Page 87 of Forging Bonds: Part One

The sound that Betty makes is like an almighty boom, and it’s so loud that it leaves my ears ringing for a second. However, my ears are soon far from my mind as I watch the creature’s head fling backward, as there’s an explosion of blood and light, and the entire body suddenly disintegrates. I look at Betty.

“You fucking amazing gun, you killed him,” I exclaim and then laugh as she buzzes in my hand happily. The buzz is even stronger than it was before and it’s closer to what Azael gives me.

It’s only because I’m still looking up at the sky that I see something falling from it, standing up I keep my eyes on it, surprised when it falls only a meter or two away from where I am. My curiosity is piqued, and I jog over to the object, it takes me a few moments to realize what it is, but as soon as I do, my eyes widen in shock.

It’s a beast of a fucking bullet, as big as my forearm and purple in color. As I watch, it disappears, and I get the feeling that the only reason it stuck around was to show me exactly what Betty just shot that killed the creature.

If there was any doubt in my mind that she is an enchanted weapon, or at the very least becoming one, and perhaps has been coming one for a while, those doubts have been completely shot down. For one, how the fuck did that bullet fit in Betty? I mean, she’s a regular shotgun, or at least she looks like she is.

The answer is simple: it’s magic.

Betty is now magic.

That is so fucking cool.

I glance over to where the Draconian Team was standing and raise my eyebrows as I see Kylen striding over to me with a greedy and determined look in his eye. Sighing, I call Asael to me, as I keep a tight grip on Betty, I’m pretty sure that I know what he’s going to want.

As soon as he gets to me, he holds out his hand expectantly, “Give me the gun.”

I laugh, “No.”

His expectant expression fills with surprise and then the predictable anger as he adds, “I’m not messing around, give me the fucking gun or I will make you.”

The sound of Betty’s chamber being filled as I cock the gun and aim her at Kylen echoes around the empty desert.

My smile is dark, “Please, give me the excuse. I would love to see your face explode into tiny bloody bits.”

I’ve had enough, the Choosing be damned. I know it’s going against the rules to hurt him, but I honestly don’t care anymore. If he tries to take Betty from me I will shoot him, and I have absolutely no doubt that she will be able to kill him. His face turns red with anger as his eyes flash to those of his dragon. I should be worried, a dragon is considerably bigger than I am, but this fucker, this fucker doesn’t scare me at all.

Before he can do anything, I’m pulled out of the level by the Choosing, and I briefly see the team being pulled out through different portals. I am reasonably sure that the Choosing pulled me out when it did on purpose. It took my threat to kill him seriously.

Good, it should.

When my vision clears, I know I’m in the castle, but I’m not sure exactly where in the castle I am. It would be nice if the portal dropped me back to my room, so I could change and shit, although having said that, I would most likely leave before I do any of that so that I can find the guys. I need to tell them so much stuff.

The door directly in front of me suddenly opens.

“I’m telling you, she must be back by now,” Griff says worriedly.

“I can find her room with my nose. I know we’re not supposed to know, but officially, we still wouldn’t,” River says, his expression serious.

“Do it. I need to see that she’s okay,” Reed orders.

“We all do,” Doc adds.

“I didn’t like the look of the blood on her shirt,” Ransom says.

Raiden’s starlit eyes meet mine, they widen ever so slightly before he moves toward me. His arms wrap around me, and his head falls into my neck as he places a kiss there.

“That was the hardest thing I have ever watched,” Raiden murmurs.

My eyes widen as the realization hits me, they must have been watching. In a way, that’s great because it means that I won’t have to explain anything to them because they’ve seen it. It means that I don’t have to waste any time, and I can get to the really important stuff like the necklace that Kylen wears and the fact that Betty kicked fucking ass.

I mean, they probably saw that, but I need to explain why and how. I also want to check on Coen. I can’t imagine that Kylen would be very pleased that he saved my life.

“Neith,” Evander says my name in a whisper of relief.

Everyone stops and turns to look at me, relief filling their expressions as they all crowd around me, wrapping their arms around me and each other. I soak in the affection as my sore and tired body relaxes. I’m passed around the group, taking comfort in each of their very different embraces.

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