Forced Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #4)(25)

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

I frown, but he turns away from me to pull another bottle of water out of his pack and downs half of it in one go. There's that same weird energy around him, as though there's something wrong that I’ve missed that happened overnight. Now there's warning bells going off in my head with what he said.

Sleepwalking? Sleep talking? Hell, what else could I be doing while unconscious?

Calm down. It’s nothing you’ve done. We have a job to do today, get your head back into it.

I duck my face back down to stare down at my boots and nod, shaking myself off mentally to get rid of all of the bad feelings. He’s right. If I go into today off-kilter, then my bond is more likely to come out at the smallest provocation. Gryphon had relayed a lot of what Nox had been telling him about the people here, so it wouldn’t be, like, catastrophic. But the potential for the Resistance to retaliate and come after more innocent Gifted, just because I couldn’t control myself is high.

I can’t let that happen. Not now. Not ever.





Nox is silent and broody as we move through the trees towards the line of perfect houses on the lake. It’s a different sort of silence than yesterday, and I catch Gryphon watching him with a calculating intensity more often than not. I’m very aware that my most vicious and private Bond is probably gearing up to start a riot over the scrutiny and whatever the hell sparked it. I hope like hell that it has nothing to do with me.

The sinking feeling in my gut is a definite warning that it is.

Brutus walks by my side, snapping and snarling soundlessly if any of the other shadow pups get close to us. I don’t think any of them mean us any harm, it’s more like they’re curious about me and want to see what all of the fuss is about, but Brutus is very territorial.

It’s so freaking cute.

All of the practice and observation I got in yesterday means that my feet are much quieter on the ground than they were at the beginning of the mission. Don’t get me wrong, I still sound like a herd of elephants compared to either of my Bonds, but it’s a major improvement.

Nox is going to send the shadow creatures in their smallest forms first, and once we have confirmation that they’re back in there, then we’ll move in.

I don’t usually startle at the sound of Gryphon’s voice in my head anymore, but I was so far into my own head that it has me tripping over my feet a little. Not enough that Nox hears it and turns around to see me being incompetent, thank God, but Gryphon gets a hand under my elbow to catch me, pulling me to a stop as we reach the area where the trees begin to thin out.

Gryphon’s hand drops away from me as he takes a half step towards Nox, watching him closely as he widens his stance a little and rolls his shoulders back, preparing himself for the work he’s about to do.

Watching Nox's eyes void out completely is way more unsettling than it had been with North, mostly because I don't know if his bond loathes me as much as Nox himself does… or if he even has another entire being living within him. I'm only assuming that he does because his eyes turn black the same way ours do, and I've only ever shared that experience with North before.

The shadow creatures around us all immediately start to mobilize until there is a circle of protection around us once again. Then two of his bigger and fiercer looking creations, both of them in the forms of snarling Dobermans, begin to shrink down until they are barely visible streams of dark smoke wisps that are little more than air as they move, and I watch as they disappear into the trees in front of us.

Gryphon shifts on his feet, crossing his arms as his eyes narrow. A white ring of light circles his irises as he calls on his own Gift to listen in on what's happening around us. It's incredibly frustrating to not be able to do the same. All that I can say for sure is that my bond doesn’t feel any danger aimed in my direction that it’s concerned enough about to want to take over. It's awake and taking up space in my chest at the moment, but it’s mostly content that we're here doing something with two of my Bonds.

There's the ever-present longing for Nox in my chest as well, but it’s strangely quieter than it was yesterday.

I find myself side-eyeing Gryphon once again, but he is completely focused on the mission.

They’re back, he says directly into my mind, and Nox turns to face us, his lip curled a little in my direction.

Well, that answers that question. There’s too much humanity on his face right now, so I know that his bond is not actually in control at the moment, if it ever could be. I don’t know if I should be upset about it or relieved.

Something to think about later when we’re not about to abduct two full-grown, fully powered Gifted.

We need to move; they’re packing to leave. We're following Nox's lead. You go in after him, and I'll take up the rear. Just follow Nox and try not to make any unnecessary noises.

I give Gryphon a curt nod and move in towards my other Bond, careful to keep my feet quiet and a reasonable distance between the two of us still.

I want to show that I am following Gryphon’s orders but also respecting the fact that Nox would rather crawl on his belly across glass than to ever be near me. It’s a delicate balance to get right, dammit.

We move out as one.

It's harder to keep up with Nox than I would like to admit. His legs are easily twice as long as mine, and he doesn't really seem too concerned about making sure that I'm keeping up. Brutus stays at my side the entire time, and the stealthy way that we all have to move takes up most of my concentration.