Unbroken Bonds (The Bonds That Tie #6)(51)

I didn’t know any of that, the inner thoughts of North Draven often don’t see the light of day, and I’ve never gone snooping through his brain without his permission. None of it is surprising when I really think about it, though. All of it lines up with the character that I know he has.

I scratch at the back of my neck for a moment and think over his words, about the actual logistics of all of it. “So we're going to turn this into a democracy and have people vote? What do we do if they vote an idiot in? I'm not following some brainless civilian anywhere. Rockelle has been bad enough.”

North shrugs. “I still own the Sanctuary, and I'm not going to give up control of it to just anyone, but I suppose it's something we can work toward. I think that the old council needs to be replaced with a new one, one where people have been voted into positions of power and only serve for a term or two. You’re right though, there needs to be one of us on this damn thing. Otherwise, it's going to go to shit. I'm not having anything come back to hurt Oleander just because we want to be fair and nice to people.”

North flicks out a hand dismissively, meeting my eye for a moment before looking back over at Nox. “Obviously, I would never do anything that might harm her in any way, but there is no mistaking that we need a change in the community, and we need it now.”

I nod and tilt my head to the side, feeling very ‘godlike’ as I do so. “Setting up voting and a whole new council is going to be a nightmare. You should probably wait until we've dealt with the gods before getting into that.”

North’s eyes flash to black for a moment but when he speaks, it's his own voice that comes out. “Everything can wait until they're dealt with, but we need to think about what our lives are going to look like afterwards. Otherwise… what's the point of it all? My Bonded needs a better life, a better world. I’m going to make that for her, no matter the cost.”





The Tac Training Center is writhing with bodies when I arrive.

Vivian and Unser are already here, directing people in and out of groups and taking forms with Gifts and background information as quickly as they’re being filled out. Kieran and Rockelle are both already on the mats, testing skills and Gifts. I'm surprised to see that the groups are moving through the tests reasonably quickly. There are a lot more men and women who can hold their own in the sparring circles than I ever thought there would be, something that instantly fills me with relief.

We need all of the help we can get here.

I walk over to Vivian first. When he sees me coming, he shakes a clipboard at me. “You need to call the Dravens down here. We need all hands on deck, because we’re drowning.”

I take the clipboard and look over to watch the skills test of the man standing in front of Vivian. He's a Flame, elementals are one of the more common Gifts, but the part that has Vivian’s eyes gleaming at him in such a manic way is his profession.

He's been a martial arts teacher for the last fifteen years; a black belt.

He could be a huge asset to get more people trained. I hope he's as good as the paper in front of me says he is.

“North and Nox are both out of commission for the day. We'll just have to make do.”

Unser side-eyes me and waves his hand around at the doors. I glance over my shoulder to see that they're open again, more bodies streaming in. “I’m not sure we can simply ‘make do’. We're not going to get through everybody today. At this rate, we'll have to start turning them away.”

I definitely don't want to do that. “I have someone who can help faster than anyone else, and I have backup.”

I reach out to Oli who has been spending the morning resting, at North's insistence, under Atlas’ watchful eye. He was so happy to have North’s trust in the matter, and I know how happy it made my Bonded that we were all able to pull together during this time of unrest.

Can you pull on your training gear and come down to the Tac Training Center? We are overloaded with new recruits, and I need a set of eyes I trust down here.

She sends through a flash of pure joy, and I have to stop myself from smiling back at it. Atlas as well? Or just me? He can always go and help Gabe if you just need it to be me.

I don't have to think twice. Bring Bassinger. We're trying to weed people out who aren't going to be useful for Tac missions. Those who aren't will be given other work on the construction sites. I'm going to use the Soothsayer to process faster. We’ve discussed it before, and it's much quicker than I am. It'll also be a good way to see who's uncomfortable around the gods.

Atlas, who is listening in now that Oli let him into the mind connection, chips in, Everyone should be uncomfortable around the gods, that’s just smart.

I get what he’s saying, and that’s the real question here. We’re looking for those who can't handle them or who feel a negative reaction towards them. Any sort of hatred or distrust. Fear is natural and won't be held against them.

They both agree. I can feel them getting things together quickly, the perfect operatives, even though they’ve never really been recruited.

I look up to see Vivian raising his eyebrows at me as he takes more pages from people, directing them over to Kieran. “Anything you want to share with the class there, Shore?”

I nod my head. “My Bonded and Bassinger are on their way down to help.”