Chapter 108 CHAPTER 108
The road to Celestine’s temple felt longer than it should have.
Evening had settled in by the time Lisa and Liam arrived, the sky painted in deep purples and fading gold. The day had already been full - school, stares, whispered conversations, small victories - and now this. The urgency in Ethan’s mind-link still lingered, sharp enough that Lisa could not quite relax no matter how calm Liam tried to appear beside her.
She watched the familiar road wind ahead of them, her thoughts circling the same question again and again.
Why couldn’t this wait?
When they finally pulled into the curb in front of the temple, the lights inside the temple were already glowing. Warm and steady. Not frantic. That alone eased something in Lisa’s chest.
They stepped inside together.
Ethan was there, standing near the center of the temple with his arms folded, his expression grave but not panicked. Celestine stood nearby, her pale robes pooling softly around her feet. Nolan was with them too, his posture attentive, as though he had been waiting for them to arrive before allowing himself to breathe.
And beside Nolan stood a woman Lisa recognized immediately.
Her breath caught.
It was the woman from Pauline’s café. The one who had noticed the pendant. The one whose gaze had lingered just a second too long, as though she had been seeing far more than Lisa had realized at the time.
Liam stepped forward first. “We’re here,” he said, his tone respectful but edged with concern. “Ethan said it was urgent. This is a school night.”
Ethan nodded once. “I know. I wouldn’t have called you out here if it could wait.”
Lisa glanced at the unfamiliar woman again, unease stirring. “I know her,” she said softly before anyone could continue. “I’ve seen her before.”
Nolan turned toward her, a faint smile touching his mouth. “You’re right. You have.”
He gestured toward the woman. “We haven’t formally introduced everyone yet. This is Elder Jora. She is Fae.”
Jora inclined her head slightly. “We crossed paths briefly,” she said gently. “At the café.”
Lisa nodded. “You noticed my pendant.”
“I did,” Jorah admitted. “And I apologize if that made you uncomfortable. I recognized it immediately, but it was not a conversation meant for public ears. Especially not in front of family.”
Lisa sensed there was more behind that statement, but she did not press. Something told her this was not the time.
“So,” Lisa asked quietly, “why are we here?”
Celestine stepped forward then, her expression solemn but hopeful. “Because there may be a way to give you peace without defying the goddess.”
The words landed carefully, like something fragile being placed in open hands.
Celestine continued, “The bond between you and Sebastian exists because the goddess willed it. You were instructed not to accept the rejection, and I still do not fully understand why. There may be a future she is guarding. Or a lesson yet to unfold.”
Lisa’s fingers curled instinctively around the pendant at her chest.
“But,” Celestine went on, “there is a difference between severing a bond and blocking its influence. If the bond remains intact, yet muted - unable to interfere with your body, your mind, or your life - then we are not breaking divine law.”
Ethan straightened slightly. “Nolan contacted me earlier. He believes this is possible.”
Liam frowned. “And what’s the cost?” he asked bluntly. “What do we sacrifice this time?”
Nolan shook his head slowly. “Nothing.”
Liam stared at him. “Nothing?”
“That is the best part,” Nolan said. “Everything required is already here.”
Lisa felt her heart begin to race. “How?”
Jorah stepped forward. “The pendant you wear is not merely symbolic. It was created to protect Queen Helena and her unborn child. A spell was woven into it long ago, one that only a Fae elder could place. The king never told anyone. Not even the court.”
Lisa’s hand tightened around the amulet.
“You were also given another pendant,” Celestine added, her voice soft. “One that mirrors Sebastian’s emotions rather than pain. What if instead of mirroring we are able to deflect them altogether?”
“If we combine them,” Jorah said, “and bind the magic together through prayer and spell, we can create a barrier. Not one that destroys the bond - but one that holds it at bay.”
Ethan exhaled slowly. “So Sebastian and Kael…”
“Would no longer be able to sense her,” Celestine finished. “Nor affect her body. Nor interfere with her life.”
Lisa felt something like relief surge through her chest.
“But,” Celestine said carefully, “this does not dissolve the bond. It merely quiets it. When the goddess decides the time is right - when she allows the rejection to be completed - this barrier will no longer be needed.”
Liam turned to Lisa immediately. “If this gives you peace, we should do it.”
Lisa hesitated. “I need to tell you something first.”
Every eye turned to her.
She swallowed. “We went to the Wolf Realm. Kael was dying. And when Kane touched him… it helped. But it hurt Kane.”
A heavy silence fell.
“I’m afraid,” Lisa continued, “that if we do this ritual, it might affect whatever is happening there. I don’t understand it, but I don’t want Kael to suffer because of me.”
Liam inhaled slowly. “While you were in class today, I went to the Lunaris library,” he said. “I searched old manuscripts. Accounts of rare bonds, anomalies, things that shouldn’t exist.”
He met her gaze. “From what I read, what happened between Kane and Kael does not involve you or Celia. I don’t believe your bond to Sebastian caused it.”
Ethan looked between them. “So you believe this ritual won’t harm Kael?”
“To the best of my knowledge,” Liam said, “yes.”
Lisa closed her eyes briefly, then nodded.
Celestine gestured toward the center of the temple. “Then kneel.”
Lisa stepped forward and lowered herself into the circle etched into the stone floor. The air seemed to shift as Celestine and Jorah took their places beside her, the pendants lifted carefully between them.
Soft chanting began to fill the space.
Light gathered.
And for the first time since everything began, Lisa felt the bond loosen its grip - not breaking, not screaming - but retreating, as though held gently behind a veil.
The ritual had begun.