Chapter 53

In Greta’s hidden library, Jovie gathers books on hearthstones, dark magic, and weaponry. Acker suddenly “visits” via their newly complete bond and, after playful teasing, they have hurried sex among the stacks. After he vanishes, Greta tactfully pretends ignorance, then shares that she once loved the king and warns that wealth and power erode the soul, hinting the king was not always as he is now.

Back in her room, Jovie studies hearthstones: their rarity, their maker-bond, and their power to sever magic. She reads of the light wielder Uma, poisoned with hearthstone by a lover, fueling fear of Light Heirs. Restless, Jovie sketches; Acker appears again, sweaty from training, and tempts her to find him through the bond.

Following the tether, Jovie projects into the courtyard where Acker trains with Hallis. They strap a chest plate on her and push her to try summoning light. When focus alone fails, Acker proposes a spar. Hallis takes over and, despite his missing hand, overwhelms Jovie with precise, punishing strikes, cutting her multiple times while Acker protests the intensity.

Cornered and furious at her helplessness, Jovie’s magic erupts. A blast throws Hallis back and a ribbon of light ignites along her sword before fading. Hallis recovers and, pointing to the pull at her sternum, warns Jovie never to reveal where her magic resides, noting she signaled it repeatedly. Acker sends the gear away, secures plans to meet that night, and Jovie snaps back to her room, sore and breathless, realizing visitations affect her body.

Shaken but determined, Jovie resumes studying hearthstones with Hallis’s warning and Acker’s oath-driven restraint in mind, newly aware of both the bond’s reach and the dangers of exposing her core of magic.