“I’m not worried about my Bonds or being hurt,” Aro murmurs, and Oli nods casually, as though this isn’t groundbreaking information for everybody in the room.
Sawyer and Gray both exhale as though a great weight has been lifted from them both as Aro continues, “I’m more worried about what will happen to my brother and I if the Resistance comes back and where is safest for us to be. They're not just going to let us go… they're not the type to just let people go.”
Oli nods solemnly and glances around the room at each and every one of us until she clears her throat and starts pointing.
“Sage over there is a Flame, and she's the strongest Flame I’ve encountered. She once set a building on fire by accident, but I'm not going to rat her out and give you the details. Gabe is a Shifter who can shift into anything, and I mean anything. If he can imagine the creature, he can become it, so his latest trick is the dragon that everybody here in the Sanctuary is obsessively gossiping about. Atlas is Indestructible and strong enough to move a building if he had to, and he’s now working on being able to push that Gift onto other people and share his indestructibility with others. Felix is a Healer who only days ago, helped me bring one of my Bonded back to life. I would raze cities to the ground for him in return. Sawyer is a Technokinetic and has used this Gift to hack into the Resistance. His work with North is currently giving us enough intel to protect this city from anyone who might try to come after us. And Gray is a Telekinetic who, rumor has it, threw an entire car at a group of Resistance when they showed up here a few weeks back.”
Aro looks around at each of them and then turns back to Oli.
“And your eyes turned black and you kill people,” she murmurs, and Oli nods slowly.
“My eyes turn black because of the god that lives inside of me. I'm a Soul Render who hasn't yet found a limit to my power. I'm also Bonded to a Neuro who has not yet found a part of the brain that he can't get into or manipulate, and his limits have just been pushed to the point that he now doesn't tap out. Then there's the two Death Dealers, both of them two sides of the same coin and feared amongst the Resistance so much so that they sent an assassin into one of the camps to attempt to kill them. There’s no safer place for you in the world than here with us.”
When we finally leave the underground cells, Oli and Sage walk ahead of the rest of us, their arms linked as they gossip amongst themselves, and we’re happy enough to leave them to it. Their laughter and giggling is like music to my ears, my bond happy and calm at the joy and contentment oozing out of my Bonded, and everything feels right in the world for a moment.
Felix looks worn out, more so than he usually does, and Gabe claps him on the back as he asks, “Are you okay, man? Is there something that you need or anything that we can do for you? You just gotta ask.”
Felix gives him a wry grin back and shakes his head. “The Medical Board are deliberating over whether or not I am going to get kicked out of the program for helping Oli with Nox. I'm having a little bit of a personal crisis over it. I can't decide whether I want to continue with an organization that would penalize someone for doing what they were put on this earth to do… or if I should just stick with it because I've already spent half my life studying for this.”
“What the fuck?” I sputter out, and Felix nods his head at me.
“It's not like I need the certification. I'm Gifted, and that's the whole point of what I can do, but having an understanding of the human body and how it works is very helpful to me when I'm using my Gift. It means that I can use the minimum amount of power for the maximum amount of good. When we're in situations with a lot of people needing help… that's important. We're heading into a war with the Resistance. I mean, we're already in one, but the casualty tolls are just getting higher and higher every time the TacTeams are going out, and I don't have the option of getting power boosts like you guys do. So is it selfish of me to give it up just on a point of pride or ethics when my community needs me?”
Gabe groans and rubs a hand over his face. “Fuck, man, I wasn’t expecting something so fucking deep when I asked. I was hoping you needed extra supplies or a new bathroom or something, shit I can actually do.”
I can’t just let this go though, not for this man who’s been in Oli’s corner every step of the way. “Can't North just tell the Medical Board to fuck off or something?”
It has to be that simple, right?
The Dravens own the Gifted community of the West Coast, the same way that my family owns the East Coast. When you’re the longest established family and richer than any of the playboy billionaires that show up in magazines, there's not a lot that people can do to stop you from getting your own way.
I don't imagine that North would have any reservations about doing that for Felix after everything that’s happened.
Felix shrugs and scratches at the back of his neck. “It's not as easy as that, man. You've also got to remember that in the last couple of months, my Bonded Group has had a lot of eyes on us. There are people on the Medical Board who believe that I’m conspiring with you and the others to undermine and break down the Gifted community from the inside.”
Gabe frowns at him and Felix shrugs. “Everybody knows that Sage was possessed or influenced or whatever the fuck it was that happened. Kieran has disobeyed direct orders on several occasions. Even though he was doing so to save lives, it’s still questionable behavior. Then there's everything that went down with Riley and Giovanna. Now that I’ve gone against Payne’s directions, my superior’s direct orders, it doesn't look good.”
Gabe groans and mutters, “Plus, they all know that you're close with the Draven Bonded Group. If there’s anything that the council hates more than their own inability to keep themselves alive, it’s North and the power that our Bonded Group has. The day Oli came back, they all started actively trying to figure out how to get rid of us. It’s only a matter of time.”
I blow out another breath and give Gabe a look. “I thought being on the good guys’ side meant that I didn't have to keep watching my back for knives.”
Gabe snorts at me and says back in a sarcastic tone, “Nah, man. Now you are absolutely going to be stabbed in the back by someone. Only difference is that you have an entire Bonded Group of people who are watching it as well, ready to gut the asshole the moment they try.”
When we finally make it up to the house, Oli immediately takes Sage for a tour, proudly pointing out all of the work that Gabe and I have done on the place. She forgets to mention that she also helped with the tiling and painting, but Gabe glows like an idiot when she sings her praises of his workmanship. I want to give him shit for it, but he's also basically given up having any sort of a social life or downtime to get this place finished, so I let him enjoy the moment instead of being a dick about it.
I check out the fridge and find our family dinner already sitting in there, waiting to be heated up, thanks to someone from the dining hall. I, once again, find myself just a little bit grateful that I ended up in North Draven’s Bonded Group.
It does have its perks.
Felix helps me to get everything in the oven, following the instructions that were taped on the boxes, and I find dishes to plate everything up. There’s plenty of food with the cold salads and sides, and my stomach rumbles at the smells of it all.