“What are you talking about? She never stopped,” North drawls, and I discover the advantages of the heavy-soled boots when I stomp on his foot and the surly Bonded actually winces.
I’m taking the win.
Atlas walks out in a modified Tac suit, mostly because there’s less protective panels on it, and my heart skips a beat for a second until I realize that he’s indestructible and there’s no need for them.
“If you get shot, does the bullet just, like, bounce off, or do you just heal faster? How much am I going to have to worry about you?”
He grins at me and slings an arm around my shoulders. “It bounces off, which is another reason why I’m allowed to come today. I’m your human shield for the trip, your Gifted shadow following your every move.”
I blink up at him for a second, trying to imagine bullets just bouncing off of his skin and then grin, grabbing his hand and tugging his body close to mine. “Perfect. Get ready to meet my bond. Try not to judge me too harshly when she starts torturing everyone in our general vicinity.”
He smirks back at me, dropping his head down to murmur, “I told you before, I already know all about your bond. There’s nothing that could happen that’ll scare me away. You and I, nothing can come between us.”
If there weren’t a million other TacTeam operatives swarming around us in the tight space, I would kiss him, but it feels wrong to start making out with him around them all, so I take a little step back and a deep breath.
Gabe glances between us both and then steps up to flank my other side, making me feel tiny between them both. Gryphon finishes up his planning session with Kieran, barking out orders to each of the teams, and North is having a quiet discussion with Nox in the corner. They look as though they’re both itching to go and, sure enough, there’s a dark ring of smoke around North’s wrist, one of the few signs he has of being close to the edge with his power. He feels just as responsible for the attack as I do, but from the other side.
He’s the councilman who is being hamstrung at every turn, trying to get as many people out of this situation alive as he can, but the other Top Tier families want to hide in their money and do nothing. They want to waste their Gifts and Bonded power because they feel above this sort of work, no matter what he’s said to them all.
Still, he feels like he hasn’t done enough.
Get your head in the game, Bonded, or I’m leaving you behind.
I snap my attention back to Gryphon and raise an eyebrow in his direction. I am. Nothing will make my bond angrier than Resistance scum upsetting my Bonded and my Bonds. It’s very touchy about what belongs to us.
His mouth quirks up just a little at that and then he’s barking out more orders, reeling out jump times that have everyone preparing around us. We’re going with Kieran, naturally, and jumping as the third wave. All of these terms I’ve never been taught before and am learning on the fly are kind of fun, and when both of the Dravens walk back over to our group so that we’re all going together, I feel a little rush of adrenaline in my blood.
Look at me, getting worked up about being a monster for good.
No monster talk either, Gryphon says. I answer him out loud. “I’m harnessing the monster for good. Like I give a fuck what anyone else thinks of what my bond can do.”
Kieran glances at me, then around the group, before murmuring, “That’s the spirit! The more you take out, the less of them out there killing innocent little kids. Kill them all, Fallows.”
I just might.
Then we’re all being thrown into space by his gift, popping back into existence on the edges of a camp, the sun already set in this part of the world and visibility shitty.
Gryphon comes to my side and murmurs to both Atlas and me, “Stay where I can see you at all times. Black will take you home the second either of you step out of line.”
I nod, trying to look as obedient and solemn as I can while Atlas just gives him a curt nod.
Harrison scoffs and snarks, “We all saw what she did to the last camp, Shore. She’s the best defense we have. You should really ease back on her a little.”
Gryphon gives him a look that I’m sure is shriveling his balls and North steps up to my side, pulling his own riot helmet over his perfect hair, and snaps, “Get your eyes and your opinions off of my Bonded before I set a nightmare on you, Rockelle.”
He blanches a little, freaking out even more when August bursts out of North and immediately turns to heel at my feet, his jaws opening so his tongue can loll out as he gives me a silent plea for pets.