Issa came at me like she had something to prove,I say once we make it back to the enclosure and get settled down for the night. We no longer need chaining, so coming here was more force of habit than anything else.
Ninon hums, the sound coming out like a soft growl.Perhaps she does.
What do you mean?
Ninon waits a beat, then says,I think she likes me.
I think you’re right,I respond.So beating me up is proving something to you, is it?
Ninon huffs.Maybe more to herself. You’re my closest friend. I think it’s safe to assume you and I could bond.
Ozias with his ability to see bonds hasn’t mentionedthat it’s possible with Ninon. Then again, I never asked. Now that I think of it, everything I’ve read of Atlanta’s work and the few other texts I’ve read about the bond would lead to this conclusion. The thought makes me incredibly happy. I’ve been so entrenched with the concept of bonding with Zhoric and wrapped up with Ozias and the potential between us, that the possibility of others hasn’t crossed my mind. The idea that I could pair with Ninon makes sense and with it comes an immense sense of calm.
Not that we will,Ninon says.
My hope drains like a water skein gone dry. I lift my head.Why not?
From what I’ve been told, enacting a bond makes everything you feel stronger. And I love you and we work well together but…I want to have every aspect of every feeling heightened with my bonded. I think Issa and I share more common feelings for one another.
It doesn’t take me long to figure it out. She’s talking of something more than platonic affection like we have for one another. She’s talking of romantic love. I lay my head down and try to dampen my disappointment.I see.
I’m sorry,she says.
You’ve nothing to apologize for,I say earnestly despite my own disappointment.I understand.
Do you?
I think of my sister and Thrace. I think of a bond with someone that’s all-encompassing: mind, body, and soul. The idea sends a tingle down my spine—is that out there for me? I don’t know, but I’m glad my sister has it. I’m over the moons that Ninon, who deserves the world, wants that for herself, too.I do, I say.And you deserve it.
The gentle scuffles of Ninon lying down soothe my ears and calm my mind. I hear her quiet,Thank you,as my eyes drift shut. I listen to the whisper of the wind, the buffeting air from the wings of creatures all around me. Black blends with white, colors swirl, and I fall into my mind, all the way into Zhoric’s chambers.
He’s pacing the floor in front of his suite’s doors when I fully manifest by the opening to the balcony, where Iassumed he’d be, which is perhaps why my mind placed me here. I watch him go back and forth across the floor, eyes darting to the door every so often.
“Expecting someone?” I finally ask.
He stops dead in his tracks and raises his gaze to me, eyes roving all over my face, catching on the ends of my hair, on my cheek where Issa hit me.
His stillness deepens, turning him to stone, his voice lowers to a deadly octave. “Who struck you?”
My fingers ghost over my cheeks. “It was a game. I lost, if you couldn’t gather.”
Zhoric’s answer is a soft rolling growl. He goes to his desk, lifts his quill, and begins penning something onto parchment.
I move to his dressing table to look for the beginning of a bruise, but when I try to catch my reflection, I see nothing.
“You’re not really here,” he reminds me without looking up from his papers. “You’re but a mere projection of yourself, here through the power of our minds and the bond.”
I rise from where I’d leaned over to study myself in the mirror, and slowly look from him to the door, realization dawning. “You were waiting for me.”
Zhoric’s fingers twitch against the stem of the quill. “No.” His reply is curt and, very clearly, a lie.
“Ah.” I try not to smile. “I see why you’re usually so tight lipped.”
He sets down his pen, folds his hands over each other, and focuses on me. “And why is that?”
“You’re a terrible liar when you speak,” I say with a pleased smile.
He twists his face away towards the window, but his eyes slide back over to me. “You changed your hair.”
