Forced Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #4)(47)

Oh, except for the void eyes that Sage absolutely, without a doubt shouldn’t be rocking.

My bond presses at my mind, trying to take over and get control of my body, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that’s a terrible idea. I’m fully aware that Sawyer isn't going to even attempt to follow through with his words and this is all just an expression of how pissed off he is, that he's slinging shit at the most likely target, but my bond is not one to mess around with.

”I am going to—“

I cut him off before we hit the danger zone for real. ”Yeah, let's not continue to threaten my Bonds, because there's only so much that I can do to stop my bond from coming out and dealing with you personally.”

Sawyer glances over at me and throws his hands up in the air in frustration. “You don't even like Nox! He's an asshole, we all know it. We've all watched everything that he has done to you since you got back, so you can’t fucking deny it. He’s clearly the one who has done this, Oli!”

Gabe scratches the back of his neck like he is incredibly uncomfortable with this conversation, but Atlas crosses his arms over his chest and nods along like he agrees completely with Sawyer’s delusional assessment of the footage.

I aim for rational, because clearly the entire goddamned room needs it. “Okay, well, first, I just found out that my bond and Nox’s bond have been meeting up in the late hours of the night together. It doesn't matter which human is wearing that casing, my bond is not going to let you take him away from her. Also, how the hell do you think he is capable of this sort of manipulation? His gift is his shadow creatures and the dread.”

Gabe groans and swipes a hand over his face like he is desperate to get out of here and doesn't want to be found guilty by association. I, on the other hand, need to convince Sawyer not to do anything stupid before we call North and Gryphon in.

After dinner last night and everything that is already in question with Nox… he doesn’t need any more questions about his loyalty right now.

“Nox has a third gift.”

I glance over my shoulder at Kieran, glaring at him for his betrayal, but he just shrugs back.

“We’re supposed to be looking into every option possible, right? He has a third gift. North too, but we know what all three of his are. As far as I'm aware, your bonding with North has just made them stronger and hasn't given him anything extra.”

My cheeks stupidly flush at the thought of them all discussing my sex life again, but there's more important shit to think about. “I haven't bonded with Nox, so unless you know for sure that the third gift is his ability to use mind control to betray his entire family, his community, everything he has ever stood for and believed in, so much so that he has chosen to fight for us all, even when he’s so disconnected from us, I think that running out of here to murder him probably isn't the best idea.”

Gabe nods and points at me. “She's talking sense here, folks. The rest of you are the ones who have jumped off the fucking deep end. Even if there was the slightest of chances that this was Nox, which there’s definitely not, if you walk out of here, his shadow creatures will consume you.”

Sawyer shakes his head at Gabe and takes a step towards him in an angry sort of motion, like he’s about to get in his face to argue with him a whole lot more. It's not a threat, exactly, but my bond feels as though it is, and I find Brutus coming down from behind my ear in response to my own reaction to it.

He isn’t the docile puppy that everybody is used to seeing though.

His head reaches my chest as he takes full form, and his ears prick all the way up as his jaws open and his teeth are revealed in a snarl. He looks like the terrifying hellhound that they’re all so sure my sweet boy is, but all I can see is a protective pup who would do anything for me.

I’ve never loved him more than I do at this moment.

“Oh my God, he's sitting here listening to us all figure it out!” Sawyer snaps as he turns on his heel and stalks back around the table to his laptop.

“Sawyer, you need to listen to Oli.”

Everybody freezes and turns towards the cell to where Sage has finally gotten out of her bed, standing at the glass with her hands pressed against it and her eyes on her brother. She still looks as though she has spent the last week sobbing herself to insanity, but there's a determined look on her face.

“She's not just saying this because he's her Bond. She's always been the first person to call him out on his bullshit, and you know it. We've spoken about it before! You said that you couldn't believe that she didn't just fall into the Bond haze like everybody else does. If she says that there's no way that he would have done it, then there's no way he would have done it. And to be perfectly honest, I don't think it's him either.”

Felix calls out from his own cell, “It would have to be a Neuro. The sort of power to get into someone's mind, wipe any recollection of what they're doing, and force them to take someone's life… that’s a Neuro Gift, and it is an incredibly powerful one, at that.”

I turn and look at Atlas, who is frowning now. “Do you know of any Neuros in the Resistance whose eyes turn black?”

He lets out a deep sigh and shakes his head. “The strongest Neuro that I know of in the Resistance is Silas Davies, and his eyes turn white, just like everyone else. I don’t know anyone else with the voids. I’d heard rumors that the Dravens had void eyes, everyone has, but I didn't really believe it until I saw it myself. I thought it was a bogeyman story told to keep Resistance kids from going to Draven. Even after I saw the footage of you in the camps, I thought you were the only one and that it had something to do with being a Render.”