“Y-Yes,” she replied, looking embarrassed now. “Of course.”
“Good,” I replied cheerfully, looking forward to the experience.
We both began working on putting the living room back in order for a while in silence, only to be surprised when my parents came through the front door in the kitchen. My mom was still wearing her leather corset and pants, while my dad likewise had the same pants from last night. I had assumed they were in their bedroom, sleeping.
And here we had been trying to be quiet for no reason.
“You’re just now back?” I asked in disbelief.
They exchanged a glance, before my dad replied. “Your mother loves to sleep with me in my original form,” he explained. “And I can’t exactly fit in the house when I’m a dragon. We were close by though, in case someone unwelcomed showed up.”
My mom had a huge grin on her face. “His belly is so warm and soft!” she added.
I cringed, knowing she was talking about my dad’s dragon belly, but only being able to visualize his human stomach because he was standing there shirtless. It had never bothered me before, but my mom’s overly enthusiastic reaction, and the memory of them kissing last night just made me uncomfortable. I cleared my throat to change the subject.
“R-Right. We’re almost done cleaning up, and then I was planning on cutting Jasmyn’s hair afterwards.”
“Ooo!” my mom squealed. “Do you mind if I help?” she asked excitedly.
“Oh,” I hesitated, considering it. Honestly, I didn’t really know how to cut hair beyond chopping it off, whereas my mom knew exactly what she was doing. “Maybe you can teach me?” I offered.
She nodded with a grin. “Yep! We can start at the end, so I can show you what to do. That way, by the time we cut it around her shoulders, you should be able to do it all on your own.”
I smiled at the idea. “Okay!” I agreed, just as excited now. I was glad my mom seemed to have really taken a liking to Jasmyn. I glanced over at my friend to see she was smiling warmly too.
“Also,” my mom continued. “Later on, I’d like you to give me your father’s sigil as well.”
I looked at her in surprise. “I can give it to you?” I asked in confusion. She nodded, prompting another question. “Then, how come dad didn’t just give it to you?” I added.
“It’s a unique condition of this type of sigil,” she explained. “Your father can’t pass it on to me, but my child can.”
“Oh,” I replied simply, my brow furrowing as an uncomfortable thought popped into my head. “That’s not why…why you had me, right?” I wondered tentatively.
Her eyes widened in shock, before she abruptly closed the gap between us, wrapping me in her arms. “Of course not, sweetie,” she reassured me. “I don’t need your father’s sigil, but it would be nice to have more permanent proof that I’m his wife.” She held up her hand. “A wedding ring is nice, but these break easily. This one I currently have is spelled to be more durable, but if I had to go all out in a fight with someone, my magic would destroy it.”
“Oh…okay.” I nodded to myself, feeling foolish for having thought that. I held her more tightly underneath where her wings came out of her back. She then kissed me on the cheek, prompting me to clarify. “I’d still give it to you either way,” I admitted. “I just wondered.”
She nodded with a warm smile. “It’s alright dear. But if obtaining a draconic sigil was my priority, then I would have pushed for you to receive it years ago. Instead, I sealed away your magic and delayed you getting it, so you could have a more normal life with the humans.” She paused. “Your father wouldn’t be able to live with you in the demon’s territory,” she clarified.
I nodded, having already figured that out on my own, squeezing her tighter. “Thank you,” I whispered.
Even though life had kind of sucked for the last few years, it didn’t change the fact that my parents had done a lot to allow me to live a fairly normal life and see both of them frequently.
I finally pulled away then, expecting to give it to her now. However, she declined, saying it could wait. I assumed she was refusing because she didn’t want me to think she hadn’t been sincere about her previous statement, so I pressed the issue.
Once she finally agreed to do it, she loosened up her leather corset, so I could place my hands in the middle of her stomach and lower back. Her navel had already been showing previously, but I had to place my hands a little higher.
Apparently, the sigil appeared wherever the palms were placed, centralized on the body, with the chest being the most ideal location while the stomach was the second best. However, unlike my experience, my mom just smiled warmly as the familiar black tattoo appeared over her dark gray skin.
There was no pain at all.
My dad noticed my confused look, explaining that meeting the condition of being my mother wasn’t something that was difficult for the sigil to recognize. We waited for a few minutes for the process to finish, and then it was over, just like that.
As she tightened her corset on the sides, I saw that about a third of the symbol was visible beneath the shiny black leather.
“Thank you,” she replied with a pleased grin, glancing endearingly at my father.
“Of course,” I responded simply. “You’re welcome.”
Afterwards, even though we were already almost done cleaning the living room, both of my parents helped with the rest of it. My dad then went outside to get some boards to fix the cracked ones inside the house – apparently, I had cracked a few on the floor with my head too. In the meantime, my mom began showing me how to cut Jasmyn’s hair in the kitchen, snipping off an inch from the bottom before having me try.
It wasn’t strange not going to school today, because I would have had the day off anyway. And it probably wouldn’t feel weird until the day after tomorrow, when classes would resume. Although, I wasn’t sure how I was really going to feel about it – being ostracized like that.
