Chapter Forty-Seven

“What!?” Harmony snatched her hand away. One thing no one has ever accused her of was being religious.

Thorne touched the gem facets one at a time. “Red, that’s your primal bond with Adric. Your armor, Night, I believe, is your paired bond, the blue one. That skill that had you leaving a body behind at the Harvest, I was unsure if it was fate, Astral, protoplasmic, or a summon. I’m slightly shocked it is a quantum bond. I’ve seen that with phasing or linking things. I thought it was a summon or physical ghost. That last one is a theocratic bond, a faint one, and there shouldn’t be any gods in this area.”

“But the temples?”

“Nothing godly there. I’m restricted from telling you more.”

Had Von Trell done something to her while she was unconscious? Maybe a thorough self-diagnostic? It’s not like she hadn’t done that enough times since. “I don’t delving know where it came from. Is there any way to remove it for something useful?“

“Maybe evolution will clear it out of you. It does seem very faint. I wouldn’t worry about it.” Throne said as though it was nothing.

It wasn’t nothing. Harmony scratched the back of her arm over her armor, down to her fingertips, because the idea made her itch. They all get useful bonds, and she’ll get what, nothing?

“With Lady White complete, I’ll focus on you four for the rest of the week. Rosaline, do you have the item for the Jamesian bond?” Thorne continued.

“Yes, The Arrow of Many Things, I had to do distasteful favors for my aunt to acquire it. Even then, she almost said no because we failed.”

“I’m not sure about the chaotic nature of such a thing, but a legacy artifact should work well. Which hand do you want to be able to return it to? “

“Right,” she answered.

“You get the item, and I’ll fetch the scroll. I have two more if any of you decide you want to return an item to your person. There was one man who used the bond on their hat. Even made a weapon out of it, an odd fellow. I know you probably want to try to get a pet, but this isn’t the kind of bond you want to ignore the possibilities of, and taking on a pet requires responsibility. I want to see you all back here tomorrow after lunch. Except for you, Lady White, you focus on leveling.”

Harmony cursed her extraneous bond quietly, theocratic, gods, ugh. The princess’s pained looks in her direction as Rose dashed off with her special arrow were easy to ignore. It’s not that Rose hadn’t seemed sincere in wanting to protect Adric at the tower, but now she’s revealed she’d also been bought. Practical, almost worthy of respect. If she needed to ally with Rose in the Ascendant Games then that was something to remember.

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"Hey, at least you can skip out on the work of acquiring bonds," Max said encouragingly.

What a mess of a knight. There is no way her personal knight should look so messy. [Manipulate Dead], [Beautician], and [Dust] got to work fixing Maxwell’s state, as the crash had left him dirty, covered in dried blood, and hair tangled. It was easy to make him look more groomed than his counterparts after their training. [Renew Spirit] added life back to his cheeks after all the injury and healing had taken from him.

“Harmony, do you think maybe you could give me a few minutes of your time to discuss bond options with me? I’m curious about how yours have affected your skills and theories on potential evolutions due to them.” Len asked a little pleadingly.

Harmony hadn’t spent any time on what her evolution might be. Thibodeux on Evolution sat unread, and not for lack of time, which she could always make for reading at the low cost of sacrificing sleep. You get three options and make your choice. Obsessing about shaping it to where you wanted to go always felt wasted. At least it did before when she was only a lowly maid, but now who has time when death is on the line.

“If you think it would be useful. I have some time after dinner tonight. I’ll let Ma Bell know you’re an approved guest.”

Lord Tyler stepped forward. “I too, would like you to help me discuss, um, bond and skill stuff. Har, uh, Lady White.”

Noooooooooooooooo. Harmony's first impulse was set aside with not a hint of that reaction on her face. She forced a polite, socially appropriate smile. This wasn’t long reams of poetry, nor was it an admission of his undying love or even him leering at her. He wasn’t standing too close, as he stood the furthest of the boys from her. While he was looking down at her, it was into her face and not lower, or wandering up and down. Days… weeks… months… with him and twenty-three others.

“You can come as well. Don’t make me regret it.”

Tyler looked like he was about to dance with the way he perked up. That nearly made Harmony regret it then and there. If he’s going to try, she might as well let him.

“Come, Max, apparently we’re having guests tonight.”

The walk from the guild training grounds to the Dragonfly Inn wasn't short, but it wasn't long either. Enough time for a casual conversation. “So, you used the [Chaos Seed] to change a skill?”

“Yes, as you know, I'm trying to change my path. I want my knight-focused skills gone before I evolve.”

A raised eyebrow was all it took to get him to continue. That first oath to Harmony made it difficult to hold anything back.

“Each skill takes a certain amount of chaos to change and costs levels. [Chivalry] Is gone, it's now [Unexpected Acts]. I can make people act in unexpected manners and the more chaos I've built up the stronger it can be.”

What would she have changed if given that option? Nothing. The whole idea felt wrong, anathema to how she viewed skills as part of herself. “Exactly what I need in my life, more chaos and surprises. I hope you're being safe. This kind of thing has nearly a bad reputation as necromancy. Probably overinflated, but still something to be wary about.”

“Your concern honors me, Lady White. I always try to be cautious.” He answered with a roguish grin.

Cautious. It wasn’t that long ago that the man landed ungracefully into a twitching heap on the ground. At least he believed he was being honest there. People and their abilities to fool themselves. Harmony managed to keep a sigh mostly contained.

Hyacinth chuckled silently through their bond with no hint as to if it was at her or Max.