intertwined. “We need to go deeper. Find out who cast it.”
“It’s too dangerous. Even bonded, pushing that far into dark magic—”
“We don’t have a choice. Six people are dead, Thorne. More will die if we don’t stop this.”
He was quiet for a moment. Then, through the bond, she felt his resignation. His acceptance.
“Okay,” he said. “But we do this carefully. At the first sign of real danger, we pull out.”
“Agreed.”
They clasped hands again, the bond strengthening their resolve.
This time, they dove deep.
Past the curse’s defenses, past the dark magic writhing to keep them out, straight to the heart of the spell.
And there, in the center, they found it.
A magical signature.
Familiar.
Sage’s blood ran cold.
Marcus.
Marcus Thorne had cast the curse.
They pulled back violently, the connection severing.
“No,” Thorne said, his face pale. “That’s impossible. My uncle wouldn’t—”
“He tried to stab me yesterday. With a cursed blade. You don’t think he’d cast a curse?”
“But why? Why kill his own family?”
Sage’s mind raced, pieces clicking into place. “You’re the heir. If you died, or were exiled, who would lead the Thorne Coven?”
“Marcus. As next of age, he—” Thorne stopped. “Oh god. He wants my position.”
“But you’re bonded to me now. Which means you haven’t abandoned the coven, haven’t failed. You’ve fulfilled the curse’s requirement.” Sage grabbed Thorne’s arms. “He didn’t plan on us actually bonding. He thought we’d refuse, that one of us would die and the families would blame each other. Then in the chaos—”
“He’d take over the Thornes. And in the bloodbath between our families, consolidate power.”
“But we bonded. We ruined his plan.”
Thorne stood abruptly. “We need to tell the Council. Have Marcus arrested.”
“And what, hope the curse breaks when the caster is imprisoned? It doesn’t work that way. As long as Marcus lives, the curse continues.”
“Are you suggesting we kill him?”
“I’m suggesting we find a way to break the curse that doesn’t involve murder. But Thorne, if it comes down to him or our families…”
She let the sentence hang.
Thorne ran his hands through his hair, agitation pouring through the bond. “There has to be another way. Some magical solution that severs the curse without death.”
“Let me check the texts again.”
Sage pulled out every book they had on curse-breaking, flipping through pages frantically. Thorne joined her, their combined knowledge making the research faster.
An hour later, they found it.
“Here,” Thorne said, pointing to a passage in an ancient grimoire. “A blood bond can sever a bloodline curse by absorbing the dark magic. Essentially, the bond is strong enough to overpower the curse and neutralize it.”
“But it says there’s a cost,” Sage read further. “The bonded pair must willingly take the curse into themselves, then use their combined magic to destroy it from within.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“Extremely. It could kill us if we’re not strong enough.”
They looked at each other.
“We’re strong enough,” Thorne said firmly. “We have to be.”
“Even if we’re not, what choice do we have? Let Marcus keep killing people?”
“No. We end this. Together.”
Sage felt his determination through the bond, and her own rose to match it.
“We need to confront Marcus,” she said. “Force him to admit to casting the curse, then perform the absorption ritual.”
“He’ll fight back.”
“Good thing we’re stronger now.”
Thorne smiled grimly. “When did you become so bloodthirsty?”
“When someone cursed my family and stabbed my husband.”
The word slipped out before Sage could stop it.
Husband.
Thorne’s eyes widened. “Is that what I am? Your husband?”
“We’re blood bonded. Magically married. So yes. Technically.”
“Technically,” he repeated, something warm flickering through the bond. “I like it.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Sage Blackwood. Or is it Sage Mitchell-Blackwood?”
“We’ll figure out the name logistics later. First, we stop Marcus.”
“Right. Stop my uncle from committing magical genocide. Then discuss married names. Solid plan.”
Despite everything, Sage laughed. “Your sense of humor at inappropriate times is going to drive me crazy.”
“Good thing you’re stuck with me forever then.”
“Good thing,” she agreed.
They gathered their supplies—protective charms, healing potions, and the ritual components for the curse absorption. Sage’s heart hammered as they prepared.
This was it. The endgame.
Either they’d break the curse and save both families.
Or they’d die trying.
“Sage?” Thorne said as they headed for the door.
“Yeah?”
“I love you. And I’m glad we’re doing this together.”
“I love you too. And same.”
The bond pulsed between them, steady and strong.
Together.
They could do this together.
They had to.
Because the alternative was losing everything they’d just found.
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