THE MOMENT the god-bond’s life force disappears into Oli, her eyes roll back into her head and she drops, passing out cold. The Crux swoops down to catch her as she falls, bringing her up into his arms and turning his head to the Soothsayer.
I watch it all from inside my own body, the one that I no longer control, but the Corvus has agreed to let me watch what’s going on and listen to my input.
Neither of us are happy about Oleander passing out.
It was too much for her. She’s only just waking up.
“She’s been awake a lot longer than most of us,” the Soothsayer murmurs, and before anyone can argue with him, there’s a pop sound as Black reappears.
He takes one look at Oli’s unconscious form in my brother’s arms and curses viciously under his breath before he remembers that none of us are the men that he grew up with and knows so well right now.
“Am I just taking you back to North’s offices in the Sanctuary, or should we get her to a Healer?” he asks in a formal and respectful tone, his head bowed just a little.
I don’t know who he’s taken lessons from on how to approach the gods but I can feel the Corvus’ reaction to it. He likes the reverential treatment.
I’m sure they all do.
The Soothsayer places a hand on Oli’s neck, his eyes flashing brighter for a moment. “She doesn’t need a Healer. Take us back to where the information is being kept. She just needs rest and can do that there.”
Black gives him a curt nod and stretches out his arm, waiting for each of us to take it to leave this place that stinks of ash and flames. I stand next to the Crux, close enough that I can smell the scent of Oleander’s shampoo. As my bond rumbles happily inside my chest at her proximity, I feel a pit of dread there.
What if the god-bond’s soul has done damage? What if it’s given her extra power? Oli’s always been so afraid of what her bond can do, so scared of getting stronger, because her power is already so close to the limit of what she can control. A thousand different fears of hers run through my mind, all of them as familiar to me as my own, thanks to our soul-bond.
I murmur quietly to my bond, take her from the Crux. She needs us right now.
It agrees with me, though I’m sure it will always agree if it means getting its hands on her. The moment we reappear in North’s offices, it takes her from the Crux. We move over to the couch with her cradled against our chest.
She’s so small.
I forget that sometimes because of her larger-than-life personality and the way that she commands every space she walks into. Her attitude is big enough for three grown men, but when she is unconscious like this, it’s easy to forget all of that and see nothing but the woman left behind.
Petite, fine features. Hair so white that it’s like a tumble of starlight on her head, sooty eyelashes fanning over her cheeks, plump lips that part as she sighs and turns further into my body, craving me and reaching out to me, even in her unconscious state.
It all fills me with a murderous rage.
Rage at anyone who has ever hurt her, looked at her, spoken to her, or touched what is mine. Anyone who might have thought badly of her. The soul bonding had solidified my obsession with her and though I know my own past actions with her had been poisoned by my past, now all I can see is the perfection of her, all of the ways that this woman owns me and the ways that I own her as well.
I feel a little like a hoarding dragon in the way that I want to take her back to our mansion, lock her in my room, and guard her like I had when we’d woken from the soul-bonding. Only this time, I won’t let anyone in to take her away from me.
Gryphon’s eyes flash and shift back to green as the Soothsayer releases him. One by one, their eyes all shift back as they take control of their bodies. Gabe groans and cracks his neck, rolling out his shoulders as though he’s been holding himself too tightly this entire time. I suppose the Draconis didn’t enjoy being stuck in human form, the same way my bones itch if I’m forced to keep the shadows inside of me.
I watch as Black visibly deflates at the sight of their cleared eyes. The Corvus stays with me. With Oleander in my arms, I doubt he’s going to go without a fight, and I’m simply not interested in having one at the moment.
I feel as though I will be too exposed if the god leaves me right now. I would rather just enjoy the moment with my Bonded in my arms while no one will think anything of it.
“What the fuck happened back there?” Black snaps, but Gryphon is already stalking over to where I’m sitting, slipping his hand back onto Oli’s neck, his eyes flashing as he checks in with her.
“She’s okay, she’s just asleep, the same way as when she uses her power.”
North nods and blows out a long breath, scrubbing a hand across his face as he takes stock of himself and the situation. He’s already shifting into ‘damage-control mode’, and though the situation definitely needs it, I still find myself rolling my eyes internally.
Just once, I wish he would forget about being on the council, forget about everything he’s supposed to do and just relax. I wonder what it would even look like if North Draven just let himself feel whatever he needed to and took a moment for himself.
“We found the god-bond, and Oli took care of it. It’d laid the trap for us, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more in our future.”
Kieran gives him another curt nod and then looks around at each of us before his eyes settle on my bond. “Is that one going to let go anytime soon? I don’t feel totally comfortable speaking about any of this with that one in the room as well. What’s to stop it from getting pissed off at something I say and coming after me?”
The Corvus tilts my head in the curious way they all do. “We’re always here. We’re always listening. You have never had a conversation without my hearing it.”
