Page 76 of Forging Bonds: Part One

I practically run through the castle to get to the foyer where we came in and then quickly push my way through the doors.

“Neith, there you are. We were just about to come looking for you,” Doc says as he spots me first.

“Sorry, sorry,” I reply as I take a fleeting glance around the room, just long enough to note that no one else is in there. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” River asks, bouncing up to my side with a smile.

“Just follow,” I reply, as I spin on my heel and head back out of the door that I just came through.

“Are you okay?” Van asks as they all do as I’ve asked and follow me.

I nod, “Well physically I am, mentally and emotionally that’s another thing entirely.”

“That wasn’t a confusing answer at all,” Raiden teases and I stick my tongue out at him.

“Is the other team here?” I ask as we head up the stairs to the third floor.

Reed nods, “Yeah, they arrived just after we all got down to the common room. Coen was the only one who didn’t look terrified, he just looked pissed.”

I smirk, “Yeah, that makes sense to be honest. He’s almost as bad as I am at being told what to do.”

“We know,” River chuckles.

“You know it’s still weird to me that we knew the real him at the same time,” Ransom says, shaking his head slightly.

I nod, “I know what you mean. The plan is to help him while we’re here, but we need to try to figure out how we’re going to do that.”

“I think our first step is just to observe, and while I absolutely fucking hate it because of the potential danger it puts you in, you are the best person to do that and get close enough to figure out how they are controlling Coen,” Griff replies.

I nod, “I have to be close to them anyway. I may as well use it to my advantage.”

“Agreed,” Doc says, although he doesn’t look too happy either.

“Neith,” Raiden starts as I lead them to the double doors that lead up to the fourth floor, “where are you taking us?”

“I need to show you something,” I reply, my thoughts moving back to the task at hand and nerves fluttering to life in my belly.

The guys fall silent as they hear the nerves or urgency in my tone and jog up the stairs behind me. As I get to the hallway, the breath that I have been holding releases when I see that the painting is still there.

“Wow, it’s dusty up here,” River says as he does the most adorable sneeze that I have ever fucking heard.

“What do you want us to see?” Van asks.

I point at the painting, “Tell me what you see.”

They all walk further down the hallway and then stop and turn to look at it. My heart is in my throat, I don’t know why I’m so nervous, but I really am.

“She looks like you,” Griff says quietly, surprise in his voice.

“I recognize him,” Doc says suddenly as he gets closer to the painting and squints at Pete.

I smile, “They’re the King and Queen of Trieneliea.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Neith

“Oh, wow, really?” River asks. “I haven’t seen a picture of them since I was little, and it wasn’t as detailed as this.”

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