Chapter 48 Bondrot
BONDROT
ASH
Wiping his mouth, Zeke shuffled into the living room from the front hallway leading to the downstairs bathroom.
I looked up from my spot on the wraparound sofa. “There’s water for you,” I said, nodding to the bottle on the coffee table. I’d grabbed a few bottles and made sandwiches after Ezra came in from training. I doubted Zeke would eat, but he needed fluids.
“Thanks,” he grumbled, rubbing his stomach.
He looked awful.
It’d been two days since we last saw Rae, and Zeke had spent most of that time hugging the toilet.
He grabbed a bottle and collapsed onto the sofa across from me, propping his bare feet on the table. “I don’t think I have anything left to throw up.” He pushed his messy platinum hair back, revealing dark circles beneath his eyes.
“Where’s Cyn?”
“Cleaning the toilet.”
He tugged the legs of his navy sweatpants up to his knees. “It’s so hot,” he whined, flopping back into the plush cushions and pressing the bottle to his forehead.
I studied him, taking in his sweaty skin and how his white T-shirt clung to his torso. “Have you seen the palace’s physician?”
“No.” He lowered the bottle. “It’s just my nerves.”
I wasn’t so sure about that.
Zeke struggled with stressful situations, sure, but I suspected something more than anxiety. The nagging feeling that Rae was our destined mate—and that she hadn’t manipulated us—stirred in my gut again.
Was Zeke experiencing Bondrot?
Cyn headed straight for Zeke as he entered the living room. He stood behind the sofa and placed a hand on Zeke’s forehead.
Zeke blinked up at him. “I don’t have a fever. Too hot.”
“Not anymore, but you had one last night.” Cyn circled the sofa and sat down beside Zeke. “You’re soaked.” He tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it onto Zeke’s lap. “Put this on.”
“I’m fine.”
“Put it on.”
“I can go get my own,” Zeke said, toying with the fabric in his lap.
“Don’t make me put it on you myself.”
I resisted the urge to chuckle as Zeke groaned.
“Fiiine.” He whipped his shirt off, wiped his sweaty skin with the damp fabric, and pulled on the new one. “Happy?” He pinched the front of the black T-shirt and lifted it to his nose, sniffing.
“It’s clean,” Cyn said, rolling his eyes.
“I know. I like your cologne.”
“It’s on my dresser.” He shrugged, leaning on the arm of the sofa. “You can use it if you want.” He glanced at me. “Is Ezra back yet?”
“Came in about fifteen minutes ago and went to shower. Maelia put him through it during training today.”
Zeke finished the last of his water and placed the empty bottle on the table. “Why?”
“Same reason she’s going to kick my ass in a few days.” I waved a hand, recalling what Maelia said this morning when Ezra left for training. “We’ve been gone too long and eating ‘Earth junk’. She thinks we’ll fall behind the guard and embarrass her.”
Cyn scratched his chest. “She’s not even over us anymore. What’s to be embarrassed about?”
“She still sees us as her kids.” I shrugged. “I mean, she’s not wrong. We didn’t train while on Earth. Ezra looked exhausted when he came in.”
Maelia took us under her wing when we joined the Elyrdin Guard and refused to give us preferential treatment.
When other soldiers feared Ezra’s shadow powers and refused to train with him, Maelia didn’t hesitate to plant her boot in his chest and send him flying across the yard on day one. She was the only soldier besides my brothers I trusted to have my back, no matter what.
“It’s not like we could train where humans might catch us,” Ezra said, drawing my attention to the balcony that wrapped around the living room.
From below, the upper landing gave a clear view of the bedroom doors lining the second floor.
He descended the stairs in a fitted T-shirt and loose lounge pants, joining us.
“You look like shit,” Cyn said, grabbing a sandwich.
Ezra let out a weary sigh, collapsing onto the left side of the sofa, facing the other guys. “Good to know.” He put his bare feet on the table and crossed his ankles.
The only time Ezra ever relaxed was here, at home. Everywhere else—inside the palace or walking through Elyrdin—he kept his guard up. Cornaith never missed a chance to scorn even the smallest action he deemed unworthy of his heir.
Only here did he allow his feelings to show—if only a little bit.
I sat forward, grabbed a water bottle, and passed it to him. “How you feeling?”
“Thanks,” he said, taking the bottle. “Like I look, it would seem.”
Zeke put his hand on his stomach when it gurgled. “Was Maelia that bad?”
Ezra looked at Zeke and shook his head. “Not more than usual.” He rested his head against the sofa and closed his eyes.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Fatigued. Nauseated. The worst is the mild vertigo whenever I move too fast.” He opened his eyes. “Maelia took advantage of that. As she should. We need to be prepared to fight even when we’re not in peak condition.”
Now that I looked closer, I noticed the dark circles under Ezra’s eyes and the light sheen of sweat on his forehead even after a shower.
