Unbroken Bonds (The Bonds That Tie #6)(41)

“What the fuck happened back there?” Black snaps, but Gryphon is already stalking over to where I’m sitting, slipping his hand back onto Oli's neck, his eyes flashing as he checks in with her.

“She's okay, she's just asleep, the same way as when she uses her power.”

North nods and blows out a long breath, scrubbing a hand across his face as he takes stock of himself and the situation. He's already shifting into ‘damage-control mode’, and though the situation definitely needs it, I still find myself rolling my eyes internally.

Just once, I wish he would forget about being on the council, forget about everything he's supposed to do and just relax. I wonder what it would even look like if North Draven just let himself feel whatever he needed to and took a moment for himself.

“We found the god-bond, and Oli took care of it. It’d laid the trap for us, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are more in our future.”

Kieran gives him another curt nod and then looks around at each of us before his eyes settle on my bond. “Is that one going to let go anytime soon? I don't feel totally comfortable speaking about any of this with that one in the room as well. What’s to stop it from getting pissed off at something I say and coming after me?”

The Corvus tilts my head in the curious way they all do. “We're always here. We're always listening. You have never had a conversation without my hearing it.”

“Well, that's fucking creepy,” Kieran says before turning back to North. “The General arrived this morning, and word has gotten out about the fire on the East Coast already. He's downstairs, ranting about the entire situation, so you might want to prepare yourselves for that.”

“Transport me and my Bonded back to our house. I don't want her around any danger that might end in bloodshed,” the Corvus says, and Kieran looks at North and Gryphon before he moves.

“Gabe and Atlas, you both should go with them to watch over her while we deal with this,” North says before he looks over at my god-bond. “Once she’s safe at the house, can we have Nox back? We're going to need all the help we can get and nothing handles the General quite like my brother’s pissed-off attitude.”

Gryphon nods his head and then smirks. “Nothing except Oli’s. She's gotten pretty good at cutting the General to the core.”

My god-bond nods and starts shifting her in our arms until she’s more secure. “Do it. I will see her home safely before I sleep.”





Black Transports us to the front doorstep of the mansion, and we all stand together as Gabe fumbles around for his keys to get us in.

Atlas stands as close to my side as he can without touching me, his eyes on Oli. He continues staring at her sleeping form until we hear a low rustling in the bushes. He turns to cover us both as he watches to see where the sound has come from. It’s nothing but the breeze, I’d feel if it were more, but my shadows dart off to double-check.

The way that Atlas covers me is telling.

Even a month ago, he would have gone toe-to-toe with my god-bond to wrestle Oli out of my arms. He would have used her safety and his impenetrable skin as excuses to get her away from us, but now he sees the value in protecting us both. I could write it off simply as his respect for the gods, and I'm sure that does play into it, but there's no denying that the Bonded Group has shifted and changed, matured in ways none of us were expecting.

The girl in my arms who I was so sure would be the catalyst for our destruction has become anything but that. She's the reason we're all pulling together, the reason we all want more for ourselves and the community. Simply by existing, she has made everything better.

The god-bond can hear every one of my thoughts, and he pulls her up further into our chest, tucking her in closer as the shadows wrap around her, forming more of a protective barrier.

When the shadow creatures come back from the bushes with nothing to report and no blood spilled, Atlas relaxes a little, though his eyes stay on the road that leads up to our house.

“Do you really think someone's going to get in here? Is there a valid argument for that or is this just Bonded behavior?” Black murmurs quietly, and Atlas shoots him a look.

He just shrugs back. “I’m not saying there's anything wrong with Bonded behavior—I have it myself. I would just like to know if I should be reaching for my gun right now to back you up.”

Atlas gives him a curt nod, and his eyes narrow toward the lights down at the town center. “They had a Shield already in place just outside of the Sanctuary walls to keep you trapped in here. What's to say they haven't found a way inside? What's to say that some of the residents here aren’t sleeper-cells, like the one that killed the Dravens’ uncle? I mean, I trust Gryphon, and I trust his bond, but we've just found out that there are more god-bonds out there. What's to say one of them couldn't plant someone in here? The Soothsayer has only been awake for a matter of days. There is every chance that we're not safe here, and I'm not going to bet my Bonded’s life on anything right now.”

Black stares at him for a moment and then nods, palming his gun and turning his back to the door right as Gabe finally gets it open. He watches over the street as we walk in, entering last and triple-checking the locks on the doors before he holsters his weapon once more.

The glass in here is bulletproof, the best that money can buy. The entire structure of the house has been reinforced, and it’s the equivalent of a bomb-proof bunker. North hadn't spared a single expense on the place. Whatever recommended rating the professionals had given him, he tripled it, just to be sure.