Blood Bonds(The Bonds That Tie #3)(29)

None of them so much as crack a smile at my lame attempt at a joke, but it seems they’re all falling flat today. I glance at Gryphon and say, “Not to be a pain in the ass, but I need to sit down.”

He’s immediately hauling me up into his arms, and when I try to protest, he snaps, “You've been walking for long enough. Davenport can come at me over it; I’ll deal with it.”

Kyrie starts cackling behind us, but Gryphon ignores her, stalking back into the room that I now see is North’s office. I slide out of Gryphon’s arms as we step through the door, not wanting to be inappropriate around people I don’t know, even though Gryphon mutters a protest about it.

North is still sitting where we left him, his dress shirt only half buttoned, with a thunderous look on his face as he faces two older men that I vaguely recognize from that cursed dinner we’d attended a lifetime ago.

The moment we step into the room, one of them glances back at me and says, “Well, she’s here now—”

North cuts him off with acid dripping from his words, “Attempt to address my Bond right now, Hannity, and I’ll not be held responsible for what happens.”

I freeze, but Gryphon just slides in front of me, his arm tucking behind his back to hold me close to his body but clearly shielding me from sight of anyone in the room who might want something from me.

Hannity clears his throat and then chooses his words carefully. “I’m just trying to say that only one person knows exactly what happened. If we could hear it directly from your Bond—”

“No. You will hear nothing from her, and neither will any of the rest of the council. You’re sitting here because Gryphon has vetted you. If that status changes, if he finds even the slightest whiff of deception from any of you, you’ll be dealt with.”

“And how are you planning on achieving that, North? You’re strong, but you’re not a god.”

I should just let it go, but them questioning him like that? My bond isn’t happy about it. Gryphon’s arms tighten around me as he feels my bond take over and my eyes shift. I lean in his arms just enough that Hannity and Rockelle can get a look at me and say, “Me. He won’t get the chance to set August and his creatures on you, because I’ll have you dead on the ground before they get the chance.”

I watch as two fully grown, Top Tier, Gifted men gulp at the sight of my void-like eyes. The look of exaltation in North’s eyes only draws me into him even more.

It feels too damn good; my bond preens in my chest.





The moment Hannity and Rockelle finally give up on their questioning of North and leave us behind, he grabs his phone and demands that Felix comes to have another look at me. I want to protest, but I’m now sweating over the very sharp pains in my thigh and there’s no hiding that from either of my Bonds. Gryphon directs me into a seat while we wait for my only trusted Healer friend.

Felix arrives in under a minute, looking harried and completely fried, but gets straight into healing me. When our eyes meet, there’s a very clear look of relief in him that has me cringing.

“You met my bond, huh?”

He huffs out a laugh as he presses a palm to my bare ankle and his gift floods me. “Sure did. Wouldn’t have thought something that terrifying lived inside of you.”

I roll my eyes back at him as the door opens again and the room becomes very crowded with my Bonds, our friends, and some more people I don’t know. “I tried to warn you all, but no one believed me. It’s a cantankerous bitch at the best of times.”

Gabe comes straight over to me and cups my cheek, ignoring Felix’s disapproving protests, and he kisses me softly. “Thank fuck you’re awake.”

I swipe my tongue over my bottom lip, chasing the taste of him absentmindedly. “I didn’t really… sleep the way I need to. I give it maybe another hour or two, and I’ll be out for a few days. I did sleep the first three days at the camp away as well, that helped get me through the boredom.”

He nods and then steps away to get out of Felix’s way as he finishes up on whatever repairs my thigh needs. Sawyer has an arm over Sage’s shoulders, and I can see the effort it’s taking him to keep her away from me. I give her a smile anyway, knowing I’ll be throwing myself at her for that hug the second I can.

She looks freaking exhausted.

Kieran scoffs at me and takes the seat next to me, waiting his turn to be looked over by Felix, and snaps, “You slept most of the time away. Slept like a fucking baby, even strapped to a chair.”

“Are you still complaining about that? At least you could lie down and I got you decent food, you could say thank you, you know.”

He stares at me for a second and then says sullenly, “The chicken was shit.”

I laugh back at him. “The chicken is always shit. The slops are worse though, so, again, you’re welcome.”

Felix finally removes his hand from me and when he shuffles over to Kieran, there’s a wobble in his gift that wasn’t there before, and he’s clearly nearing the end of his power source for the day.

Sage senses it too, of course, they’re Bonded after all. She eyes him, her brows drawn together in a frown, and then I watch as her bond bursts out of her and into him in a wave. He grunts a little and rocks back on his heels, but the lines of tension melt away almost instantly.