I turned my attention to Cyn. “How do you feel?”
“Fine. Why?”
“You don’t feel sick or anything?”
“I threw up a couple times yesterday, but I’m fine today.”
“You’ve been sleeping a lot, though,” Zeke said.
Since we returned home, I’d spent most of my time napping and feeling awful. Even with faster healing, I hated vomiting, so I took medicine and slept at the first sign of intense nausea. If I slept through a day or two, I could usually avoid the worst.
I thought depression explained my lethargy after what happened with Rae, but seeing the others sick gave me pause.
I sighed. “I thought my nausea came from getting used to the food here after eating on Earth.”
Zeke turned his attention to me. “You’re sick too?”
“Little bit.” I glanced at Ezra as he pressed his fingers into his eyes, elbow braced on the sofa arm. “Why don’t you go to bed? We can talk later.”
The thought that crossed my mind needed addressing, but I didn’t enjoy seeing Ezra suffer. He needed rest.
Zeke stole our attention before Ezra could answer me. “Cyn? What’s wrong?”
Cyn jumped up from the sofa and bolted down the front hall. The sound of retching echoed from the bathroom doorway.
We sat in silence until he returned.
“I’m not eating until this passes,” he groused. “That sandwich came right up.” He climbed onto the sofa and rested his head on Zeke’s lap.
Zeke toyed with his hair, watching him.
“What the hell did we eat to be this sick? Shouldn’t it be over?” He rubbed his face against Zeke’s thigh and groaned. “Earth food has never made me sick before, except that one time I ate that awful-smelling fruit.”
“Durian,” Ezra said.
“Whatever the name. It tasted fine, but the smell made me sick.”
Settling back on the sofa, I realized I needed to address things before our condition worsened. “Are we sure it’s the food that caused this?”
Zeke looked at me. “What else could it be?”
“Bondrot.”
All eyes landed on me.
Now that I’d uttered the vile word, I needed to explain.
“Think about it. We’ve been away from Rae for days. A little time separation shouldn’t hurt us, but we all started deteriorating within twelve hours. We haven’t spent that much time apart since we met her.”
Cyn sat upright, his features tight. “She’s not our mate.”
“But what if,” I started, keeping my voice even so I didn’t set Cyn off on a tirade. “What if she is? What if her boss told the truth and—”
“She’s not,” he snapped, clenching his fists on his thighs. “Her boss lied to save his own ass.”
“We’ve got all the early symptoms,” I said, unwilling to write off what we were feeling as simple manipulation.
Ezra finished his water and set the bottle on the table. “Even if she were our mate, and it wasn’t a ploy, we’re not bonded to her. We never sealed our tether to her, so we shouldn’t experience Bondrot.”
“But what if it’s different because she’s human?” Zeke asked, twisting the string of his pajama pants around his fingers.
Ezra sighed. “Withdrawals from the magic.”
“What?”
“Like drugs and overused magic,” he said. “We experienced prolonged exposure to illusion magic while on Earth. Now that we’re away from it, our bodies are adjusting. The symptoms match.”
Zeke unraveled the twine around his finger, only to begin the process again. “You seriously think it was all fake?”
Ezra didn’t answer.
“She’s not our mate,” Cyn insisted again, rising and walking to the fireplace beneath the flatscreen. He braced both hands on the mantel, head hanging between his shoulders. “She’s not.”
“Why are you so sure?” Zeke asked. “I’ve never seen you that alive outside of with us.” He hesitated before mumbling, “And it felt different, even then.”
He whirled to look at Zeke but said nothing.
Part of me needed Rae not to be our mate so I could accept her betrayal and move on. The thought made me feel worse than whatever afflicted us.
“You three got too close to her,” Ezra said, breaking the silence.
“This shouldn’t even be a discussion when recovery should be the focus.
We’ll stand before the council in a broadcast across Elyrdin.
None of us can afford to be like this. Father needs to know we’re stronger than whatever magic did this to us. ”
“Us three?” Zeke blinked. “You didn’t like Rae?”
“Did you ignore everything I just said?”
“No. But Rae—”
“Stop saying her name,” Cyn bit out through clenched teeth. I could tell it took all his strength not to snap at Zeke. “Please.”
My heart ached at the desperation packed into that single word.
Zeke slid lower on the sofa, mumbling apologies, his upper body sinking into the plush cushions.
I sighed, sitting forward with my elbows on my knees. “Ezra’s right. No matter what went on with her, we don’t have time to dwell on it. Our people haven’t seen us since before the summoning. We need to show them we’re okay.”
Zeke wouldn’t forget Rae—and neither could I—but talking about her only made things worse, creating tension in our home. We needed to be united, stronger, and ready for execution day, or we’d face Cornaith’s wrath.
Two days to go.