Page 29 of Shadow Bonds

“Or maybe she’s fucking us over, just this time playing the long game,”Theon says with a smile. And fuck if it isn’t one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen. Even if it is completely vicious and unhinged.

It only makes me want to mess with him.

“Tell Theon he has a pretty smile,”I tell Knox and smile wider when he jolts back.

“She’s watching us,”he tells Malakai.

Malakai narrows his eyes and then smirks.“She seems to like doing that,”he murmurs, and I instantly get warm remembering our little game a few nights ago.

He glances over at the kitchen as If I’m standing right there.“Are you enjoying watching us, Sena?”

I roll my eyes at the cocky fuck.“Theon is prettier to look at. Tell Malakai to turn back around,”I tell Knox.

Knox barks out a laugh, and Malakai and the others look at him.

“What did she say?”Cyrus asks.

“She thinks Theon is pretty to look at,”he replies.

Theon smirks but as if realizing what he’s doing, he frowns and then glares at Malakai.

I laugh out loud at his expression and start thinking I’m seeing things when I catch the small curve to Knox’s lips.

“Stop avoiding us and come back to the house,”Knox says.“You can’t hide out in the library forever.”

“Watch me,”I tell him.

Knox tells the others what I said, and I watch as Malakai clenches his fists. “You need to spend time with us,”he demands.

I scoff.“And you all need to stop playing games with me and being complete assholes.”

Knox tells the others what I said, and they narrow their eyes.

“We’ve been watching. We know you’re in the library. If we want to, we can head straight there and drag your ass home,”Malakai warns.

I clench my fists and tell myself I’m doing this. Now.Fuckthem.

They may have been watching me, but I see them now. And there’s no way I’m going to fall for any more of their tricks again.

I focus on clearing my mind—it helps that Knox isn’t talking incessantly in the background—and then I feel for each of the bonds, immediately feeling Theon’s first.

In my mind it’s blue, cool and calm like the ocean. But I can also feel the tip of a scales. As if he can easily switch to a treacherous storm with vicious waves.

I block him out first, imaging a huge translucent barrier between me and our bond and watch on through Malakai’s eyes as Theon sits back and frowns, wondering what the fuck happened.

I move onto Cyrus next and feel nothing but an endless darkness. As if it could go on forever and it could swallow me whole if I allowed it.

But there’s something almost peaceful about it too. Something comforting and safe that makes me want to lean into it.

I have to focus harder to create the barrier between us, but it slams down just like Theon’s, completely shutting him off from me.

“Sena,”Malakai growls in warning, finally realizing what I’m doing.

“What is it?”Theon asks, but I shut them all out to try and stay focused. Their words slip in though.

“She’s learned to block us out,”he replies.

Yes, I fucking have.

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