Page 116 of A Cruel Kindness

She’s crying. I don’t understand. You were just hugging her. The Bond was rather simple at times, only able to understand what was in front of it.

It would never be able to comprehend that we would never be together, not really.

That I would have to stand by, listening to it shriek, as Bellamy married someone else.

I turned away from her with a low curse, trying to clear my own vision so that I could focus.

The last thing we needed was one of us dead.

Chapter 30

Bellamy

It was if Muli itself knew what its people were planning.

I’d grown used to a forest that was bursting with life, crawling with unseen creatures that made themselves known through their constant chattering.

Now, it was just quiet.

Too quiet.

At first I’d thought I was imagining it, the numbness in my head turning into a low, quiet hum that eclipsed the sounds of all other beings. But then I realized Soren heard it too.

He really tried to keep his expression neutral, he did.

I knew him, I knew that he felt like something wasn’t right.

“It’s too quiet,” I whispered to Esme as we stomped along, the soft squish of hooves into mud the only noise.

Esme huffed out a deep breath. “It’s too dead here.” She projected her voice, but didn’t say anyone’s name.

Even then, Ford turned to her. “You think we should spread out?”

I rolled my lips to trap a smile. That wasn’t an answer to what she asked, but it was the one she was looking for.

Esme hummed in assent, already turning Sky westward.

I didn’t like the idea of separating, but Ford was right. We’d been given a two mile stretch through thick woods to cover and we weren’t going to get it done if we all stayed together.

Without me commanding anything, Clover walked up next to Lucky, brushing her snout against his neck as if that would strengthen their bond right before they were separated.

I knew what that was like. I’d give anything to take a deep pull from Soren’s embrace one more time.

“We’ll head west and south,” Ford said flipping Shadow around in a fluid motion.

Soren and I would take the opposite. The only problem was that cliff Soren had almost fell off of was eastward and I still had the sick urge to track down a landmine and blow off the mountain face just for making me watch Soren almost fall from it.

“I’d like to take north please,” the Bond asked for me.

Esme laughed after a long, drawn out, Ohhhh, then slapped her hand over her mouth in horror. I understood Freya’s statement when she first met me now, that Esme and Ford were no fun to tease.

When you didn’t appease the Bond, this sucked.

Sky and Shadow kicked off a second later, peeling off into different directions. I looked back to find Soren staring at me with a heavy expression, his eyes as intense as a sculptor trying to memorize their subject before returning to the marble.

“Be safe. Please.” His voice didn’t even sound human, it was so low.

“You too,” I whispered, unable to say much else.