Elara's POV
"Coming for Ash?" I stepped in front of him instinctively. "Why would demons want him?"
Father looked older than I remembered. Tired. Like guilt had been eating him alive for two years.
"Because he's not supposed to exist," Father said. "When a familiar transforms through their own will, breaking centuries of binding magic, it creates a... debt. The demons who oversee familiar bonds consider it theft."
"Theft?" Ash growled behind me. "I transformed to save her life!"
"They don't care about reasons." Father's hands shook. "The law is absolute. A familiar who becomes human without Council permission has stolen a form that doesn't belong to them. The punishment is—"
The bookshop windows shattered inward.
Not from magic this time. From three massive shapes crashing through the glass.
The demons from two years ago.
My blood turned to ice. They looked exactly the same—too-pale skin, burning red eyes, wrong in every way that mattered. But now they moved with purpose, their gazes locked on Ash.
"There you are, little thief," the lead demon hissed. "We've been searching for you."
Ash shifted in front of me, shadows pooling at his feet. "You'll have to go through me to—"
"No." The demon laughed. "We're here for you."
They moved faster than anything should. Before Ash could react, chains made of black fire wrapped around his wrists, his ankles, his throat.
"ASH!" I threw myself forward, but Caspian grabbed me from behind.
"Finally," Caspian said in my ear. "The beast gets what he deserves."
I slammed my elbow back into his ribs. He grunted and released me.
I ran to Ash, grabbing the chains. They burned my hands instantly, but I didn't care. "Let him go!"
"This doesn't concern you, witch," the demon said. "Your familiar broke cosmic law. The price must be paid."
"He saved my life!" Tears streamed down my face. "Isn't that worth something?"
"Worth?" The demon tilted his head. "Perhaps. His life for yours. That's the trade he made, whether he knew it or not."
The chains tightened. Ash screamed—a sound I'd never heard him make, agonized and terrified.
Through our bond, I felt everything. The chains weren't just holding him. They were unmaking him. Tearing apart the transformation, trying to force him back into a form that would kill him now.
"Stop!" I begged. "Please, there has to be another way!"
The demon considered me. "There is one option. A substitution."
"Anything!"
"Elara, no—" Ash gasped, fighting the chains.
"If someone willingly takes his place," the demon continued, "accepts his debt as their own, he goes free."
My heart stopped. "What happens to the person who takes his place?"
The demon smiled, showing too many teeth. "They become what he would have been. Bound. Powerless. A familiar stripped of their human form forever."
The room went silent.
"Don't," Ash said, his voice breaking. "Elara, don't you dare—"
But I was already reaching for the demon. "I'll do it. Take me instead."
"NO!" Ash thrashed against the chains, wild with panic. "You just got your magic back! You can't—"
"I won't watch you die." My voice was steady even though my hands shook. "Not for me. Never for me."
"How touching," Caspian sneered from across the room. "The powerless witch and her pet, both willing to sacrifice everything for each other. It's almost sad."
I ignored him, focused on the demon. "What do I have to do?"
"Simply accept the bond-debt." The demon extended one clawed hand. "Speak the words: 'I claim this debt as mine.'"
I reached for his hand.
Ash's roar shook the entire building. The shadows around him exploded outward with such force that the chains cracked. Not broke—but cracked.
"You are not doing this!" he shouted. "I transformed for you! I became human to save you! And now you want to throw that away?"
"To save you? Yes!" I spun to face him. "You've protected me your whole life, Ash. Since I was seven years old. Let me protect you for once!"
"By becoming a familiar? By losing everything you are?" His eyes blazed gold, tears streaming down his face. "I would rather die!"
"And I would rather lose my magic than lose you!"
The words hung between us, raw and true.
Father stepped forward suddenly. "There's a third option."
Everyone turned to stare at him.
"The bond-debt exists because Ash transformed without permission," Father said slowly. "But what if he had permission? What if a Council member authorized it?"
"No Council member would—" the demon started.
"I would." Father's voice was firm. "I am Lord Aldric Thornwood, Head of the Thornwood family and Council member for forty years. I hereby grant retroactive permission for Ash's transformation, effective from the moment it occurred."