I supposed it would be nice to stay home all day with Jasmyn.
Maybe I could teach her to read and write.
As I focused on what I was doing, only cutting an inch off at a time to practice, my thoughts began wandering back to last night. Specifically, to the ethereal ribbon that had appeared.
“Mom,” I said hesitantly, my voice trailing off as I snipped some of Jasmyn’s snowy hair.
“Yes?”
I glanced at her, seeing her crimson eyes examining me warmly. My gaze then fell down to her chest, examining the intricate pattern of her first sigil against her dark gray skin. “That thing that was connecting me and Jasmyn,” I continued slowly.
“The thread of magic?” she clarified. She continued when I gave her a small nod. “It’s a sign of your bond,” she explained. “When two mages successfully sync their magic, they become what’s called magicbound. It can be done artificially too with a summoning spell, but that type of magic is forbidden because both parties don’t have to consent for it to work.”
“Oh,” I said in surprise, dropping the scissors down to my side as I recalled that I had sort of forced my magic on Jasmyn. “But that can’t happen with regular bonding, right?” I clarified.
“Right,” she agreed. “Both people have to be willing to bond for it to work.”
I nodded as I went back to practicing on Jasmyn’s hair, relieved that this hadn’t happened against my friend’s will. “But what about the colors?” I wondered.
“What about them?” she repeated.
“I mean, like why were there different colors?” I clarified.
“Oh, because just like mages have different types of magic, the color of their magic is often different too. Red, blue, and yellow are the most common. For instance, my magic is inherently blue, which is why my flames are usually blue. Your father’s magic would be red if he could use it. And then, your magic is purple, a combination of red and blue, while Jasmyn’s magical energy must be yellow.”
She paused. “Children usually
inherit the color of their magic from one of their parents, so you having a combined color is fairly unique. And if you combine yellow, red, and blue light then you get white light,” she added, anticipating my next question about why the colors changed to white.
My brow furrowed as I thought about that, knowing it wasn’t the same with paint. You just get ugly brown, but I supposed light must be different. “But why did it change?” I asked.
She took a deep breath. “If I had to guess, you were only partially bound together before, fully syncing towards the end.” She paused. “And to be honest, your syncing is probably what ended the ritual. It seemed like you were in a lot less pain once those purple scales started appearing, but the process couldn’t end with Jasmyn attached to you. But when you fully synced, it ended just like that.” She snapped her fingers for emphasis.
I nodded slowly, all of us falling silent for a minute as I considered that, my thoughts wandering back to something else she had mentioned. “But how do you know what color dad’s magic is?” I asked. “Is it because you have a ribbon connecting you two?”
She shook her head. “No, being magicbound is very rare. If I was going to try to do it with anyone, then it would be your father, but he isn’t capable of bonding like that. And I know it’s red because it’s the only way you would have ended up with purple magic.” She grinned. “After all this time together with your father, I learned something new about him last night.”
“Oh,” I replied simply, focusing on what I was doing again.
Jasmyn’s hair was still pretty long, even after snipping off a few inches, so I was working on a section by her arm when she shifted her weight slightly. The change in posture made me notice the strings holding her corset together, only to realize that there was a white marking on her skin. She was already pale, but the pure white pattern made it look like she had a suntan in comparison.
I reached out without thinking to tug in between the strings a little.
“H-Hey!” Jasmyn exclaimed, sounding embarrassed.
“Sorry,” I replied sincerely. “I was just trying to get a better look at your skin. You have something on it.”
She lifted her arm and twisted her body to try to see, only for my mom to gently grab her elbow to look more closely herself. She then reached down to begin untying the knot holding it all together.
“H-Hey!” Jasmyn repeated, her face turning red now.
“I’m not taking it off,” my mom reassured her. “Just hold it up while we look.”
Honestly, I didn’t know why Jasmyn was so embarrassed, since I had found her naked to begin with. But then again, I supposed if she had actually been living with people previously, then she was probably used to wearing clothes. Needless to say, my friend immediately wrapped her arms around her chest to keep the corset from falling down as my mom folded the back side to get a better look.
The snowy pattern was like elegant vines that created a band going around her torso just underneath her chest. My mom traced the pattern with her finger momentarily before glancing at me.
“Alyssa, lift up your shirt too.”
My eyes widened in surprise, before I reached down to pull my shirt up to just below my chest. Sure enough, the exact same pattern was wrapped around my torso, the brilliant white a sharp contrast against my gray skin, to the point that it almost looked like it was glowing faintly.
“Is this from being magicbound?” I asked in shock.
My mom didn’t answer right away, prompting me to meet her gaze. Her brow was furrowed, appearing deep in thought.
After a moment, she responded. “I think so,” she agreed. “That seems to make the most sense, considering you both have it. I’ve heard of markings like this appearing when the forbidden version is used, but I’ve not heard of this.” She reached out to trace the pattern along my ribs before continuing. “That doesn’t mean this is rare for those who are naturally magicbound,” she reassured me. “I just haven’t heard of it is all.” She laughed then. “Despite having been around for over a millennium, even I don’t know everything.”
