Tragic Bonds (The Bonds That Tie #5)(52)

The beast stares at her with unblinking eyes and moves towards her slowly.

The first step we allow.

It could just be a deviation in the circuit he has been walking up and down the meeting room, but the second step is too much, and we all make some sound of caution to get him to stop. Atlas shifts more fully in front of Oli, and a dozen extra shadow creatures burst out of Nox, his hands flexing at his side as though he's preparing himself to physically grapple with a mythical creature come to life.

Oli is the only one who doesn't seem concerned.

“I think he just wants to talk to me.”

Gryphon turns and pegs her with a stern look. “And if you think that we're going to allow that to happen, then you have another thing coming. We're not going to just throw you in its direction and hope for the best, Bonded,” he snaps, and though she looks a little more subdued about it, she still ducks around Atlas.

“Let me at least try to talk to him.”

“Stay right there. Do not move even an inch further, Bonded,” I snap. She nods, raising a hand up as though she is trying to placate the dragon.

“What do you need? Tell me what's bothering you, and I'll fix it,” she tries, but the dragon only cocks its head at her.

With the void-like eyes, there is none of Gabe left in him, nothing familiar about the form at all. I have to struggle with myself to remember that the Bonded Group’s golden child is somewhere underneath all of those scales and fire.

She tries a few more times, but when it's clear that the dragon either cannot understand her or refuses to speak to her like this, Oleander reaches out to him through the mind connection instead.

That catches its attention.

It lets out a long breath that smells of sulfur and heats the room around us. Gryphon shoots me a look as he steps towards our Bonded, but the dragon speaks as though none of the rest of us are there.

Mine, it says in a voice that is nothing like Gabe’s but everything like my own bond’s and the one that lives inside of my brother.

Mine.





It takes another full hour before Oleander can coax the dragon into letting Gabe back out.

It’s difficult, but we have to get him back up to the house to sleep off the shift without anyone noticing our change in transport zone and the way that he’s so fatigued, and we all tuck in early for the night. I can’t spend the next few days watching over him for more changes though.

I have to leave that to Oleander and Atlas, thanks to the new situation we have to attempt to sweep under the rug.

With the revelation that my Bonded may have the ability to change the bonds within her Bonded Group, the last thing that I want to do is to go meet with the non-Gifted senators and law enforcement to run damage control about the Wastelands. Unfortunately, part of keeping my community and, more importantly, my Bonded Group safe is putting out these sorts of fires.

It's a tough choice, but I decide to leave Nox behind in the Sanctuary and take Gryphon with me. The decision had already been made for us to operate in pairs, especially now that there's the potential for Gifts to be changing. Although Nox argues with me, Gryphon is still the better choice to take.

The Resistance might not know that my brother survived their killing attempt, and any sort of element of surprise that we might have over them is worth an argument with him.

Meeting with Senator Oldham would also likely test Nox's very limited patience.

The woman is a thorn in my side. No amount of charity work or self-sacrifice is enough for her to trust the Gifted community. If it were up to her, I'm sure she would start an all-out war to get rid of us. Humans are drastically outgunned when it comes to the Gifted community. However, what they lack in firepower, they make up for in numbers. Realistically, humans are still a big threat to us. Unless, of course, Oleander’s bond could wipe them out completely.

It's one of the reasons I think the Resistance wants Oleander so badly.

A Gifted with an unmatched range to dispose of the non-Gifted and Gifted alike, she's everything they could’ve ever wanted.

Gryphon fidgets in the seat next to me as Rafe directs the car over to the private parking lot. This is an emergency meeting, and there’s very little press that we’ll have to make our way past, only a few men holding cameras, taking photos, and a couple of reporters with microphones. They’re clearly the only people in the area, and with such a short lead time, the usual vultures couldn’t make it, thank God. Usually when we meet, all of them show up, hundreds waiting for us, ready to stick their recorders in our faces to misconstrue the slightest thing that we might say wrong.

It's concerning, to say the least, but I'm grateful that I might have a little more wiggle room with what I can say to the woman, because if anyone needs some home truths, it’s Oldham.

“Remember not to say anything. She's going to do everything in her power to turn you into the horrible monster that she has fantasized we are, including talking about our Bonded.”

Gryphon shrugs, easily staring off into the distance as though he's focusing on some conversation I can't hear. His ability to read minds is also a plus here. Another tick in the box of why he's escorting me and not Nox.

“I kind of figured that. If I snapped at every person who tried to use my Bonded against me, I wouldn't have any hours left in the day for her. Don't worry about me; just focus on your bond and keeping him in line.”