“It’s a failsafe my mother gave me,” Wekun tells us, gesturing to the rune. “When activated, it makes anyone in my presence enamored. They’re less likely to want to kill me if they want or admire me in some way,” he explains, and I feel both severely irritated and impressed.
“Sorry to use it on you, but better to be safe than sorry when meeting new people,” he throws out there, nonplussed.
I’m just grateful to have a non-simpering brain back, so I let it slide.
“Do you three have any questions before we start on your joining runes?” Wekun asks as the sound of dishes clinking around makes its way out of the kitchen.
I pull up my trusty mental list, but shock stirs through me when most of what I had has been crossed out and answered.
“What joining marks will you be giving us?” I ask, clearly the only one out of the loop here.
“The usual ones, mind speak, locators, emotional alarms. You’ll be familiar with all of those already, Vinna, as you have similar pathways set up with your Chosen,” he tells me.
“Suryn, you have mind speak with your Marked and of course the locators built into the finger runes. The emotional alarms will be new for you, and you and Vinna both will experience a gate rune for the first time,” Wekun explains, his eyes kind and his tone patient. “Ory, this isn’t going to be a whole lotta fun for you today, but just remember it will end and the pain will be worth it,” he adds.
Ory visibly swallows and lets out a resigned exhale. I don’t bother questioning how Wekun seems to know so much about us. From what I’ve been told about Bond Weavers and how they can see things, I figure it must just be part of his abilities.
“Any other questions?” Wekun asks, and we all look back and forth and then shake our heads. “Excellent, if you three are okay to start, we should get a move on. Vinna’s mates are getting restless,” he announces and winks over his shoulder at my guys.
“Now, hold hands so I can make this quick,” Wekun commands with a clap of his hands.
He steps in front of me, and his champagne colored eyes feel like they look through me as he reaches up and touches under the spot behind my ear where my Chosen runes are.
“This rune will allow you three to speak in each other’s heads when called on,” Wekun explains.
A familiar burning starts at the tip of his finger. I grit my teeth against the pain as I feel two runes marking me there. It’s there and gone in a couple of minutes. As soon as the pain fades for me, Suryn lets out a hiss of discomfort as she gets her marks. A few more minutes later, Ory grunts indicating that it’s now his turn.
“Ready for the next?” Wekun asks when Ory unclenches his jaw.
I nod.
My heart rate picks up when I realize where Wekun has to touch to put the next rune. I look down at his inner elbow to make sure he’s not working his failsafe mojo on me anymore, but nope, this is all the TGV’s fault. Wekun presses his finger tip to my eight pointed star rune on my chest and then moves his finger down my sternum until he hits blank skin underneath the Chosen runes on my chest.
“This rune will work differently than the runes you have now, Vinna. If you are distressed, hurting in any way or scared, it will automatically call to the others. You won’t have to call on it for it to work. It’s a failsafe between the three of you,” he explains, and the burning sensation starts again where his finger rests.
The rune moves through each of us one by one. Wekun looks over me as it does, like he’s searching my body for something.
“Are you okay with inner bicep?” he asks me after a minute, and I furrow my brow in confusion. “For the gate rune,” he explains.
I look down at the inside of my arm. “Yeah, that’s fine,” I confirm.
Wekun doesn’t ask Ory if he’s ready this time. He just presses his palms to the inside of both of my biceps.
“This rune will be the hardest for all three of you to receive but possibly the most vital. It will allow you to jump to each other when called on.”
“Like we can teleport to each other?” I ask, awe and astonishment in my tone.
“More or less. The marking will create a gate between the three of you. When you call on the marking, the gate pulls you through.”
I don’t get a chance to voice my amazement, because it feels like Wekun just shoved a white hot poker into the inside of both of my upper arms. My grip tightens on Suryn’s hand, and I throw my head back and close my eyes in an effort to ride the searing pain out. The deep breaths I’m attempting turn into pants, and a quiet keening sneaks through my lips for a minute or so before the pain starts to fade.
I breathe heavy as the awful sensation starts to dissipate, and Suryn’s hand becomes vice-like in mine. I squeeze her hand back and offer my own reassurances when her cries start to spill from her lips. More than five minutes go by, and her grip finally loosens. Ory yelps out a pained noise, and we watch and wait while trying to comfort him and tell him that it’ll all be over soon. It feels like forever, but eventually Ory relaxes.
We let go of each other’s hands, but none of us rushes to move. The three of us stand there just taking it all in. We now have each other’s symbols marked on our bodies, and I feel bonded to them and protective of them in a way I didn’t before. Wekun claps his hands together loudly, and I jump with a squeak, not expecting the booming noise as we quietly inspect our new markings and what they mean for us.
Weeks ago we were all trying to kill each other. Now here we are, bonded forever as the new leaders of our people. It all feels so fucking surreal.
“I’m glad to have finally met you, Vinna,” Wekun tells me, pulling me from my thoughts. “I think things will be busy for you for a while, but when they start to calm down, I’d like you to come here so I can teach you more about your Bond magic and how it works,” Wekun offers.