“Well, that’s fucking creepy,” Kieran says before turning back to North. “The General arrived this morning, and word has gotten out about the fire on the East Coast already. He’s downstairs, ranting about the entire situation, so you might want to prepare yourselves for that.”
“Transport me and my Bonded back to our house. I don’t want her around any danger that might end in bloodshed,” the Corvus says, and Kieran looks at North and Gryphon before he moves.
“Gabe and Atlas, you both should go with them to watch over her while we deal with this,” North says before he looks over at my god-bond. “Once she’s safe at the house, can we have Nox back? We’re going to need all the help we can get and nothing handles the General quite like my brother’s pissed-off attitude.”
Gryphon nods his head and then smirks. “Nothing except Oli’s. She’s gotten pretty good at cutting the General to the core.”
My god-bond nods and starts shifting her in our arms until she’s more secure. “Do it. I will see her home safely before I sleep.”
BLACK TRANSPORTS us to the front doorstep of the mansion, and we all stand together as Gabe fumbles around for his keys to get us in.
Atlas stands as close to my side as he can without touching me, his eyes on Oli. He continues staring at her sleeping form until we hear a low rustling in the bushes. He turns to cover us both as he watches to see where the sound has come from. It’s nothing but the breeze, I’d feel if it were more, but my shadows dart off to double-check.
The way that Atlas covers me is telling.
Even a month ago, he would have gone toe-to-toe with my god-bond to wrestle Oli out of my arms. He would have used her safety and his impenetrable skin as excuses to get her away from us, but now he sees the value in protecting us both. I could write it off simply as his respect for the gods, and I’m sure that does play into it, but there’s no denying that the Bonded Group has shifted and changed, matured in ways none of us were expecting.
The girl in my arms who I was so sure would be the catalyst for our destruction has become anything but that. She’s the reason we’re all pulling together, the reason we all want more for ourselves and the community. Simply by existing, she has made everything better.
The god-bond can hear every one of my thoughts, and he pulls her up further into our chest, tucking her in closer as the shadows wrap around her, forming more of a protective barrier.
When the shadow creatures come back from the bushes with nothing to report and no blood spilled, Atlas relaxes a little, though his eyes stay on the road that leads up to our house.
“Do you really think someone’s going to get in here? Is there a valid argument for that or is this just Bonded behavior?” Black murmurs quietly, and Atlas shoots him a look.
He just shrugs back. “I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with Bonded behavior—I have it myself. I would just like to know if I should be reaching for my gun right now to back you up.”
Atlas gives him a curt nod, and his eyes narrow toward the lights down at the town center. “They had a Shield already in place just outside of the Sanctuary walls to keep you trapped in here. What’s to say they haven’t found a way inside? What’s to say that some of the residents here aren’t sleeper-cells, like the one that killed the Dravens’ uncle? I mean, I trust Gryphon, and I trust his bond, but we’ve just found out that there are more god-bonds out there. What’s to say one of them couldn’t plant someone in here? The Soothsayer has only been awake for a matter of days. There is every chance that we’re not safe here, and I’m not going to bet my Bonded’s life on anything right now.”
Black stares at him for a moment and then nods, palming his gun and turning his back to the door right as Gabe finally gets it open. He watches over the street as we walk in, entering last and triple-checking the locks on the doors before he holsters his weapon once more.
The glass in here is bulletproof, the best that money can buy. The entire structure of the house has been reinforced, and it’s the equivalent of a bomb-proof bunker. North hadn’t spared a single expense on the place. Whatever recommended rating the professionals had given him, he tripled it, just to be sure.
I know, without a doubt, that there are presidents and royalty with less protection than what my brother has in place for our Bonded Group and the little Central still sleeping in my arms.
The Corvus doesn’t hesitate to walk Oleander back into her room, ignoring the conversation still happening around us. Gabe and Atlas eventually follow us down the hallway, as though drawn there by Oli subconsciously, never wanting to be too far away from her.
Even after it gets her tucked safely into her bed with Gabe and Atlas watching her like hawks, my bond is not satisfied.
It doesn’t want to leave her here without one of us standing guard, and I understand the feeling well. There’s something vulnerable about her at the moment, something I’ve never felt before. Before, when she had overexerted her power, her bond would still simmer to the surface from time to time. I could still feel it there watching over her as her body took what it needed. There’s a stillness inside of Oleander right now that chills me right down to the bone.
I don’t want to leave her.
Black is waiting in the kitchen for me to return. When my bond simply stands and stares at Oleander’s sleeping form, Gabe starts to get restless.
“We’re not going to let anything happen to her. Atlas is indestructible, and he is going to cover her at all times. North and Gryphon are the ones who need help here.”
