The stillness of the room felt suffocating, but it wasn’t the silence that weighed on me. It was the power. The bond had pulsed through me so intensely that the air itself felt heavy with its presence. The rogue’s words echoed in my mind: The bond is only as strong as the will of the one who wields it. But the bond was more than just a tool, it was a part of me. Something I couldn’t escape, no matter how far I ran.
And now, I had learned to control it. I had learned to wield it.
I stood in the center of the chamber, my hand still resting on the altar, the energy of the bond surging through me like wildfire. The power was intoxicating, raw, and I could feel it coursing through my veins, a living thing that responded to my every thought. For the first time, I didn’t feel like I was being o
