Unbroken Bonds (The Bonds That Tie #6)(55)

My heart leaps into my throat right as North makes it to me in the closet, his eyes guarded as he looks me over. I shove my feet into my shoes and straighten, swallowing roughly around the lump in my throat. There's a million things I want to say to Gryphon, but all of them sound wrong.

How many casualties are there that we know of? North questions instead, happy to keep things firmly on the business at hand instead of the very human side of things.

We're facing somewhere in the ballpark of a hundred and seventy. My mother had two children with her that she'd managed to find and bring back with the Transporter as well.

A hundred and seventy people are dead because they let the General talk them out of the Sanctuary. A hundred and seventy people that he had sacrificed because he couldn't face the thought of his son having void eyes and being the same kind of monster as the Dravens that he so desperately loathed.

All of those men, women, and children are gone, and for nothing. A waste of life on such a horrific scale.

We're on our way now, Nox sends through, and as he steps closer to North, they share a look, and I follow them out to the garage without a word.

There's nothing I can say anyway.

I open my mind connection up to Gryphon. Regardless, nothing comes down the line to me, nothing at all. He has emptied out and become a blank slate, the same way Nox had, and I refuse to push him on this. I mean, I would never push any of them on something like this, but we also have a job to do. We need to be looking for survivors and maybe finding another god-bond to deal with.

There's no time to unpack any of this for him.

North drives the ATV, and I sit jammed between him and Nox, half on each of their laps. Nox had originally pulled me into his lap, but North had dragged me across his as well, both of them wanting to keep me close and protect me as much as they could. The shadows run alongside the ATV as we drive through the quiet streets. Whether people are still too afraid to move around freely or if Gryphon has put a stay-at-home order in place, I have no idea, but it's helpful not to have to explain ourselves or make nice on the way down there.

When we arrive at the base of the building, I want to throw up, but I put on a brave face as we make our way into the elevator together.

As the doors shut behind us, North murmurs to his brother, “Don't be an asshole about this.”

I glance up at Nox as his lip curls and he shrugs. “I’m not going to apologize for not feeling bad about that dickhead being dead.”

“I’m not asking you to. I’m just saying Gryphon can't help feeling a certain way about his father being dead. Don't be a dick about it.”

“I’m never a dick.”

That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard in my life.

I'm not brave or stupid enough to call him out on it though. North isn't so kind, scoffing under his breath as he pulls the ATV up alongside the council offices and helps me off of the vehicle. August falls away from his body in an easy motion, as though North hasn't even really thought about letting him out, but merely being in my presence is enough to have him wanting the shadowy sentry out for my protection.

I let Azrael down from behind my ear again, having let him ride along with me here, and I lean down to give them both a quick pat. I would love on them a whole lot more, but I don't want to waste any time right now. Instead, we walk into North's offices together, finding chaos and bedlam waiting there for us.

Dozens of Tac operatives are already dressed and ready to move out, standing around and murmuring to each other quietly as Gryphon, Vivian, and Unser stand over one of the planning boards together, moving pieces around and making a plan as we get closer to them.

The door to the locker room opens as Gabe and Atlas both step out wearing the Tac gear and speaking quietly amongst themselves, somber looks on their faces. Atlas has a determined set to his jaw, understanding shining in his eyes at the confusing grief in the air having just gone through something similar himself.

He's careful not to look at Gryphon, and so is Gabe, both of them respecting his space at the moment.

I have no idea what to do in this situation myself.

I think it came more naturally to me with Atlas because I understood exactly what he was feeling.

Gryphon is a different pile of trauma.

He hadn't cut ties with his father, not really. My own involvement in the exodus of the Sanctuary makes it hard for me to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing here, how exactly I'm supposed to react and treat everyone. I might not have been the reason that there's a god-bond inside of my Bonded, or the reason that it woke up, but I'm still the one his father chose to throw his hatred at.

I'm the reason Gryphon decided not to fight him on his plans to leave.

There's also a part of me that is sure that the god-bonds have had something to do with this. I'm definitely the reason for that, and they’ve been watching the Sanctuary so closely, biding their time and waiting to try and draw us out.

This is where they're going to make their move.

North squeezes my hand one last time before he stalks over to Gryphon and the others, clapping a palm on Gryphon's shoulder for a moment before he joins the planning, just a small acknowledgement of what has happened, and that's all that my Bonded seems to need from him.

I understand that he is in a position of power and he won't necessarily want anything from me, but I still feel awkward not acknowledging it.