Page 94 of Broken Ties
It’s as neutral as I can possibly hope to be on the topic and Gryph, thankfully, takes that attempt for what it is and doesn’t start an argument with me over that Bond of his. We pause for our glasses to be refilled and I tell the server to leave the bottle. If this is the direction the conversation is heading in, I’d rather not deal with the interruptions. I don’t have to worry about being overheard, Gryph can deal with that easily enough, but there’s nothing more irritating than a broken train of thought.
Distracted by the information spread out before me, I almost forget he’s here for a moment before Gryph murmurs to me again, “I have my own concerns about William… I was unaware you shared them.”
Glancing up slowly, my head spinning a little with the action, I find him shuffling through the pages and pages of photos from the mass grave. The sickened look on his face ages him, as I’m sure my own restless nights must be etched onto my face by now.
When I don’t answer him, he misreads my silence and sends me a careful look as he swiftly changes the subject, holding the pages up to me. “North said you’d found more clues… is there anything that ties this to the Magnifier? Anything to say that Gifted was responsible for sure?”
I send him a droll one back as I reach for my glass again, set on properly drinking now that he’s joining me. “Nothing conclusive, but even the Resistance have enough wits about them to refrain from publishing the findings of their experiments in plain language. It’s amazing how even the lowliest of their minds are able to function enough to hide the worst of their crimes.”
He scoffs but he goes along with me without protest or bringing up that Bond of his. It’s almost like she’s no longer here ruining things.
It’s there that North finds us hours later.
I don’t know if Gryph called him for a ride home, or if someone at the bar did, but he shows up right as they announce it’s the last call for drinks. One minute we’re arguing about the new recruits that Vivian is considering, and the next I’m staring at North’s deeply disapproving face and wondering why the fuck he even bothers to fuss after me when I’m such a waste of time and energy.
My remorse doesn’t last.
North sighs at us both like we’re children. “Is there a reason you’re drinking here? It’s not exactly… clean.”
The scathing look I send him has his mouth snapping shut so hard I hear his teeth rattle. “Gryph told too many people about Al’s and when I voiced my concerns, you sided with him. Now the place is crawling with students and personnel, and not a single fucking one of them can shut up about that girl.”
Even as drunk as Gryph is, he shares a look across the table with North. They don’t bother trying to hide it, either. I trained them out of that years ago. The only thing worse than being the little project they’re both diligently working on is any attempts to be subtle about it.
Both options may be pathetic but at least one is honest about it.
“Why are you here, North? I was going to call Black for a ride home, you didn’t need to come.”
Ah.
So it’s someone else here tonight who’s reporting back to my brother. A mark in Gryph’s favor but an executioner’s call for the bar because I refuse to drink somewhere else under my brother’s thumb. Fuck, I might have to leave Draven entirely.
Lost in my own thoughts for a moment, it takes me a second to realize North is staring down at me as he makes an assessment of my state of mind. He hesitates to reply for long enough that my skin begins to crawl.
He spots it instantly, jumping in before I snap, but his measured tone enrages me. “Something has happened, but you need to stay calm.”
Thatfuckinggirl.
It has to be her.
I practically snarl at him. “What has she done now?”
North sighs as he shakes his head, rubbing a hand over his face. “Oleander hasn’t done anything, but Atlas Bassinger arrived at Draven this morning.”
Even as sluggish and removed from my own body that I currently feel, there’s no chance I could miss my bond waking up and clawing its way to the surface. My eyes stay clear, but North’s jaw tightens again as though he can sense its presence.
He doesn’t spare Gryph a glance as he continues, still choosing his words with care. “He attended class with her today. He’s made it clear that whether or not he is enrolled, he will continue to do so.”
Any semblance of calm, any scrap of it, is beyond my grasp, and it’s only the whiskey keeping me seated… and my bond. A thread of clarity pierces through the inebriated and panicked haze that otherwise clouds my mind. My eyes haven’t voided out, my shadows are still at heel, and though I’m undeniably on a rapid descent to complete insanity, none of my usual defenses have deployed. Fuck, it only takes the idea of a threat to have my Gift bursting out of me, a warning that can’t be ignored, but my bond keeps everything in check.
Like it’s waiting for something.
Why is my bond interested in the Resistance spawn my brother is bending over for?
I speak through clenched teeth, “And youlethim?”
North looks as though he’s hoping a natural disaster hits and we’re all instantly wiped out. “It’s against the law not to.”
Sneering at him, my fingers itch to wrap around his throat for his obsession with fairness and maintaining his image of the good councilman while that insurgent Gifted walks into our home and takes us all out. “They’re West Coast laws, the East Coast council never adopted them because the Resistance would never care about something like that. There’s no way he knows a fucking thing about her so-calledrights!”