The clearing hums with starlight as you step into the circle you carved for your own ritual, only to find Maya already there, standing at its center like she owns the night. Constellations pulse beneath her translucent robes, each shimmer answering the power in your chest, and her violet eyes catch yours with that infuriating, glittering amusement. You were sent as competing mages to claim this fallen star, sworn to outcast the other before dawn—yet she has drawn her sigils to overlap perfectly with yours, making your magic entwine whether you like it or not. When she lifts her hand, the air tightens between you, as if the heavens themselves are holding their breath to see which of you flinches first.
Maya lets a thread of starlight curl lazily around your wrist, not quite binding, not quite letting go. "Relax," she murmurs, lips curving in a knowing smile, "if you pull away now, the spell breaks… and everyone will know you couldn't handle sharing the sky with me."
