Raven is staring at me like I’ve just spoken a language she’s never heard before. Maybe I have. Beloved. The word is still hanging in the air between us, warm and electric, humming with magic that neither of us can pretend isn’t real anymore. She pulls the blanket tighter around herself. “Noah… what does that mean?”
Her voice is small. Scared. Confused. I sit on the edge of her bed, keeping my movements slow, careful. She’s already overwhelmed, the last thing she needs is me making it worse. “It’s okay,” I say softly. “You’re okay.”
“That’s not an answer,” she snaps, but her voice cracks at the end.
Right. She deserves the truth. All of it. I take a breath. “It’s the bond.”
She blinks. “The Guardian and Charge bond?”
“That’s part of it,” I say. “But it’s not the whole thing.”
Her mag
