Gabe
I wasn't expectingthat the shift into the dragon and allowing the god-bond to take control would sap so much of my energy and leave me feeling so fucking awful. Even after a full eighteen hours of sleep, my stomach is still tender and my head feels as though it’s full of sand, slowing down my brain and making me feel like death itself. If we’re attacked right now, I’m going to struggle to be of any help to my Bonded, and that’s not fucking good enough.
I need to pull it together.
The streets of the Sanctuary are busy with bodies, dozens of workmen carting supplies to and from the loading zones. Now that my uncle and my cousins have taken over the everyday projects, I can see progress on the streets around us, and our time away has made the changes dramatic. I wouldn't be surprised if we were able to start offering single homes to Bonded Groups in the coming weeks.
I wave and greet as many of the workers as I can as I make my way down to the dining hall. A few of my cousins give me a curious look at the state I’m in. I don't exactly want to tell any of them that I'm having indigestion problems from devouring Resistance soldiers whole. There's a few TacTeam personnel who duck away so that they don't have to meet my eye, so there's a good chance that word has already spread.
I don't care about any of that shit.
The only people I care about are the ones that I was protecting that day. As I round the corner, the dining hall coming into view, I find my Bonded standing outside of it, laughing with Sage. Her head is thrown back, and the silver glory of her hair is shining in the morning sun. It's brighter now than it's ever been before, something I know she is super self-conscious about, but it's like a beacon calling out to me. I can't help but break into a jog to get over to her as quickly as possible. The grin she’s giving Sage is a sight for the weariest of eyes—stunning—but the way that her eyes light up and her entire body turns towards me as she spots me making my way over to her has my heart thumping in my chest.
It's still a miracle to me that she loves me as much as I love her, that we both see something in one another that is so unique and precious that it’s worth fighting for no matter how many sore stomachs and days I might have to sleep away to get us there.
“I’m surprised you're up. I was expecting you to laze the entire day away,” Atlas says with a slap on my shoulder as I walk straight past him to my Bonded.
She giggles as I lift her up into my arms, spinning her around a little even as she thumps a fist onto my chest in pretend outrage.
“We’re in public. North will have a cow!” she mutters under her breath, but I kiss her all the same, answering her in our mind connection.
What do I care if everyone here knows how much I love my Bonded?
Oli melts into the kiss, into my arms, and intomein that same addictive way she always does. I forget about the pounding in my head and the way that my stomach is still churning, the burn of the bile up my throat that I woke up with that still hasn't quite eased away. Every last one of the physical complaints I have just disappear. I don't care how sappy it sounds, I could take on all of the Resistance single-handedly as long as I come back to my Bonded like this every time.
This invincible feeling is how Atlas must feel with his Gift.
The dragon wakes from where it’s been slumbering inside my chest to make its own opinions clear to me at having her back again, everything boiling down to a single word.
Mine.
“We’re just going to grab lunch for everyone,” Oli says as she finally wiggles out of my arms and back onto her feet.
I scowl, a little unhappy at even the slightest of distances between us, but she tucks herself into my side and sighs happily when I sling my arm over her shoulder to keep her there.
I don’t feel like sharing nicely today.
Atlas gives me a knowing look, but I must look just about as shitty as I feel because he doesn’t say a word about it. He barely looks bothered by it all as he opens the dining hall’s door and ushers us in.
It’s busy in here today, but with the Sanctuary growing in numbers by the day, I'm not surprised to see it. Every table is occupied, most to capacity, and I’m glad to see there’s a lot of laughing and general happiness in the room. It’s a relief, after months of tension and unease, that families and friends are together here in safety.
It’s the whole damn point of the place.
Oli is tense under my arm, enough so that I have to fight my urges to curl around her and snarl at everyone, as well as the dragon's urges within me to shift and consume them all for upsetting her like this. I'm not usually hot-tempered, but it takes three deep breaths before I feel like myself again. No one attempts to speak to us or approach us in any way. Aside from a few curious looks, the room mostly just acts as though they haven’t noticed that we’ve walked in.
I know damn well they all know we’re here, but I’ll take it.
Atlas forms a human wall between the tables and our Bonded, his shoulders wide enough to mostly cover us both, and Felix does the same with Sage, who stays close to Oli's side.
“We should have called ahead and gotten something put aside for us,” Sage mutters, and Oli shrugs back.
“We shouldn't have to. We should be able to come down and eat, just the same as everyone else, without having to worry about all ofthis.”
I glance around again and then murmur back to them both quietly, “Nobody's really… doing much though, are they? We might be overreacting here.”
Oli shoots me a look and then flicks a hand in the direction of the tables a little too aggressively, and some of the Gifted there take notice, packing away their plates and fleeing.
“They're all staring at you. You do realize that, right? I don't give a shit what they think about me, but they're all staring at the guy who can turn into a dragon and eat people. I think they’re used to me and the Dravens by now, but you walking in here looking a little green around the edges has them all believing that the rumors are true.”
