Tragic Bonds (The Bonds That Tie #5)(86)

Is there anyone in particular that I'm aiming for or that I need to know about, or am I just going after power?

North takes a deep breath and glances at Nox, who is calling all of his shadow creatures back into himself so that they can travel with us without interruption. I double check that Azrael is still hanging out behind my ear, and he's tucked there securely.

Nox sent one of his creatures out this morning for recon. Davies has already left the camp, but he left behind his Bonded, Lydia, in his stead. Killing her takes out one of the big powers of the camp, and it will also weaken Davies. That's your target, Bonded.

I swallow roughly and nod again. I'm not sure that I have enough power to take that woman out, but the last time I’d faced her myself, I was Unbonded and fighting with the god that lives inside of me. Now, I have all five of my men and peace within myself, complete acceptance at what I'm capable of.

Hopefully it's enough.

While Gryphon and Kieran finish their hand gestures, Nox glances over at me and then speaks directly to me, blocking everyone else out.

I want to try something. Are you open to that?

I try to stop myself from reacting so that no one else knows that we’re talking in case this is something personal. It’s the only reason I can think of that he’d block everyone out of hearing it.

Of course. What do you need from me?

He glances around at each of the men we’re standing with, slow and critical as he judges them all, but it’s not going to give away the conversation we’re having inside of my head.

He always looks at them like that.

Open up your mind to me. Let me in.

Easier said than done.

I have to let down the wall of my mind just for Nox, and I'm still a novice at keeping the walls up in the first place. I feel him reach out to me and press against the wall himself, sitting there at the edge of my mind and coaxing it down himself so gently that I almost struggle to believe that it is him doing it and not Gryphon or North.

I know that the rest of my Bonded Group has realized that there's something going on between Nox and I with how still we have both gone, but North covers for us with Kieran to buy us some more time.

It takes me another minute or so, but eventually I'm able to let him in my head. It feels crowded with both myself, my bond, and Nox in the space, but it only takes him a heartbeat to do what it was he came to do. Clearly, he’s had time to practice or at least figure out the mechanics of it.

He opens his mind to mine, and I instantly have the entire plan laid out for me as sure as if I were the one sitting in on the meetings with North and Gryphon instead of Nox himself. I'm not sure if this is an after effect of the soul-bonding or if this is possible for me to do with any member of our Bonded Group, but as he slips back out of my mind, I feel immensely grateful and a lot more grounded in my knowledge of the situation now.

He's not going to leave my side.

None of them are.

I open my eyes back up and look at North, nodding my head slowly, and that’s all he needs to see before he's clapping Kieran on the shoulder quietly. And just like that, we're moving.

We have two hours until the next teams are going to arrive, two short hours to get in there stealthily and locate Lydia, taking her out and opening the floodgates of the Resistance’s wrath.

I swallow roughly and check in with my bond one last time before I take Kieran's arm.

Is there anything I need to know before we head out?

It's quiet for a moment and then it answers me. The plan is to lure Davies here and we're not coming back without his head. If he leaves the camp, we follow him. Keep the Transporter with us.

I swallow and send that message through to North, but he just nods at me and then gestures to Kieran that we’re finally ready to move out.

I take a deep breath and then we pop out of existence as one.





We transport directly into the shielded area of the Resistance camp.

The moment our feet touch the ground, Gryphon’s eyes flash to white as he manipulates the minds of the guards around us. I feel a mixture of relief and disappointment that his eyes stay the same white color they’ve always been even as he stretches his abilities the farthest they’ve ever gone.

My question as to why he’s going to take hold of their minds instead of one of us just killing them all doesn’t have the chance to fully form in my mind before the answer is there, thanks to Nox's impromptu information dump.

We don't want anyone finding corpses and raising the alarm.

We have a two hour head start to work our way through the camp and find Lydia. We need to use that to our advantage, because she’s not the type of Gifted we’re used to facing.

Only Davies is stronger than she is.

I had always thought that the camp that I was in was the biggest, but as we look around at the lines of tents, this feels as though it's a city of its own. The tents are all worn-looking, aged and settled into place with the length of time that the camp has been here. I can tell just by looking who sleeps in each of them without even reaching for my Gift.

The further towards the center of the camp you look, the better maintained the tents are. The Resistance don’t care about equality or keeping everyone safe and secure, there’s a very clear division between the grunt workers and those who hold power. While North might’ve made sure we had a house to ourselves in the Sanctuary, there’s no difference in the standard of living between us or any other family there.