I nodded as I looked at Jasmyn’s pattern again, realizing her gaze was focused intently on mine. Her gold eyes were glowing just slightly.
“Want to touch it?” I wondered, feeling like that’s what was on her mind.
She gasped. “Can I?”
“Of course,” I replied warmly.
With one arm still firmly holding the corset in place, she reached out and gently began tracing the pattern like my mom had done. “Pretty,” she whispered, almost to herself. She then met my gaze, her face turning red. “It looks a lot better on you,” she admitted. “You can barely see it on my skin.”
I shrugged. “I think it looks good on you,” I reassured her. “And now we have three matching tattoos,” I added, referring to the sigil being on both our fronts and backs.
She nodded, her eyes shifting to the top of my shirt where I suspected a little bit of the black marking was peeking out, since I was also pulling down with my thumbs as I bunched my shirt up around my chest.
After a moment, my mom spoke up again. “Well, honey, I think you might be ready to cut her hair for real, if you want to give it a try.”
“Oh, right,” I agreed, dropping my shirt. My mom then began tightening the corset again for Jasmyn as I grabbed the scissors I had set down.
Unfortunately, I messed up a little on her hair by making it shorter than I intended, but she didn’t mind. It was still about shoulder length, though just barely. I then combed it out for her, giving her a part down the side.
No wonder it had been so tangled – even being this short, her hair was ridiculously thick. By the time I was done, I felt very accomplished. She was already really pretty, but she looked adorable with her hair shorter and combed out.
“How do I look?” she asked nervously.
“Beautiful!” I blurted out, causing her face to turn bright red. “And extra cute too!” I added, encouraged by her reaction.
“You really are,” my mom agreed. “And I take back what I said about all Nagas being rude. You’re definitely one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever met.”
“T-Thank you,” Jasmyn whispered, one of her hands clasped tightly over her black tattoo.
“And that’s saying something!” I added, feeling mischievous. “Because my mom is really old!”
“Hey!” my mom retorted, giving me a playful glare. “I look no older than a human in their early twenties, thank you,” she humphed.
“Still old,” I mumbled, earning myself another glare. I sighed then, my grin fading. “Mom, do you really have to go?” I wondered. “Can’t this new fons’radix wait?”
Her expression dropped too. “I’m sorry, sweetie. But no, it can’t wait. The risk they pose to the world is far too great. Most of the ones I’ve met over the centuries have been decent people, but every once in a while, a bad one appears.” She paused with a grimace. “But you don’t need to worry about any of that,” she reassured me. “I’m sure this person will be fine. And like I said before, maybe we’ll be lucky and it’s just a powerful mage that’s shown up in the area.”
I nodded somberly. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?”
She sighed. “I wish I knew. It just depends on the person. Might be months…” She paused. “Could be years…”
“Years?!” I exclaimed.
“But I’ll come visit,” she clarified. “If I’ve been gone longer than half a year, then I’ll stop by for a few days.” She hesitated, only to quickly continue when she saw my expression. “And I’ll try to visit more frequently than that if I can. It just depends on the person, and how confident I feel about leaving them alone while I’m teaching them.”
I sighed. “I mean, they’re alone now, right?”
“Yeah, but…” She shook her head and pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry, sweetie. It’s just how it is. And after I’m done, I’ll take a break so you can see me every day, okay?”
“Okay,�
�� I sniffled. I hadn’t even realized I was teary-eyed. I pulled away slightly then. “We’ll just have to make these two days count then.”
She grimaced. “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry.”
“W-What?” I stammered.
“The fons’radix was active again last night, so I have to leave sooner now.”
“B-But how do you know?” I asked in disbelief.
She held up her left hand, showing me her two rings. “I said this ring had been spelled to let me know if you had taken off your pendant,” she reminded me, speaking of the gold ring on her middle finger with the onyx stone. “But that’s not its original purpose. This ring is one of the most powerful artifacts in the world. It’s connected to teleportation stones in the capitals of each of the magical races, and more importantly, it allows me to sense the flow of magic in each region.” She paused. “When a powerful mage uses their magic, it’s very noticeable for those who have a way to detect it.”
I just stared at her in disbelief. “H-How soon?” I finally asked.
She sighed heavily. “Tomorrow morning. The mage in question is very close to elven territory, so I’ll be teleporting there.” She paused again to evaluate my dejected posture. “Alyssa, really I should have teleported there two days ago when I first sensed them, instead of making the trip here, and then I definitely should have left last night. If they move locations in the next day, then I won’t be able to find them again unless they use their magic.” She sighed. “But I wanted to be able to spend time with you and your father before I have to leave for a while.”
I nodded somberly. “I’m glad you came back,” I whispered.
“Me too,” she agreed firmly. “I can’t believe a monster like that was here of all places. I wish I could kill him again.”
It was strange hearing my mom call the shapeshifter a monster when dad was one too. But then again, being a monster was more than just what was on the outside. A person’s heart was the important part, and that man had definitely been a monster – the complete opposite of my father in every way.
Magicbound to a Snake Girl Page 24
