"It was my fault," Blaze said, and Lira's blue eyes jumped to his face. Blaze took a deep breath, trying to calm the churning in his stomach. Lira was intimidating, but at least she was fair. "My name is Blaze Merg. I was the one who accidentally shattered the windows in the World Financial Building last week when I was working as a volunteer for the event in New York. In the chaos, I ran into Kayden on the streets, and I said something to her but I couldn't remember what because of—"

"Residual spell headiness," Lira completed with the smallest of smiles on her lips.

Blaze felt his face warm and he nodded. "Yes. And I was worried I let something slip, so later that night I cast a trace spell and snuck into her house to wipe her memory. But she woke up before I could finish the spell and I accidentally left my father's spell book in her room. When I returned a few hours later, she had already found it and wouldn't give it back to me unless I promised to let her keep her memory. I... I know it wasn't legal, but I was more concerned about what my father would do if he didn't get his book back. So I performed a Bonding Oath. But the next day, after the shift, she was magically transported to my house. The Bonding Oath somehow bound us together physically. And because of the shift, we can't undo the spell."

"Are there other side effects?" Lira asked.

Kayden held out her wrist, where the green symbol glowed through her sleeve. She pulled the fabric back so that Lira could get a better look. "We have these marks on us. And if I'm too far away from him, my stomach starts hurting. I used to be able to be in a different room, but now if I go even a few feet away, I get these horrible stomach pains."

"It seems like the spell is bringing them slowly together," Carsten said contemplatively, his eyes flickering between the two of them. "It could very well force them together, a fusion of their bodies."

"And it's not just us," Kayden pressed, opening the laptop which hummed to life. She clicked a few links and turned the screen to face the Congregation. "This website is full of people who have undergone altered spells. There are people in worse pain than us, and several are dying."

"We are aware of the people suffering right now," Wheeler said, trying to remain calm, but his bald spot was glistening with sweat. "We just assumed they could use the new counter spells once the book had been mass distributed. We had plans to send the very first shipments to potestas working in hospitals."

Walter looked uncomfortable. "The spells were designed to work after a magic shift; that's why my wife and I named it A Progressive Book of Magic. When the shift happened, most old spells simply broke apart without too much damage. But others, like this Bonding Oath, were grandfathered into existence and are impossible to reverse. It's possible that we could use some of the spells in A Progressive Book of Magic to treat symptoms, but I don't think we will ever be able to heal the source."

Lira laced her fingers together tightly. "So thousands of people are going to die then, even with the book."

"But what else can we do?" Wheeler said miserably. "Magic has shifted. We have to deal with the situation at hand as best as we can."

"But magic can be shifted back!" Lexi said suddenly from the other side of Voyle.

Carsten frowned. "I'm sorry, but you are...?"

"Lexi," she introduced. "I'm Kayden's cousin."

"And what is your name again, young man?" Carsten asked, turning to Helio.

"Helio Ruke," he introduced with an inclination of his head.

"Helio Ruke!" Wheeler exclaimed, his blue eyes widening in recognition. "I knew the name rang a bell! You're one of our new interns!"

"Yes sir," Helio replied.

Blaze turned towards Helio questioningly, but his look wasn't returned; if anything, Helio looked determined to avoid his gaze. Blaze hadn't heard any news of Helio getting an internship with the Congregation. He was surprised he had never mentioned it; Helio wasn't the type to keep big news to himself.

"Now what were you saying about magic being able to be shifted back?" Lira asked Lexi.

"Mr. Voyle explained it to us earlier," Lexi said. "Apparently it is possible to shift magic back to the way it was a few days ago."

"Is this true?" Lira looked to Walter.

He nodded his head slowly. "From what my wife and others researched in the 70s, most likely. We had tried to appeal to the Congregation at the time, hoping to cast a precautionary spell, but no one took us seriously. But I think it is possible. It would just take a spell of gargantuan proportions—a global effort."