The demon's eyes narrowed. "That's not how—"
"It's exactly how it works," Father interrupted. "Council members have absolute authority over their family's familiars. Ash was bonded to my daughter, making him family property. I had the right to grant permission. I simply choose to do so now."
"You disowned her!" Caspian shouted. "You stripped her of the Thornwood name! She's not your daughter anymore!"
Father's face crumpled with regret. "That was my greatest mistake. One I'm trying to fix." He looked at me. "Elara, I know I don't deserve forgiveness. But let me do this one thing right."
The demon studied Father closely. "If you grant permission, you assume responsibility for the familiar's actions. Any consequences fall on you."
"I accept."
"Father, wait—" I started.
"And," the demon continued, smiling wickedly, "you forfeit your Council seat. Your family's position. Your power. Everything. That's the price for retroactive permission."
The room fell silent.
Father had spent his entire life building the Thornwood legacy. His Council position meant everything to him. It was why he'd betrayed me in the first place.
He met my eyes. "Do it."
The demon's chains released Ash, who collapsed to the floor gasping. Before anyone could move, the chains wrapped around Father instead.
"No!" I screamed.
But Father just smiled—sad and genuine. "I failed you once, Elara. I won't fail you again."
The demons dragged him toward a portal of red fire that opened in the air.
"Where are you taking him?" I demanded.
"To pay his debt," the demon said. "Don't worry. He'll live. But he'll wish he hadn't."
They pulled Father through the portal.
His last words echoed as the portal closed: "I'm sorry. For everything."
Then he was gone.
Ash struggled to his feet, leaning on me. We stared at the empty space where Father had disappeared.
"He saved us," Ash whispered. "Why would he—"
"Because he's still my father." My voice broke. "Somewhere under all the pride and tradition, he's still my father."
Caspian's laugh cut through the moment. "How sweet. But you've forgotten something important."
He raised his hands, and every enforcer in the room moved to surround us.
"Your father's gone. The demons are gone. And you're both exhausted from that little ritual." His smile was vicious. "Which means nothing is stopping me from taking what I came for."
Dark magic gathered in his palms.
Ash and I pressed back-to-back, our bond humming with shared determination. We were tired. Hurt. Our power was drained.
But we had each other.
"Together?" I whispered.
"Always," Ash replied.
Caspian attacked.
And the moment his spell left his hands, something impossible happened.
The space between us and him rippled.
A figure stepped out of nowhere—silver hair, galaxy eyes, amused smile.
The Oracle.
She caught Caspian's spell with one hand like it was a ball.
"Now, now," she said cheerfully. "That's quite enough of that."
She flicked her wrist, and Caspian flew backward, slamming into the wall hard enough to crack it.
The Oracle turned to us. "Hello again, little witch. I see you've been busy."
"Who are—" Caspian started.
"Someone far older and far more powerful than you'll ever be." The Oracle's voice dropped, becoming something ancient and terrifying. "And I'm taking these two under my protection. Anyone who touches them answers to me."
The enforcers looked at each other, then at Caspian, then fled.
Smart choice.
Caspian struggled to his feet, rage twisting his face. "This isn't over."
"Oh, darling," the Oracle said sweetly. "It really is."
She snapped her fingers.
And Caspian vanished.
Just... gone.
I stared at her. "Where did you send him?"
"Somewhere he can't hurt anyone for a very long time." She smiled. "Now then. You two have just completed the True Bonding, survived a demon attack, and inadvertently started a revolution. How are you feeling?"
"Confused," Ash said honestly.
"Terrified," I added.
"Perfect." The Oracle clapped her hands. "Then you're ready for the real adventure to begin."
She touched both our foreheads.
And suddenly, I knew things I hadn't known before. Saw futures that hadn't happened yet. Understood that what we'd just done—our bond, our transformation—was going to change everything.
For better or worse, we'd just rewritten the rules of magic itself.
The Oracle stepped back. "Your father bought you time. Use it wisely. Build your strength. Because Caspian will return. And when he does, he won't be alone."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
But the Oracle was already fading.
Her final words hung in the air: "War is coming. And you two are the key to everything."