Page 120 of Serpent and Shadow

Even so, her tone remained even, almost polite.

I recognized the expression on her face, though. I knew she was probably biting her tongue the whole time we were talking, waiting for an opening to ask. She was positively dying to know what we were talking about.

I took a deep breath, and for the second time, I tried to explain Bones’s magic.

Miranda listened raptly. Draken sat up, and listened to everything I said, too. Neither interrupted me, even to ask questions, or said anything until I was done.

“So it’s… a magical disorder?” Miranda asked, her voice doubtful.

I nodded. “Yes. Essentially.”

“An illegal magical disorder?” Draken clarified.

I bit my tongue, waiting a beat until I got my face back under control.

“Yes,” I said, exhaling. “It’s not his fault. His father hid it, basically from Caelum’s birth. The law is wrong,” I said, my voice harder. I swallowed, forcing my voice more subdued. “I understand why it was written, but it’s wrong. Yes, they lose control over their magic. It makes them dangerous. But there are exceptions.”

I glanced at Luc, then back at Miranda, my voice cautious as I clasped my hands.

“Well, there’s one exception,” I amended.

I struggled to get out the rest, but couldn’t seem to find the right words.

“If they’re married,” Luc supplied helpfully, giving me a sympathetic look. “Magically, that is. If they find someone who can handle their magic, and help, I don’t know… siphon some of it off?”

He looked at me, asking me silently if that was right.

I nodded gratefully. “Yes.”

“The way I understand it,” Luc continued, visibly relaxing. “Once a caelum ignis connects with someone in that way, it sort of… balances them out. If they’re lucky enough to find that, they can live pretty ordinary lives. The two of them ‘share’ the caelum ignis condition together. It ceases to be unstable.”

“What does she get out of it?” Draken asked, his voice a touch harder.

I glanced at him, but I still didn’t get anything weird off his magic towards me.

He felt concerned, like a friend.

“It’s not always a she,” I said, a little teasingly.

“What do they get out of it, then?” Draken asked, not to be swayed.

“Well, it’s my understanding that the condition extends both of their lives,” Luc said, glancing at me again and waiting for me to nod. Once I did, he looked back at Draken. “The partner of a caelum ignis also gets a huge boost to their own magic, and the ability to do what the caelum ignis can do. That’s the anecdotal experience.

“In theory,” he added, glancing at me. “Well, that’s a little harder to pull apart. To be able to bond with a caelum ignis in the first place, you need to have pretty unusual magic. The magic of a caelum ignis can actually kill ordinary Magicals. Accidentally, I mean. Apparently it’s pretty common for that to happen, even when they’re children. And they don’t come into their full power until they’re roughly our age.”

Miranda flinched, her expression horrified, and looked at me. “Their magic kills people? How?”

“It doesn’t hurt me at all,” I assured her. “It never has.”

“Never?” Draken asked, skeptical.

“Never,” I said firmly.

Miranda looked slightly mollified, but concern kept her expression taut. “What happened to your primal, Leda?” she asked. “The monocerus. Where has it gone?”

Draken looked at her, then at me, not hiding the interest in his eyes.

Luc looked at me, too.