Carsten seemed stunned; his eyes were blinking slowly and his jaw was shifting almost imperceptibly. After a moment, he turned to Lira. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" she repeated, looking incredulous. "I think we need to seriously look into this matter. Otherwise hundreds more people will die."

"People aren't going to accept this readily, though," Wheeler said. There was a nervous quiver in his voice. "We just announced that the book was the solution. They'll riot if we try to withhold it from them. They'll come after us."

"We don't have to completely eliminate the book," Walter suggested. "If we print them in a limited manner, we can give them to hospitals, some major charity agencies, and maybe a few businesses hit hard by the shift. That way people can cope with the symptoms while we work on the spell."

"If we manage to do this," Carsten said slowly, looking directly at Walter, "what are the chances that magic will just shift again?"

"I... I'm not quite sure," Voyle admitted. "The shift has been compared to global warming by several people. The potestas community did something that caused it, but the specifics are unknown."

"We can get scientists on that," Wheeler said assuredly. "We can use our resources to make sure another shift doesn't occur. We just need to see if it's possible to shift back to the old ways."

"We must have a vote on this," Carsten said, clasping his hands together. "I know it's a bit unorthodox to vote on an issue most members of the public aren't even aware of, but it seems that time is of the essence. And we need to contact the Global Conference."

"Russ must be here too," Lira reminded him.

Carsten nodded and gestured to a security guard lounging by the wall. "Please get Russ? Tell him we have to have a vote of utmost importance." After the guard left, he turned to face the room's guests. "Voting must be done in complete privacy, so I must ask you all to leave. But we have reserved a number of rooms here in the hotel for this week's conferences." He brandished a Le Lieu room card with a black magnetic strip. "Enjoy Room 495 for the time being. If we need you, we'll be sure to call, and if you need anything, please don't hesitate to talk with us."

"Thank you," Blaze said, finding it hard to hide his smile. It was the first time he felt true relief since the incident with the World Financial Center building. He hadn't messed everything up as badly as he'd initially thought. Things were actually going to be all right.

All five of them thanked the Congregation and then exited to the hallway, leaving the Congregation to their vote. Blaze watched as Lexi, Helio, and Walter hurried ahead, exuberantly leading the way to their new room. Lexi gave Helio a strong kiss on the lips, her laughter sounding like the tinkling of bells.

"Hey," Kayden said, taking his hand.

Blaze turned to her, startled.

Kayden's face rouged and she let go. "Sorry. I didn't mean to. I just... I'm glad we were finally able to talk to the Congregation."

"Oh," he said, wondering if the handhold was nothing more than a congratulatory squeeze. "Yeah, me too."

His stomach flip-flopped and he rubbed his fingers together. Kayden's eyes were now focused on the end of the hall, as if she was determined not to look at him.

He liked her; that was undeniably clear now. And he had a strong feeling that Kayden felt the same towards him.

The Bonding Oath is getting stronger, he thought, looking down at his hand.

A few weeks ago, something like this wouldn't have caused him that much grief. He had never been like Helio; he had been with a few girls before, but he didn't crave them like he did. He didn't have time to worry about girls when he was still trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life.

And yet he felt guilty. Don't worry about it, he told himself. When magic shifts back, all these feelings will be gone. And yet the churning in his gut undermined the feeling of relief that had swept over him when he had first left the conference room.

He kept glancing over at her, but Kayden seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, remaining silent as they climbed the stairs. It took Blaze the entire trip up to Room 495 before he finally realized what was bothering him.

Blaze knew that his feelings were just another unfortunate side effect of the spell. But he was pretty sure that Kayden did not.

- - -

Dun dun dun! Let me know what you think about this chapter! How do you think the Congregation's vote is going to go? Will Blaze say anything to Kayden about his fake feelings? Comments, votes, and questions always make me smile so feel free to send them my way!

As per usual, you guys are the best. Thanks for reading! <3