Page 102 of A Bond So Deadly

Everyone freezes, and I swear my heart stops beating. “What?” I squeeze out. I expect the others to disagree with Knox, but no one does. “But you know we can’t bond,” I say incredulously. “Have you forgotten the prophecy?”

“You heard what the queen said,” Knox replies calmly. “She doesn’t need us to close the fold any longer. Not when she intends to simply wipe out all the Xalgrith. If we bond, your powers will grow as will ours. I don’t see any other option. Because if you die, nothing else will matter to us anyway. At least not to me…”

My hands tremble, and I clasp them together. “But the prophecy wasn’t just about the fold. It says I’ll break you.”

“Your death would break us,” Galen states simply. “For all we know, that could be what the prophecy means. In any case, I don’t think any of us give a damn.”

They say it so casually like bonding is the only thing that makes sense, and honestly, I find myself not saying no. I don’t want to hurt my mates, but we’re running out of options, and bonding would make them stronger as well.

My heart races. Partially, because an aching pain has started in my chest, like just the thought of bonding has activated it. But also…because the idea of bonding with my mates is a little terrifying.

I think of the oracle’s last words to me: The prophecy is not… Is not what? True? Is that what the oracle meant to say? If so, maybe bonding won’t be the worst thing. Maybe I won’t break my mates after all? I want to hope that, but worry still twists inside me.

“What if it’s a mistake?” I say softly, my heart hammering. “What if I destroy you?”

Galen brushes his fingers lightly across my cheek. “Nothing about you could ever be a mistake, treasure. Besides, if we are to die soon, I will die bonded to my fated mate.”

“As will I,” Knox replies, before adding, “We can use Shade’s room.”

A short while later, we’re back in the guy’s private rooms. I bounce on my feet as we stand in front of a black door with a hot pink handle. “I’m sorry, did you say we should use my room?” I squeal, asking for the third time, because getting excited about this is way better than thinking about our impending doom.

“It was my brother’s idea,” Raith comments with a lopsided grin. “Figured you might like your own space when you’re not with Kenzie in the dorms.”

I give them all a giddy smile, because I have been feeling like a house guest. I just hadn’t thought they’d noticed. Also, Raith referred to Knox as his ‘brother’ again. He’s being doing that a lot more since we returned from the Xalgrith realm, and it reminds me of how Raith and Knox used to be when I’d first met them in my dreams. Whatever hostility was between them is starting to soften, and it makes my heart warm.

Knox bands his arm around my waist, and he pulls me to him. “I wanted you to feel at home, my love, and seeing as your room now has the biggest bed…” He trails off.

Oh right, because there are five of us and we need a big bed for bonding. That has my stomach twisting in knots, and the increasing pain in my abdomen isn’t helping either. I don’t even know why I’m so nervous. I mean, I’ve been with all the guys, it’s just…this will be the first time all five of us are together, and the idea has me fidgeting with my hands. What the hell do you do with so many peens at the same time? I rack my brain trying to recall any of the group scenes from my favorite smutty books, but I’m drawing a blank.

If Blake were here, I could ask her for advice, but I tried to contact her again when we were still at the library, and the academy barrier is blocking us. I’m still worried about Blake and her mates in the beast realm, but at least I know why my portal ring isn’t working. Stop stressing about Blake. She can handle anything the beasts throw at them. You have other things to worry about right now. Yep, like how to navigate four cocks when I only have three holes. I snicker then, because this is not the kind of problem I ever thought I’d have.

“Ready?” Knox asks, gesturing toward the door.

I nod, and my mates all watch me intently as I reach for the doorknob.

I’m not sure what to expect, but when I swing the door open, I find myself squealing again. My mates haven’t just made me a bedroom. They’ve created me a dream bedroom.

Huge floor-length bookshelves line the walls, and there’s a fireplace with crackling black flames and a plush reading chair in one corner. A round table decorated with a large vase of beautifully arranged red and black roses, sits near the sprawling window that overlooks academy grounds. And there’s even an angled stained wooden desk, ready with paper and charcoal pencils. I spot my journal there, and before I can ask about it, Galen says, “Don’t worry, we didn’t peek. You won’t have to hide here, little shadow.”

I grin, and I turn my attention back to the rest of the room. The guys weren’t kidding when they said I had the biggest bed, because it’s at least twice as large as Thane’s. The bed has an elegant wooden frame with shadows carved into the posts, and a sheer black curtain connects to each one. The mattress is covered with a beautiful quilt, and just like in my dream bedroom, it’s decorated with a pattern of hearts and roses. At least a dozen silky pillows of different sizes are neatly arranged near the headboard.

Smiling, I take a run up and launch myself onto the mattress, dissolving into laughter when I fall onto the soft cushions. I flap my arms like a snow angel, and at least three of the pillows topple to the floor, which only makes me laugh harder. My mates grin as they follow me, moving to the side of the mattress.

“I take it that you like it?” Galen says with a curve of his lips.

“Like it? No, I love it,” I say with a smile so big I probably look like a crazy person, but I don’t even care. I crush a pillow to my chest and smush my face into another. “It’s so freaking soft,” I say, my voice muffled.

“They’re stuffed with the softest feathers you’ll find in this realm, all ethically sourced, of course,” Knox replies. “I figured you’d appreciate it.”

His lips quirk up when I sigh happily, because this is seriously the comfiest bed I’ve ever been on. I think of all the feathers. No, it’s not just a bed… My guys have made me a nest. At that thought, more pain cramps my stomach, but it’s chased away by desire as I notice the way all my mates are looking at me.

Oh right, bonding. Wasting no time, my shadows curl around me, and I make my clothes disappear leaving me laying there completely naked. I’m not in the most elegant position, so I go to move but end up jabbing the corner of a pillow into my eye. I yelp as my eye waters, and when I blink, Raith has launched the offending pillow to the other side of the room. It slams against the window and slides down to the floor, and I give Raith a questioning look.

His fingers are clawed, and the tips of fangs protrude from his mouth. He shrugs. “My monster’s on edge.”

I snort with laughter, but my expression becomes serious again when my mates move in closer around me, and their clothes disappear into shadows. They climb onto the mattress, and my breath catches in my throat. Four mates. Holy smokes. I’m going to bond with four freaking mates. I’d spent so long telling myself this could never happen, and now I feel overwhelmed.

“What if I’m a bad mate?” I blurt suddenly, feeling the pressure of it all coming down on me.