The plan is simple.
We're going back to my parents’ house and tearing the place apart until we find something that proves that Nox's theory about Athena having a god-bond is correct.
The very idea of stepping foot back into that house makes me want to vomit, but I work hard at keeping all of that off of my face. I know that I have succeeded when no one questions me about it. Not even my Bonded.
If it were anything else but this, I might get a little offended that she hadn't noticed that I was losing it, but there's too much riding on all of this for petty squabbling in our Bonded Group about my ego. Too much of the danger that we have faced has been from my own bloodline, and the idea ofanyof us facing Athena is already something that turns my stomach.
I hadn't spent a huge amount of time with the woman, but I know enough about her. My mother did not like her or the power that she wields, and she’d done her best to keep me away from her. The few times she had visited my father were enough to prove to me, especially now in hindsight, that none of the Bassingers are good people. They aren’t just flawed human beings, but selfish, self-serving Gifted who enjoy the power of having Top Tier Gifts and the type of wealth that people can only dream about.
I had been a spoiled little shit as a kid too, and I credit my Bonded with saving me from turning into one of those assholes. The moment I had clicked on that video on my mother's computer and found Oli chained to a torture table by Silas fucking Davies, the trajectory of my life had changed completely. One look at her and I was a changed man. One look at her and I knew that I would do whatever it takes to protect her and give her the life that she deserves, one in which she would never feel that sort of pain ever again, and certainly not at the hands of my family.
The sins of the Bassingers are plentiful and I hope that my devotion to my Bonded is enough to cancel a bit of that bad juju out.
North and Gryphon make arrangements for us to leave in the early hours of the morning. Everyone disappears to get some rest and get their things packed together before we leave. On instinct, I follow my Bonded back to her room.
I already have a go-bag packed at all times, the same as Gryphon and the Dravens, and I’m pleasantly surprised when I find one sitting in Oli’s closet already. We’re not supposed to be staying overnight anywhere, but it never hurts to be prepared.
She heads straight into the bathroom to brush her teeth, and when I’m busy rinsing out my mouth, she finally speaks. “We can talk about it if you want to, but we also don't have to do anything. You don't owe me an explanation just because I’m your Bonded.”
My heart swells in my chest, and I take my time wiping my face so that I don't make a fool of myself. Of course she noticed, and of course she tiptoed around me and my feelings. If anyone understands trauma, it's Oleander Fallows.
“I don't want any of them touching you. I hate the idea of you walking into that house. One of those things I can do something about and the other one, I have to get over,” I say in a monotone voice, but Oli just nods back to me.
“I didn't want to do it either. I'm much more interested in finding another camp and burning it to the ground, to be honest, but I guess it doesn't count as working to wipe out the Resistance if we're only doing the things we want to do. I know that, but it doesn’t make it any easier to stomach.”
I let my hands tangle in her hair, tipping her head back and enjoying the way her mouth drops open instantly, ready for whatever it is I want to give her. There are dark shadows under her eyes from her night of keeping the god-bonds happy, and as much as I had joked around with her this afternoon, I'm not going to make any demands of my Bonded tonight.
I'd rather spend it with her tucked up in my arms and listening to the steady beat of her heart, knowing that everything I do, everything I sacrifice and am forced to face, even when I would rather not, is to keep that heart of hers beating. It has to be enough.
* * *
When our feetland on the street outside of the brownstone I had spent the first nineteen years of my life living in, a sense of dread fills my body. Five stories, sixteen bedrooms, enough bathrooms to drown a football team, three kitchens, an entire conference room that has heard far too many atrocities of the Resistance, and hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cars and motorcycles parked in the underground garage. It’s a classic design, impeccably maintained, and the envy of the entire street. There’s a plaque on the front with my family’s name on it, shining and bright where one of our dozens of staff polishes it with brass cleaner. Everything about it screams privilege and the type of wealth that cannot run dry. The dread turns to ice in my belly.
I never wanted to come back here.
It was never in my plans to see this place again, and I’m still numb at the fact that I’ve been forced to come. The moment I had left to find Oli, to steal her away to another country to escape everything that my parents were doing, was one of the best moments of my life. I had broken free of my name and the expectations on me. I had made my stance clear, even though my mother did everything she could to hide that fact from my father and the other elite members of the Resistance.
Now, staring up at the door, I want to vomit.
It was only days ago that we had buried my parents’ Bonded Group, and I still haven’t had enough time to process all of the feelings I have about that. It’s too fucking confusing, and I feel a lot of shame for it all. Grief for my mother, the woman who birthed and raised me, isn't as easy as it should be because I'm also well aware that the woman was a monster. Not to me, of course, and in a lot of ways, she saved my Bonded… She's, without a doubt, the reason Oli is alive today, but these were not acts of virtue. They were things that she did for her own purposes. Self-serving, with motives I would rather not think about anymore.
I still haven't told my sister they're dead.
I don't know if North has either, or one of the others, though I secretly hope that it wasn't Nox who went down to the cells to tell Aurelia.
My feelings about her are just as confusing as my grief.
Are you alright?Oli sends through our mind connection to me as she tucks her hand into mine.
She stares up at the building with me, a vague look of disgust on her face that makes me want to kiss the hell out of her. “It’s even bigger than the Dravens’ mansion, and I didn’t think that was possible. How the hell do people get this type of money?”
Evil and nefarious deeds.
I chuckle under my breath, but it's more of a broken sound than a joyful one. Gabe slaps a hand on my shoulder as he tries to lighten the mood. “It's exactly what I expected it to look like. Promise me there's a gold toilet in there somewhere. We should make a game to see who can find it first.”
Oli scoffs under her breath. “I’m not leaving your side in there. It has nothing to do with protection. There’s absolutelyno waythat I’m going to be able to find my way back out, and we all know it. My sense of direction in these sorts of houses is absolutely atrocious. I refuse to take the blame though, no one needs a house this freaking big!”
I raise our joined hands up to my lips so I can kiss the back of hers, grateful that her sass and snark is out in full force to distract me. She always has been far too good at noticing the pain and torment of others. It's something she's picked up from her own trauma. I hate that she has that ability, but I’m also grateful for it right now.
