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The Shardbound
William L. Spencer
DESCRIPTION:
Fire and Water were never meant to bind.
For centuries, the Order has enforced balance by keeping the elemental shards apart, teaching that certain bonds lead only to ruin. When Kael, a Fire wielder bound by duty, and Aelri, a Water wielder trained to suppress her emotions, form an impossible connection, they become living proof that the Order’s laws may be wrong.
Their bond is powerful—stable in ways no one can explain—and dangerous enough to threaten the foundation of the world’s magic. As the Order tightens its grip, Kael and Aelri are forced to flee, hunted not for what they’ve done, but for what they represent.
Caught between loyalty and survival, the pair must decide whether to submit to a system built on fear, or embrace a connection that could either restore balance—or shatter it completely.
The ShardBound is a character-driven epic fantasy about forbidden power, emotional balance, and the cost of defying institutions that claim to protect the world. Perfect for readers who enjoy morally complex magic systems, high-stakes relationships, and emotionally resonant fantasy.
EXCERPT:
The river roared beneath the battlements, swollen with spring melt and rage. Aelri felt it in her bones long before she reached the edge—the pull of water answering something restless inside her chest.
“Don’t,” Kael said behind her.
She stopped, fingers curling against the stone. Fire always did that to her—made everything sharper, louder. Made restraint harder.
Below them, the Order’s pursuit fractured along the riverbank, figures in dark cloaks scattering as the current surged higher. Someone shouted. Another voice barked commands that cut through the chaos.
“They won’t stop,” Aelri said. She didn’t turn. “You know that.”
Kael stepped closer. Heat brushed her senses, controlled but ever-present, like a flame banked low and waiting. “There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t.” She finally faced him, meeting his eyes. Firelight flickered there, reflected from torches lining the walls. “Not one they’ll allow.”
The air between them tightened. Not tension—recognition. The pull that had been growing since the battlements, since the moment their shards had resonated instead of tearing them apart.
Kael reached for her without thinking. The instant his fingers brushed her wrist, the world tilted.
Fire surged. Water answered.
Aelri gasped as the bond flared to life—not violent, not consuming, but terrifyingly stable. Heat threaded through cool, pressure giving way to flow. For a heartbeat, everything made sense.
Then the alarm bells rang.
Kael’s grip tightened. “They felt that.”
“Yes,” she said. “So did we.”
Footsteps thundered behind them. The Order was close now—too close.
Aelri turned back to the river. The current surged higher, as if listening.
“Can you swim?” she asked.
Kael followed her gaze. Rapids. Rocks. Certain pain.
“Barely.”
“Good enough.” She laced her fingers through his. “Stay with me. Don’t fight the current.”
“And if it takes us under?”
“Then we learn how to breathe.”
She stepped forward.
For a suspended heartbeat, they hung between stone and water—Fire and Water bound in defiance of every law they’d been taught.
Then the river claimed them.
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