Unbroken Bonds (The Bonds That Tie #6)(26)

That asshole almost destroyed my best friend, and I’m going to kill that motherfucker.





I suppose when I think of god-bonds, I think of tall and muscular men. I think of the handsome faces that surround me and the men who are so devastatingly attractive that I never stood a chance trying to keep myself and my bond away from them. I think of the paragon of beauty and grace and desire.

I certainly do not think of middle-aged men with a receding hairline and a severe underbite.

“That's really him? That's the guy who infiltrated Sage’s head and killed Dara, who came close to ruining my best friend's life and definitely her peace of mind? I almost feel bad for wanting to punch him,” I snark.

The god-bonds don't react to my words at all, but Gabe howls with laughter, clutching at his belly dramatically. “You're struggling to comprehend that he is a god-bond because he's not hot enough?”

Atlas scowls at Gabe for a second before a shit-eating grin creeps over his face, and I have to smother the urge to throw hands at the two of them.

“I’d be more concerned if you did think they were hot,” Atlas snarks back, and it's weird not having one of the other three chime in. I have to remember that they're probably in there somewhere biting their tongues and waiting for the moment that they can give me hell about this.

You won't have to wait for long. Nox’s voice drifts through to me, and I startle as I glance over, but his bond is still in control. We’re all standing in one of the control rooms, watching the god-bond on the large monitor, everyone just waiting for something, anything, to happen.

It’s making my skin itch.

Are you okay in there? I send back.

We’re all fine, don’t worry. I’m interested to see what they choose to do here. There's been a lot of talk of how powerful and incredible they are but not a whole lot of substance yet. I want to know what they will do for you.

That's a little bit sweet from him, and I duck my head. Naturally, Gabe and Atlas both notice.

“It’s Nox, isn't it?” Atlas says in a wary voice. “That's definitely a Nox smile.”

I choke back a laugh because part of me wouldn't believe that I had a Nox smile a few months ago, but I can already feel it on my face, so I'm not going to argue with him about it.

“He's keeping an eye on everything. I don't know how much North and Gryphon can see, but he's here to watch everything.”

“Well, that's what North said, wasn't it? That Nox always got along with his. I only hope that someday I can get along with mine that well,” Gabe says.

“How do you get along well with a dragon?” Atlas says as we watch the monitor together, waiting for the god-bonds to make a move. It's like a very long, very intense game of chicken. Everyone is waiting for someone to do something worth reacting to.

“It only ever talks to me when Oli is around. Even then, it's just to make the claim over her. It doesn't really have opinions like the rest.”

Atlas nods slowly, thinking it over, and Gabe shrugs at him. “What's yours like? Have you spoken to it yet?”

“Mine's pretty much the same, except it doesn't like a lot of things… like people being around Oli. In the cafeteria, it pretty much wanted to try to tear everybody to pieces.”

I give him a look, but Gabe chuckles under his breath. “The dragon wants to eat them. I guess I’m expecting that sort of reaction from all of them.”

Atlas nods again and then turns to me. “Sweetness, what does the terrifying and cantankerous Soul Rending god-bond say to you?”

“During the day? It’s sleeping. I asked a little bit to see if it wanted to come out now and deal with this situation, but it was more than happy leaving everyone else to it. It came out when I was with Gryphon's bond and Nox, but only to share the space with me,” I say, color still staining my cheeks even though everybody knew exactly what was going on and they're all perfectly aware of how I spend most of my evenings with my Bonded.

I clear my throat and continue, “It mostly lets me run the show as long as I'm not in danger. I think it’s letting me get comfortable with all of the god-bonds and the changes that have happened. I think maybe once things settle down a bit, we'll have to come up with some sort of scheduling.”

The word tastes weird in my mouth, and Gabe scoffs at me again. “So you'll have the body Monday through Wednesday one week, and then swapsies for the next?”

I groan and slap a hand over my face. “Well, I don’t know! I have no idea how any of this works. To be honest, I don't think the god-bonds do either. I get the idea that none of us ever survived long enough to have to worry about this sort of thing. Very few vessels matched up, I know that for sure, thanks to my bond.”

Atlas leans toward the monitor, staring at it a little closer as the man there cocks his head at us. It takes a second to remember that he's not staring at us the way we're staring at him. All he can see is a camera out there as he waits for us to do something.

Atlas scowls again and murmurs quietly to us both, “What things have stayed the same? Does your bond remember anything or tell you much about that sort of thing? Or is it just from Nox's research that you know about this?”

I stop for a moment and take a breath, letting whatever information I might have squirreled away in my head without really knowing it come to the forefront. I find there's a lot more there than I originally thought. “North and Nox are always brothers. Every cycle, they come together. They've always been as loyal to each other as they have been to me. I think this has been the first cycle that Nox has… struggled with that.”