No.
He’s a delicacy, something worth taking and consuming slowly, piece by delicious piece.
“Well, well, not strong enough for me? You probably should have counted on us sending someone higher up than Franklin for you. He was the lowest of what we have. You’re going to regret running. Oh, the things Silas is going to—”
“I’m done with this,” I interrupt and reach out a hand, something to call the soul over to my body with. I don’t need to do this when I cleave the souls out, when I’m just doing this to kill people. No, I let them disappear into nothing just like they deserve.
But this one looks yummy.
“What the fuck is she doing?” the Everlasting one mutters, but the Dark One doesn’t answer. He’s too busy watching me rend the soul away from the body and tuck it into my being for later.
As the last man’s corpse lands on the ground, my Bonds both stand there for a second and then, when no one else pops into existence around us, the Dark One steps over to turn the body using his foot. His shadow walks around it with him, sniffing at the corpse as though he can get more information that way.
“That’s Giles Andrews. He’s one of Silas’ favorites, a Transporter who has never been caught before. He doesn’t have to touch you to move you, and his range is… was unmatched,” the Everlasting One says, and the Dark One nods.
“He’s been on our list for years. He was pivotal in the riots back in the seventies. He just removed half of the Resistance when things weren’t going their way.”
I step around the Everlasting One. “He’s testing the girl and me. He’s testing to see how much stronger we have gotten. Killing Franklin proved to him that we’ve Bonded and gotten stronger, but he’s not going to come himself unless he’s sure he’s still stronger, so he’s sending in the others. Sacrificing them for information, and they’re following his orders like the good little brainwashed sheep they are.”
The Dark One stops to look at me, his shadows still moving forward. “We need to talk about this.”
The answer to that is simple, especially with the voice that shares my mind chiming in. “The girl says no, so I will not. She says not right now, and you will agree to that.”
He blinks at me once and then nods slowly, and the Everlasting One looks between us in shock at the interaction.
I can feel the soul wriggling in my belly, waiting for me to take the time to properly consume it, but I will not take the risk while the girl is still out here in the open.
“Take us back to the safe place now. I’m hungry.”
They do as I say without another word shared between us, flanking me as we walk back over to the truck that is already on and ready to leave. My Bonded stares over the hood at me like he’s trying to pry everything out of my mind, but I just need the girl safe so that I can eat.
He nods and gets in the car, then we’re off, back on the road at breakneck speeds, leaving the bodies of the Resistance men behind like the worthless trash they are. No one speaks on the trip back, not any of my Bonds or the other two, not even the mouthy one.
I stay focused on my prize, right until the driver parks the truck. We get out as one and he Transports us back to the safe place. I can finally leave the rest of this to the girl.
Dinner time.
My bond leaves me in a rush, like a balloon deflating, and I double over as I retch. It hasn’t ever felt like this before, like the power of tearing that Transporter’s soul out and… consuming it has messed my stomach right the hell up.
I feel strong hands sweep my hair up and hold it away from my face. Even though nothing is actually coming up, it’s sweet of North to attempt to help out with this.
When I stand back up, he tugs me into his arms, his hand moving from my hair to the nape of my neck to hold me close. “Motion sickness? Or the bond?”
“The bond. I think I’m processing the soul, which is the most horrifying sentence of the week. I can—it’s in me. I can feel it there while my bond is snacking on it. Gross. I’m officially a mon—”
“Don’t. Don’t even mutter that word around me, Oleander. You just took out another key player in the Resistance arsenal, another Gifted we no longer have to factor into our plans thanks to you and your bond. I hate that you’re going through this, but it will never make you a monster.”
I want to believe him, and my bond agrees with him completely, but as I feel the squirming in the pit of my gut, it’s not exactly easy. There’s a living soul in there.