Blood Bonds(The Bonds That Tie #3)(7)

Mine.

God, I miss them all already. What I wouldn’t give to be sitting in a stupid Gifted 101 class with Nox snarling up at me, or sitting in the dining room with North making demands and Gryphon ignoring my existence. I’d take all of their bullshit right now to be back there with them.

I really have fallen.

Davies stares at me, watching my bond peruse Kieran and deciding it’s not just a show put on for him, and the victory in his grin makes me feel sick. “Little Render… you’re going to Bond with him, and then we’re going to test you out all over again. God, how I’ve missed your screaming.”

And then he leaves the tent, leaves Kieran on the ground at my feet, and me chained to my chair with cold, black, void eyes.





Chapter Three





Oli


Kieran has tech handcuffs on, the type that will send volts of electricity tearing through your body if you step out of line to kill you, so I’m not surprised that Davies has just left him behind with me. I’m also aware that there’s a camera on us. While I’m confident that it won’t have a mic, I still don’t want to be sitting here chatting about what’s really going on.

When he looks up at me with a glare, I shush him and then I cast out my gift to feel who is around us, whether anyone will overhear his pissed off tirade that I’m sure is just bursting to get out.

Davies is over in the main tents with a handful of his strongest and most trusted men. None of them can hear shit from this far away though, so I’m safe there. There’s a lot of new people here, but I can’t sense any Neuros or Telekinetic-type gifts, so I decide it’s worth the risk and call my gift back into myself, meeting Kieran’s eye and giving him the go-ahead to speak.

I shouldn’t have bothered.

“I’m not having sex with you.”

I snort at him and snap back, remembering in the last second to keep my voice down and my head ducked despite my outrage, “That’s never been the plan, Black! Get your head out of the gutter.”

He huffs at me like I’m being the unreasonable one, and then winces as he jolts his leg, shifting slightly to attempt to relieve some of the pain he’s obviously in. I hope it’s not broken. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take me to get the hell out of here, and Franklin is still here for some unknown reason, so the thought of having to drag Kieran out on my back is just too much.

“So what is your grand plan then? You heard Silas Davies, he’s going to expect us to ‘Bond’.”

I roll my eyes at him, extra petulant because I’m stuck in the chair with a numb ass, but also to hide the thrill of terror that jolts through my veins at him saying the name. “I know exactly what the next few days are going to look like, so calm down. We just need to be patient, and then I’ll get us out.”

He blinks at me for a second and then curses under his breath, shaking his head. “Contact Shore. Tell him where we are and get an evac, because there’s no way you’re going to get us out of here.”

My bond floods me at the sound of his name, and I have no control of my body as it takes over and my eyes shift to black, leaning down to hiss at Kieran, “I have endured too much for you to speak his name here. Don’t ever speak of any of them.”

He pauses for a second and then he gulps.

He honest-to-God gulps like I’m terrifying, which my bond loves, but it releases its grip on me, and I slump back in the seat with a gasp.

“You’re a crazy fucking kid, you know that?”

I shrug and let out a quiet, slightly shaky, laugh. “I thought you were looking forward to watching me ruin everyone’s lives? Come on now, don’t give up on me over something so small. My bond barely spoke to you!”

He shakes his head and me and looks away. “And I’ll do my best to never speak to it again, thank you very much.”

I scoff at him, giggling a little, which is stupid, but there’s also this weird sense of relief in me that we’re trapped here together… that I have someone with me this time, and I’m not going to be completely alone. Plus, if it had to be anyone, I’m sort of glad it’s him.

I’d be beside myself if it were Sage again. I’d be too worried about her getting hurt or assaulted to concentrate on my plans, and if it were truly one of my Bonds? Jesus, the bloodshed my own bond would have over them being in danger is just too much to even think about. A Technokinetic is no help, and Sawyer’s smart mouth would get him in way too much trouble.

Felix would’ve also been helpful but, again, I’d be too worried about my bestie’s Bonded getting himself killed to focus, so Kieran Black is the best goddamn choice here.

If only Kyrie wasn’t also in the freaking camps with us.

There is a moment of silence between us while I try to figure out how the hell to get Kyrie in this tent with us before Kieran speaks again, his voice barely more than breath. “You’re protecting them.”

It feels so obvious to me, but I guess he assumed the same as the rest of them, that I’d hated my Bonds and run from them all rather than have them.

I duck my head again so whoever is watching that camera can’t read my lips. “Always. Everything I’ve done has been to protect them. Every action, every word I’ve bitten back, every minute I spent running from them. If you’re not terrified of that man, then you don’t have good enough intel… or you haven’t been paying attention to it. He’s evil incarnate.”