Page 134 of Forsaken Secrets

What in the seven hells was happening?!

"What have you done to me?"I asked, finally able to talk, tracing his words back to his korra. As I watched, it took the shape of him. That had never happened before! Was it something I was doing? Or him?

"As I said, do you see that your friend there just set you free? Neither he nor I mean you any harm."

He said that, and yet there I was, tied to a chair with blood flowing freely down my back from where they'd cut into me. Ha. If that's them meaning me no harm, I wouldn't want to see them trying!

"Now, the first step,"he continued, "we're going to go to the korra realm, but it can be quite confusing. So, I want you to bond me to you."

That was a terrible idea. "NO. Absolutely not. Besides, even if I wanted to, I have no idea how."

His brow rose. "You must, though. Just reach out to me with your korra and connect. I'm much weaker than you, so it should be easy."

I glared at him.

Bonding him was the absolute last thing I wanted to do.

"Remember, your aunt's life depends on you."

My hands hurt from clenching them so hard. But he was right. I'd do whatever he needed to keep her safe.

So, I searched his korra for some clue how to do this bond.

When I'd helped Lunei, it had been intuitive. Maybe this would be similar?

Just like his wife's, his korra was mostly black, and amongst the strands were little threads. Most were pulsing black ooze, but a few were golden and bright.

Were those the bonds?

They lead out of him and to other korras around the room. I looked down at myself and gasped. I had them going in and out of me, too!

"The oozing ones are corrupted, either by creating them through force or a relationship that's deteriorated too far. The golden ones, though, those are natural and have the possibility to grow into something strong and beautiful,"he explained, tracing one of the golden bonds — the one between me and Aunt Grace.

Could I take one of my bonds and move it to him?

I tried to grab it, but my hands just slid through them like they were smoke. Damn.

"Just push, Miss Maderoth."

I suppose that was what I'd done with Lunei.

So, I pushed my korra towards him. And just like last time, where I pushed, a little strand followed — this one a tarnished silver color.

Could I tie it to him like I had her? I pressed it to his chest, but nothing happened. It clung to me like a skirt on a dry day.

What if I stabbed it in, though?

Pulling all that anger from deep inside me, I pushed it into that tiny silver strand. As I watched, the thin strand pulsed and expanded, making a thicker silver rope complete with a sharp tip.

I readied myself to stab him with it, but he stood there with his eyes pressed closed as though he knew what I was going to do.

Gods. What had made him go to such great lengths for those people? I couldn't even fault him for wanting to help.

But the way he'd done it …

Surely, if my aunt had loved him once, he hadn't always been this way, though?

Could I pull him in, return him to humanity?

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