Zeph’s eyes flick over to Wekun and then back to me, and fury ripples through him. He takes a step in our direction, but two of the guards around him move to get in his way. His nostrils flare, and the tic in his jaw starts up. He’s clearly pissed that I’m bathing in front of Wekun, but he’s once again letting his temper get the best of him. Wekun couldn’t care less about my naked ass.
Zeph mumbles something, and I look to find both Treno and Ryn shooting daggers our way too. I turn, no longer willing to absorb any more of their anger, and the guards guide them to a lower pool that’s thankfully far away.
I’m silent for a moment as I try to wash the rage that was just aimed at us from my skin.
“Wekun, can mate bonds be severed?” I ask as I rinse my hair and body one last time, ready to get out and get on with things.
It’s quiet for several beats.
I look over at him so I can gauge his response. He’s looking down at the group of gryphons, his eyes fathomless and far away. I watch him for a moment, and just when I accept he’s not going to answer, he does.
“Yes, they can be severed. It’s brutal, and I don’t recommend it, but it has been done.”
I turn away from his sympathy-filled, champagne gaze and stare down at Treno’s runes on my chest. Thoughts swirl in my mind, and I wade through them as I trace the black marks with my eyes.
“When you try to bring my runes back, I’d like you to sever my mate bonds too.”
I look up at him, so he can see the determination in my face and in my eyes. I want him to see that my request isn’t a rash decision, and that spite isn’t the catalyst for my appeal.
I let the pain I feel bleed into my gaze, and I open myself up so that he can witness the emotional wounds I’ve been collecting from being attached to these males. I’m slowly dying inside, and not just me, but I need him to witness how wrong and awful the mate bonds are for them too. I know we’ll all be better without each other.
He studies me for a moment and releases a resigned exhale.
“If that’s what you want,” he starts, pausing like he’s waiting to see if I’ll take the words back.
“It is,” I answer instead, relief swirling in my chest, as the rest of me hardens with resolve.
I take one last look at the lower pools and the three gryphons currently cleaning off in them. Ryn looks up at me. I know he’s too far away to have heard anything, but his eyes are conflicted all the same. We stare at each other, and his gray and white wings spring from his back. He doesn’t take his eyes off of mine, and they flicker between frustration and sorrow. I turn away and climb out of the hot spring. Wekun turns away, but I can feel my mates’ eyes on me, and goose bumps crawl up my arms.
“Let’s do it then,” I tell Wekun as I reach for the makeshift towel that’s been laid next to the pile of clothes he acquired for me.
Pigeon sends me a flash of desolation and then a steady stream of resolve. I withdraw inside myself and give her a hug.
“I’m sorry, Pidge. If you don’t want this, I won’t do it, but I think it’s for the best,”I tell her, and she butts her feathered head against my chest. I run my fingers over her soft angled ears and give her time to show me what she wants. The elation she felt when the call went out to each of her mates flashes in my mind. She shows me the rightness she felt when the call was answered, and I can feel her contentment radiating through me.
But then image after image of Zeph’s, Ryn’s, and Treno’s angry faces, their mouths warped as they spit hateful words that hurt not just her, but me as well, flow in my head like a river of pain. Their secrets and rejections wrap around our heart until we don’t feel like us anymore. Pigeon tears at the hurtful bindings with her razor sharp beak and shows me pictures of the two of us flying and talking and laughing.
I smile and feel a tear slip down my cheek.“I want that too,”I tell her, burying my face in the soft feathers of her neck.“I’m sorry I couldn’t make them love you the way you deserve, Pidge,”I tell her quietly.
She drops her head on top of mine, and we just sit like that for a while. Both of us mourning the loss of what will never be with our mates and accepting our future without them.
10
Istep out of my newly acquired pants and set them aside gently. I just got them, and I hate that I’m being asked to abandon them so quickly. They’re a little big, but it’s better than traipsing around in an oversized shirt, free-lipping it, and trying to pretend like the crotch rot from not bathing in weeks is no biggie. Now at least the chafing rash caused by my thighs rubbing together from too much evil walking can finally start to recover.
I pull the weird tank top dress down from the top of the screen I’m changing behind and slip it on.
“Why haven’t you explained how underwear works to the Ouphe-Sentinels of this world?” I ask Wekun as I pull the maroon fabric down over my ass until it falls to my knees.
I step out from behind the screen and motion to my weird outfit. “Why do I have to wear this, again?”
Wekun doesn’t look over, as he’s too busy positioning the big fluffy cushions on the floor of the corner of his tent. I take it that’s where this whole rune restoration thing is going to go down, and move toward him.
“If this works, it’s not going to feel good. Your body is going to behave like it’s going through an awakening. You’ll thank me for the lack of restrictive clothing,” he tells me over his shoulder.
“I won’t thank you if my vagina’s business is being flashed to the whole camp,” I retort as I sit on a cushion and yank the hem of my tunic tank top down.
“I’ll be the only one in here; your vagina and its business are safe with me,” Wekun declares on an amused snort.