He uses a very reasonable tone, but my god-bond doesn’t react. It doesn’t do anything except stare down at the small lump in the fabric that Oli makes, watching her obsessively. Her breathing is even and steady; nothing about her is saying that she needs to be watched like this.
If anything happens, she has Atlas’ power to cover her, and Gabe can shift into the dragon if he needs to. It would take him less than a second to fly her back to us. I know this, the Corvus knows this, and yet, we still can’t move.
“Are you going to be able to leave her or should we call North and let him know what’s going on?” Atlas asks as he climbs up onto the bed with her.
He doesn’t immediately move her onto his lap or fuss with her as I would. He simply presses a hand to her chest to feel her breathing for a minute and then lets her go, letting her sleep peacefully. The way that he loves and treats her is incredibly selfless, a stark comparison to the selfish way that I covet her.
It doesn’t make me feel bad though. If anything, it makes me feel like I need to take more, to take everything from her until I have it all.
“I’ll call North,” Gabe mutters, sharing a look with Atlas, but my bond finally moves, reaching out a hand, and my palm turns black as shadows fall from it.
Mephis and Procel come down and immediately move to the bed, jumping up to flank either side of her. Atlas stares at them distrustfully, and my bond finally speaks. “They will guard her. Do not attempt to move or disrupt them. I will only be gone for as long as it takes to fix the problem.”
Atlas nods, slowly shifting away from the shadows a little, but his eyes stay on her. Finally, my god-bond loosens the grip on my body, letting me take control once more, though it continues watching.
Gabe lets out a breath behind me. “What crawled up its ass? The rest all left happily.”
I shake my head dismissively at him. “She’s sleeping too heavily. You need to watch her, and call me the second anything changes… for better or worse.”
Gabe startles and steps towards the bed. “What do you mean by that? She always does this when she uses power.”
Atlas shakes his head. “This is different. Can’t you feel it? She’s not the only one resting.”
Gabe scowls and shrugs. “That makes sense though, doesn’t it? She took out something bigger than she ever has before, of course her bond needs to sleep as well.”
I shake my head. “I don’t like it. Just watch her and call me. I’ll go deal with these fucking idiots at the office and then I’ll be back.”
“You or your bond?” Atlas asks as I turn on my heel.
“Does it matter? We’re one and the same,” I say as I shove the door open, stalking out to where Black is waiting for me.
The relief on his face at the color of my eyes is stark. “If you’d have told me six months ago that you’d be acting like this over your Bonded—”
I fucking hate that word.
Using it like that, about her, it makes my skin crawl, so I cut him off. “We need to get this over and done with. I need to be back here.”
He scowls at me as he claps a hand on my shoulder. “Do you need me to send Felix up? He’s already waiting, if you need him.”
I shake my head. “No one’s looking at her without me there. We’ll deal with this, and then when I get back, I can look her over again and make the call.”
Kieran shakes his head. “It’s not a good day to be the General.”
It’s never a good day to be the fucking General. I hate the man, even more so now than ever before, which is something I didn’t think was possible. He is taking me away from Oleander right now, when she needs me the most, and that is inexcusable.
We transport into the bottom floor of North’s office, the area that is open for the public to come into and wait to speak with him. It’s usually fairly empty, nothing more than a glorified thoroughfare area, but we find it packed with bodies.
I’m not very surprised to find ourselves appearing in the middle of an all-out war.
The fact that North is in the center of it, vigorously brawling, is more than a little shocking, however.
If anything, I would have guessed that Gryphon would’ve thrown the first punch at his father, years of resentment finally bubbling to the surface, but our Neuro is the one trying to get North off of the General.
More shadows fall from my body and start cleaning up the mess around us, winding their way around the TacTeam personnel and pulling them all out of the fray. One-by-one, they line the bodies up until they are sweating and shaking in fear by the wall.
North’s shadows are only exacerbating the fight, but when they come across mine, they have no choice but to calm down, secure in the fact that I’m here to help, and they can’t fight against their own, no matter what the situation might be. Without the pressure of the rest of the TacTeams around them, Gryphon manages to pry North off of his father, his hands finally wrenching away from around the General’s throat. The older man makes the sweetest gurgling noises as he gasps for air.
I sidle up beside them. The black stain of my god-bond creeps up my throat, and a smirk stretches across my lips as I see the blood running freely out of his nose. It all makes me look like the demon the General is so sure that I am, and I’m more than happy to play the part.
I wish I could kill the cunt myself.
“Well, well. I didn’t think it was possible for someone to goad North into that sort of attack, but I suppose if anyone could do it, it would be you.”
The General stares up at me in pure loathing, and I relish it… right until he opens his fat mouth.
“With any luck, Athena has killed that little bitch bond of yours and we don’t have another monster walking around this godforsaken shithole.”
My temper snaps faster than North’s ever has.
The General’s jaw shatters under my fist just as quickly.
