“Oh no, little sinless. I know what you’re doing. Get your ass up there. It’s time,” he says.
I walk towards the arch, my heartbeat pounding in my ears so loud that I can’t hear anything else. Keep a straight face. You can do this.
As I step through the arch, the sudden, overwhelming force of the four tethers locking back onto mine almost topples me to my knees. Where there was once just a tug and warmth, now there’s a sizzling hum and a fierce, aching longing for these four men that I don’t even know.
This bond makes me want to meet them, learn everything about them, hold them, protect them, and feel their embrace. Struggling to maintain my composure, I stumble from the intensity of these new feelings, but I hope it just looks like a misstep to everyone watching.
I can’t bring myself to look anyone in the eye.
Denying this fresh new bond is almost physically painful, but I have to get out of this room. I need to figure out my next move and what I’m going to do.
I can feel intense emotions coming from 4 different directions. It hits me in the gut and almost makes me want to double over.
Denile. Anxiety. Anger. Curiosity.
I move down the stairs, and no one comes jumping for joy at me. Thank you, universe.
It seems my bonds have just as much trepidation about being tethered to me as I am to them. I can sense them out there, a magnetic pull towards them, but I force myself to ignore it. This is the bond’s feeling, not mine. I can get through this.
I return to my seat, and in a blur, the ceremony wraps up. Dean Bellows gives a few congratulatory remarks, the arch’s runes fade to a gentle glow, and we move towards the door.
Thank goodness we sat toward the back. I need to escape before any of my bonds find me.
10
Thou Shalt Not Bone in Broom Closets
Arwen
“I’m supposed to meet someone about my sin power training schedule,” I lie to Holly. “But I’m so happy for you, and I’ll see you later.” I give her a big hug and smile at Sly before running.
It’s time to get out of here before any of my bonds, or Dean Bellows, walks out of the auditorium. I take off down the hallway, not caring where I’m headed. The bond ceremony took almost all afternoon, so students are making their way back to their dorms before dinner.
I hurry up the stairs of a nearby tower and into a random courtyard and start making my way down the intersecting hallways, searching for refuge.
Surely not all the rooms up here are dorm rooms.
My surroundings become dizzy as I feel blood rushing to my head. What am I going to do? I can’t get kicked out; I just got here!
I find a small wooden door at the end of the hall that doesn’t have a locking handle like the other rooms around it and step inside.
It’s dark and small and filled with cleaning supplies, but it’s empty. Just what I need right now. Slumping down the stone wall to the floor, I rested my head on my knees. I need to think. To plan. Maybe if I come clean to Dean Bellows and tell her I have no intention of completing my bonds, she won’t kick me out.
Thinking it through, I decide she wouldn’t give me any special treatment over others who have bonded outside of their faction… at the very least she would need to inform the council.
The dark silence is comforting and slows my breathing. The stone is cold against my back. I calm down and gather my thoughts.
Breathe. In and out.
The door bangs open, causing me to jump. A tall man walks in, but I can’t make out his face in the dark with the light shining behind him. He closes the door and lowers himself, sitting against it.
My eyes adjust, and my heart sinks as I recognize one of my new bonds.
Atticus.Fuck…
His perfect hair is in a bit of disarray, like he’s been running his hands through it. The front looks almost shaggy as it curls down his forehead and covers his eyes. He stares down at his shoes, his mouth set in a grim line.
I’ve had no time to plan, but now I just have to wing it.
