Page 44 of Gifted Destiny

“You need full protection before you leave the library. This means bonding to Zosia and making your beast accept her other mates.” Bren’s tone is laced with a rare note of command. I hope it works; Garrett might actually listen to him.

Garrett shifts his disgruntled energy toward his younger sibling. “I know. My griffin accepted Avery once he was marked. I think Kodi will be similar.” He pauses intentionally. “Bren?”

The mage’s aura pulses with anxiety. “I just need a little more time. Being with Zosia requires me to forget the past and everything Addington forced us to do. I was making progress until that woman ambushed me this morning. She had similarly selfish motives, and everything about her screamed of deception. It reminded me too much of the women Addington brought to us.” His aura shivers with remembered fear and agitation. Garrett’s energy strains toward his brother in a protective manner, but I can’t determine whether it’s a physical or subconscious action.

“Kissing Zosia made me feel better,” Bren continues. “I’m just afraid something will trigger me and she’ll misinterpret a reaction as rejection. I can’t do that to her. My heart has always belonged to her and my body desires her in a way I didn’t believe possible. I just need my brain to cooperate.”

Silence reigns for several minutes. I’m grateful to Bren for speaking so freely, and I worry that Garrett won’t reciprocate. Although our society has progressed in some ways, men are still discouraged from sharing anything that might be considered a weakness.

“My griffin already considers you part of his family, so it might not be an issue. Griffins form packs called drifts, but this isn’t common knowledge.”

I sense that he includes this information because I’m present, and I nod in appreciation. Griffins are so rare that I hadn’tknown this about them. It explains his close relationship with his brother, however.

“The most important thing is that my beast knows his mate is protected. Since he considers mates less capable of hurting each other, existing bonds become a reassurance instead of a threat.”

“I don’t think we have much time. I still have too much magic inside me, and I had difficulty giving any to the library tonight. I assume this will change after I’m bonded.” Bren’s voice quiets. “I hope this isn’t too much for Zosia. The idea that copulation is required to form a bond is archaic.”

Garrett snorts. “The words copulation and archaic are even older. You said yourself that the library is too ancient to comprehend. Maybe this is why her customs are a little outdated.”

Bren huffs in response, and I think he might roll his eyes.

“The bond fully formed between Zosia and Kodi before … copulation,” I informed them after a moment’s hesitation. Garrett snorts at the word, but Bren turns thoughtful. I fear giving him a reason to procrastinate, but a lessening in pressure might facilitate their interactions.

“They already loved one another. I think the library’s terms are specific to our individual needs. Zosia needs to feel desired and she needs a safe conduit for her libido that won’t cause shame.”

Understanding saturates the brothers’ auras as the library transmits an emotion to me that doesn’t belong to my mate. Sage is pleased that I understand.

Considering she and Kodi are still engaged in passionate activities raises a question, though. “Your magic must have aided her in some way, Bren. Her energy was reduced to nothing when she retired, but she seems rejuvenated.”

“It worked? I’d intended for the little energy I managed to force into the library to go to her.”

Our connection doesn’t express physical needs as readily as emotions. Once I tap into them, I realize why they’re not prioritized. The softer, more subtle emotions would be overwhelmed by the hungrier physical needs of weariness, pain, hunger, and lust.

I sift through the affection and love to examine Zosia’s energy. “She is revived. This could be because the library passed on your magic or the bond sustains her, but I think you played a part. Kodi had no difficulty rousing her.”

Garrett grunts. “I agree with Avery that you must have helped her. She was mostly asleep before I finished our therapy session, even though she must have been in pain.”

The shifter’s compassionate empathy and his words ease my lingering worries. Zosia’s relaxation suggested trust, especially while Garrett touched her legs. Her anxiety regarding her injuries is so powerful that it would have overridden her fatigue with anyone she didn’t trust.

“I wasn’t thinking,” Garrett says gruffly. Bren and I wait for an explanation with equal confusion. “About what I said to the detective. If you’d transferred your power to him and he couldn’t complete the bond, the magic wouldn’t have belonged to the library – not entirely.”

The admission of wrongdoing, although a relatively simple misunderstanding, further distances the shifter from his father. My reservations regarding his entrance into our circle lessen more each day.

“I know,” Bren replies, but his words are followed by a loud yawn. When the brothers decide to retire for the night, I wish them a restful slumber but don’t join them. I stay at the half-wall.

Although they’re only soft glows from this distance, each supernatural’s energy presents as a single light. The campus and whatever lies beyond becomes a tapestry for my strange vision –a field of black dotted by stars and interspersed with the ambient glow of other living things. I navigate the world using this strange web of light and an intuitive sense that I’ve cultivated over the years.

Navigating a relationship isn’t as easy as finding my way through physical space. Although Zosia is always with me via the bond, I miss her. I crave her scent and the sound of her soft breaths as she sleeps. The longing is unfamiliar, as is the desire for a stronger relationship with the other guardians. Today’s trial brought us closer, but tomorrow can still unravel all that has been woven.

The newest bond feels strange. Kodi’s energy fluctuates like the strength of his form, and his emotions vary widely in intensity. He cannot die again to protect the library or the librarian, but his bond is not lessened because of this. Most importantly, Zosia is happy. Her delight and contentment are the strongest I’ve felt so far.

I consider the trials we’ve faced together already and the information the brothers have shared with me tonight. Fin’s words regarding Agustin’s disappearance repeat through my mind. They seem prophetic, as if the library is trying to prepare us for what might happen. The intuition I’ve relied upon my entire life suggests that the danger facing us is greater than one man. Additionally, I’m uncertain of that man’s intentions. Is it just a grab for power or something else entirely?

The soul-lights of fellow students wink and flutter as they drift in and out of sleep. This view is my personal night sky. Zosia became my sun – my day – when I met her. As a figural metaphor, keeping her alive prevents the world from falling into darkness. I’ll do everything within my power to maintain this crucial balance, regardless of our enemy. We’ll only succeed if we strive together. Tonight, a crucial element was added to our potential for victory.

Chapter 21

Zosia

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