Page 73 of Broken Ties
Finally, he sighs. “It really bothers you that much?”
Now I’m the one scoffing. “Is that so hard to believe? I’m more concerned that it’s not bothering you. Have you given up on her entirely?”
His stare back at me is unrelenting, pissed off, and steady in a way that only comes with experience staring down the barrel of a loaded gun. “I will never give up on her, Draven, and just because you’ve gotten a look at?—”
My eyes shift instantly and I’m in his face. “Not another word. Not one more fucking word about her, or I’ll tear you in half.”
The cadence to my words is off, the blending of my bond speaking with me, and Gryphon’s brows pinch in for a second before he’s taking a deep breath of his own, only it’s clearly not to calm himself.
Then all hell breaks loose.
It’s so fast and so unexpected that I’m blinking at Gryphon’s retreating back before my brain kicks in and I follow him through the crowd that’s suddenly formed down in the paved area around the pool. I curse under my breath at how many people are standing around like idiots, not bothering to intervene and instead just getting in the way.
Then Gryphon curses viciously, his eyes flashing as he uses his Gift to hack into minds and move people out of his path so he can practically sprint the rest of the way down to the pool. It’s as though there’s a horde of nightmare creatures snapping at his ankles.
When we finally break through the crowd, we find Gabe on the verge of Shifting, being held back by Sawyer, and David’s son sprawled before them both, blood pouring from his face as he groans. My Bond is safe, though she’s standing in front of Sage like a human shield, and that doesn’t sit right with me at all. Not only because my Bond, by her own admission, is Giftless, but because the idea of her sacrificing herself for anyone makes me feel indescribably violent.
Waves of rage pour out of my body, each breath only feeding the fury with no reprieve in sight.
Stay calm. We’re no good to Oli if we’re inciting panic at the first sign of conflict.
Gryphon’s unruffled voice is like a bucket of ice water over my head, clarity hitting me like a Mack truck. The crowd is almost completely silent, only the groans and whimpers of the bleeding idiot to be heard.
I survey the situation for a moment to be sure my bond is settled. When I finally speak, my tone is level. “What’s happened, David?”
There’s a slight pause before, surprisingly, it’s my Bond who answers me. “Martinez Shifted in the maze during TT and hunted me down to use me as bait for the pond… girl. He started mouthing off, and Gabe was defending me.”
From the corner of my eye, I watch Gryphon’s reaction for his tells. She’s clearly not lying, but there’s something in her words that’s tripping him up. We’ve learned the hard way that ’truth’ can be incredibly misleading, but why would she lie?
Unless she’s protecting Gabe—but that makes no sense from the girl who claims to loathe us all, who’s made it her life’s purpose to torture her Bonds, and who has become an expert at kicking Gabe when he’s already miserable.
After another minute of scrutiny, Gryphon finally turns on David, raising an eyebrow at the pathetic piece of shit in a subtle taunt. “You can’t fault Gabe for protecting his Bond… even if he took it too far.”
David blanches, his lip curling as though it’s a shock that we would side with our Bond, and Gryphon is no doubt picking up on an entire stream of vitriol and hatred direct from the source. When his furious gaze lands on my Bond, Gryphon moves instantly to stand in front of her but not before David’s eyes flash white.
The insufferable idiot dares tothreatenmy Bond.
With just enough awareness left to hand the plate to my Bond, my own bond moves to stand firmly between her and the threat. Instead of fighting it, or even being disgruntled by the loss of control, I’m in complete harmony with it for once.
Blood and pain.
I’ve never been on the receiving end of the Draven’s curse warning call. I’ve been present when Nox’s bond has come out todefend him, and my own has let the wave of power out numerous times, but I’ve never been able to experience it myself, only watched the reactions it invokes.
I’ve never felt so vindicated as I do right now.
It takes a second of that terrified silence before Gryphon is shoving words into my consciousness again.Get ahold of yourself, Draven, before I knock you out and get Black to drop you back to your office for a timeout.
He means it too, his Gift already settling at the edges of my mind as though he’s preparing to follow through before I can protest. David is trembling, ignoring his son’s whimpers as he cowers before me. My hands start to turn black as the nightmares wake and beg to come out. When Gryphon’s gaze flicks down, I slip them into my pockets before he can see just how far that staining is traveling.
I don’t glance back at my Bond or Gabe as I address him. “Take her home, Gabriel. Sage, too. Get them both out of here.”
My bond stays at the forefront of my mind as though we each have a hand on the control panel of my body. It refuses to look away from David, drinking in his terror with the same glutinous zeal that it felt for that pit of bones, only this reaction doesn’t fill me with self-loathing. For once, I’m perfectly happy to stand there before my community reveling in their ignorance, aware they all see a reviled Death Dealer instead of just a regular Bond.
None of them know about the thing inside me—or the carnage it yearns for. None of them, not even Gryphon, knows how close I’ve come to losing control… or what would actually happen if my bond were truly unleashed.
The thrumming blood call doesn’t settle until my Bond is long gone, the sounds of the car disappearing into nothingness.
Hands graspmy shoulders and give me a rough shake but, before I can murder whoever the hell is waking me at this godforsaken hour, Unser speaks.