Page 103 of Broken Ties

I’m determined to ignore him when my bond goes into high alert.

I grab Oli at the same time Bassinger does, but it only takes a glance at him to figure out that he’s as clueless to exactly what the threat is as I am. I give it another second before I call on my Gift.

Resistance are here.

Scouts and soldiers alike, there’s a full scale-attack being mounted on the campus right now, and we’re sitting ducks in the middle of it.

Cursing viciously, I grab my phone out and put out the emergency calls, following the protocol that has been drummed into me for longer than I’ve even known I was in the Draven Bond Group. Then I turn back to my Bond, praying I can keep her safe.

“Run. We need to get to shelter right the fuck now.”

Say whatever you want about my Bond, you don’t have to tell Oleander Fallows to run twice. Our legs might be a lot longer than hers, but she keeps an incredible pace, even after she just worked out. When my phone starts to buzz with replies, I grab it without slowing, relief flooding me as I see North’s text.

This is retaliation and an attempt at recouping their losses. Shore and his team are on ground, I’m on my way, Nox is cleaning up here and then will meet us there. Get Oleander to the evac point and Kieran will get you all out. Grab whatever students are nearby but keep our Bond close.

The Gifted they went after must be dead, or they were tipped off and they fled, but either way, the Resistance must’ve lost a lot of soldiers if they’re coming here looking for strong Gifts to recoup.

I shove my phone back into my pocket. “North is on his way and Gryphon is already on campus, we just need to get you to an evac point.”

Bassinger nods back at me, surprisingly easily as he follows my lead. The way he’s covering our Bond while making sure he’s not hindering her speed is impressive as well.

The moment the dining hall comes into view and we’re in the home stretch, there’s an explosion on the east side of the campus. With my Gift thrumming in my blood, the sound almost ruptures my eardrums and I feel a little stunned by it. Atlashauls our Bond into his arms and wraps as much of his body around her until he’s physically shielding as much of her as he can.

It’s a great plan, but I’d like a lot more protection than that, and it’s then that I see that there’s an entire building on campus missing.

Not destroyed,missing, which means Dara is here, and that’s the type of Shield I need my Bond to be covered by, right the hell now.

Atlas starts to argue with me the second I deviate from the original path, his unquestioning compliance obviously over with, but I’m too busy talking to the walls to hear him out. “Dara? Fuck, I can’t see shit here, you must be around.”

The moment the air around us shimmers, I want to punch the air in victory, but that would be really fucking embarrassing considering the students watching us keenly. Well, watching Bassinger like he’s the Resistance here to kill them all. His lip curls at them, and weirdly, mine wants to as well.

Beasts start writhing under my skin.

“Thank God! Ardern, where are Shore and the Dravens? We’ve seen at least eight groups of Resistance, there must be fifty or sixty of them here!”

Shit.

It’s Martinez.

I need to distract myself from this dickhead before the beasts take him out instead of the Resistance, though either would be protecting my Bond.

Rolling my shoulders back, I project confidence and pray I’m not an idiot for feeling it. “TacTeams are already neutralizing them, we just need to keep a low profile and wait it out.”

It’s not just lip service, either, I’m fully prepared to wait until the others show up, even when unit after unit of Resistancesoldiers start running past us in their hunt for hostages to kidnap.

Then students start running out of buildings, flushed out by a Flame who’s enjoying the scent of burning flesh way too much. The soldiers start picking them off, and I can’t take it for another second, not while my Bond is safe here behind the Shield.

Bassinger beats me to it.

“Ardern, donotleave Oli’s side,” he snaps, and then he’s gone, sprinting through the Shield and heading right for the Flame just as the screaming of his next round of victims starts up, only these ones are close enough for my Bond to hear them.

Cursing under my breath, I look around to see if there’s anyone of use here, but Martinez certainly isn’t going out there to help. He’s the spineless Gifted Bassinger accused me of being, but when I glance over to my Bond, she’s already nodding.

“Do it. Go help him, I’ll be fine.”

Shit.

That’s all the permission I need to hear, except one thing.