Chapter 9
1035 Words
As the binding reached its crescendo, a shockwave of energy pulsed outward from the fountain, racing through the streets of Voidhaven and beyond. I could sense it spreading throughout the city and the planet, touching every mind human, Novan, and hybrid alike. It was not controlling but revealing, showing each person the connections that had always existed beneath the artificial barriers.
When the light finally faded, Costa and I stood hand in hand in the fountain's basin, transformed. The water had receded, leaving only a fine crystalline dust that clung to our skin like diamond frost.
The courtyard had fallen completely silent. Lord Vexan had ceased his struggling, staring at us with an expression I couldn't quite name fear, yes, but also something like reluctant wonder.
"It is done," Lady Arinna said softly, releasing Lord Vexan's arm. "The binding is complete."
I looked at Costa, seeing him truly for the first time with my transformed preceptive. It was as if something had broken between us, holding us back from each other even now, until he took my face in his hands to capture my lips in a kiss that he had been longing for what felt like forever.
In that moment, our connection surged brighter than ever. A thousand whispered promises flowed between us as his lips moved against mine, promises of futures once denied, of memories both lost and found. The courtyard around us faded away until there was only Costa, only us, only this moment six centuries in the making.
When we finally broke apart, I noticed the crowd had grown. Hundreds now filled the space and spilled into the adjoining streets, their faces illuminated by the soft glow that Costa and I continued to emit. Humans, Novans, and hybrids stood side by side, many weeping openly.
"They can feel it," Costa whispered, his voice carrying new harmonics that resonated with my transformed senses. "The connection we've restored."
I nodded, understanding flowing through our completed bond. The binding hadn't just transformed us it had reactivated something dormant in the very fabric of New Nova itself, something deliberately suppressed centuries ago.
"Your Highnesses," Lady Arinna approached, bowing deeply. The title startled me until I remembered I was royal by birth, a princess of the Solmere line, thought long extinct.
Lord Vexan remained where he stood, his markings pulsing erratically. "This changes nothing," he said, but his voice lacked conviction. "The Council will never accept…"
"The Council no longer speaks with one voice," interrupted a tall Novan stepping through the crowd. His elaborate ceremonial armour marked him as a member of the High Guard. "News of the awakening has reached the palace. Three Council members have already declared support for the binding."
Costa's hand tightened around mine. "And my father? The King?"
The guard's markings dimmed slightly. "His Majesty remains in deep stasis, my Prince. As he has for the last two centuries."
I felt Costa's shock ripple through our bond. "Two centuries? But I was told…"
"You were told what Lord Vexan and his supporters wanted you to believe," Lady Arinna said gently. "The royal line has been failing for generations. Your father entered voluntary stasis when his condition became untreatable, leaving the Council to rule in his absence."
Understanding dawned across Costa's features. "So there is no active monarch. Just the Council, ruling by proxy all this time."
"And manipulating the succession to maintain their power," I added, pieces falling into place. "That's why they were so desperate to keep us separated. A true heir with a completed binding would threaten everything they've built."
Lord Vexan's composure finally cracked. "We preserved our way of life! The separation was necessary; humans and Novans were never meant to…"
"Were never meant to what, Lord Vexan?" I stepped forward, my transformed voice carrying effortlessly across the courtyard. "To love each other? To create something new together? Look around you. It's already happening."
The crowd had grown even larger, spilling beyond the courtyard into the twisted streets of Voidhaven. Through our new shared senses, Costa and I could feel the ripples of change spreading outward—confusion, wonder, hope, and fear all mingling in the collective consciousness of New Nova.
Lord Vexan straightened his ceremonial robes, attempting to reclaim some dignity. "You've completed your binding, yes. But that doesn't grant you the throne. The succession laws are clear…"
"The succession laws were written by the same Council that lied about hybrids for centuries," Costa interrupted, his voice carrying the weight of newfound certainty. "The same Council that kept my father in stasis rather than seeking treatment that might have required cooperation with human medicine."
I felt a surge of memory through our bond not mine, but Costa's. Fragments of overheard conversations, whispered concerns about the King's declining health, and the Council's insistence that human medical techniques would "contaminate" the royal bloodline.
"Is that true?" I asked Lady Arinna. "Could human medicine have helped the King?"
Her markings pulsed with old grief. "We'll never know. The hybridisation of medical knowledge was forbidden precisely when it might have saved him. Many believed this was... convenient timing for certain Council members."
Lord Vexan's face hardened. "These accusations are treasonous. The palace guards will…"
"Will what, exactly?" The tall guard who had spoken earlier stepped forward. "Will enforce the will of a Council whose authority is now in question? I think not, Lord Vexan."
Around us, the crystalline dust from the fountain began to rise, forming intricate patterns in the air. I could sense the ancient systems of New Nova responding to our completed binding, recognising something they had been programmed to seek centuries ago.
"The Acknowledgment," Lady Arinna breathed, her markings pulsing with awe. "It's beginning."
Costa and I moved as one, instinctively stepping to the centre of the patterns forming around us. Our transformed bodies knew what to do even if our conscious minds did not fully understand.
"What's happening?" called someone from the crowd a human voice, uncertain but not afraid.
"The city is acknowledging them," Lady Arinna announced, her voice carrying. "The binding ritual was never just about uniting two people it was about activating systems built into New Nova itself, systems designed to recognise legitimate rulers."
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