NOVEL NEXT Blood Bond Chapter 41: The Possibility of Hope
They had spent nearly two hours going over the new information his father had recorded during the battle at Sora X, and another hour starting to put together a plan to go after pavi, during which a call from Chief Commander Dexter came in. Markus transferred the comm to the larger view screen in his father's office so both he and Adar could be a part of the conversation.
It had been three hours since he'd talked to Dexter, so if Command was not going to approve the second bonding, then he would have heard about it long before now. That caused a feeling of hope to surge through him. Adar's plan might work after all.
"Highness. Nador." Dexter nodded at them, each of them in turn before getting to the reason he had called. "I wish I had better news."
The hope evaporated in an instant, and Markus's gut clenched up tight. He could feel the same happening in Adar as his friend had sat leaning forward in pavi's office chair with his eagerness to set their plan in motion. Markus knew what was coming next before the words were even uttered.
"I'm afraid the second bond didn't take. Pledge Hinamor passed away almost as soon as the bonding agent was administered."
Even though Markus knew what was coming, it still felt like he'd been hit in the gut repeatedly. It was bad enough that their plan would not work to find his father, but they'd lost a good Pledge in the process. Markus also recognized the name. Hinamor had been three years behind Markus in the program but seemed to have at least gained a year since Markus had left the College. That was impressive. He had also been one of Adar's potential Protectors. By the expression on his charge's face, he recognized the name, too.
"I'm sorry, Commander. I feel like this is my fault. It was my idea," Adar said.
Dexter shook his head. "Hinamor knew the risks, especially with taking on a second bond, but he as well as the Directors and I considered it worth the try. King Rainus is a valuable asset to the Empire, and a good friend to us at the College. We do not want to lose him. That being said, I'm afraid the risk of trying again is too high. The College has already suffered much loss from the battle today. We have nearly six hundred wounded cycling through treatments and are still recovering the dead. I am sorry, Nador."
The Commander's last words were spoken as if his father were already dead. Markus's jaw tightened even more than it already was. He could hear his teeth grinding, but he gave a firm nod to accept the consolation. He understood the College's decision not to risk any more of its people. If a second bonding to his father had failed so soon, then the odds of another succeeding were extremely low.
"Let us know if there is anything else we can do to help, and if I get word that Protector Jamiss has succumbed to his wounds, we can attempt another bonding," Dexter said before he ended the call.
"Well, shit," Adar said as he put his head in his hands. After a long moment, he looked up and turned his head to Markus. The strain on his face was evident. "I don't know how else to find him, Markus. This," he pointed to the terminal with the data of all they knew of the Shixxaminti, was still displayed. "It's not enough to track them through the freaking Empire, not unless they get our attention."
"It's okay. We did our best." But even to Markus, the words sounded half-hearted and insincere.
He turned from his friend and looked out at the swirling colors of hyper-light outside. His insides were in raging turmoil once more. Markus had spent years angry at his father for not allowing him to leave with Adar years before. Eventually, that anger grew to include the constant nagging of his father wanting Markus to start training as his successor, and then the anger was just the way he felt anytime he interacted or even thought about his father, even his family. It was easier to be angry too at his whole family after his mother had died. If he was angry, he didn't have to feel the loss. First, from losing Adar and later his mother.
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Now, he faced the loss of his father. It was a strange thought for pavi not to be there anymore. The old man was such a constant in his life, even if just continuous fuel for Markus's anger. Pavi seemed like an immovable object, not only in Markus's life, but in the Empire as a whole. So, the depth of the emotion that threatened to consume Markus in that moment shocked him.
Markus clenched his fists in the desire to punch something. His breathing came in rapid rasps. He felt Adar's attempt to send him consolation through the bond again, but this time, the storm raging inside him refused to be soothed. He didn't know how, but he was going to kill every one of those bastards who had taken his father, and then he was going to stomp on their yavit graves.
"What if we ask Razivi? She's the source of the bonding. Maybe she knows a way to track him. Hell, maybe she can track him herself." Adar said, enthusiasm was noticeable in his last words.
It was an effort to come back from the violent rage Markus was riding, but he attempted to understand the sudden change in his friend. "What do you mean?"
Adar was now standing up, and the excitement was clear in his expression and through the bond. "Razivi holds a connection to each of the bonds, at least that's the way I think it works if I understood the contract she gave me correctly. If she has that connection, then in theory, she would know where all of those holding a blood bond are."
"Even though my father doesn't have the more active side of the bond?" Markus asked.
A part of Markus was listening to the conversation, but a greater part felt a wave of appreciation for his friend. Adar wasn't willing to give up, even when the Protectorate already had and it seemed there were no more options. His friend didn't remember Rainus from his childhood. As far as he was concerned, pavi was still nearly a stranger, and yet, here Adar was, fighting to save him. The rise of emotion in Markus's chest threatened to overwhelm him even more than the rage had. It only solidified the decision Markus had already made to stand by his friend, even after all these years.
Adar's face screwed up in question. "Eh, I'm not sure, but it's worth asking, don't you think?"
Markus eyed his friend as he came crashing down from his emotional high. He knew where this was going and didn't like it, not one bit. "Oh no. You are not going back into that dreamscape. It's too dangerous."
Adar waved a hand as if to dismiss the warning and possibly even the danger part. "That was because the Shixx were in close physical proximity to Razivi when she was in the dreamscape. They won't be there this time. Nathias said they had left the Sora System, remember?"
Markus zeroed in on his charge, putting all other cares and concerns away. He was not going to let Adar get anywhere near the enemy. "You don't know that."
"Well, I know that if we don't do something to track your father, he most likely isn't coming back."
Markus didn't know what to say about that. Adar was right, of course, but the idea of risking his friend to try to get his father back…
"I know it's a risk," Adar said, his voice softening as he most assuredly sensed Markus's internal struggle through their bond. "But I can't just sit here waiting for ifs to happen when there might be a definite way to save him."
Markus grunted. How could he say no to that? Didn't he feel the same way? Yavit. This would be so much easier if he didn't care about his father. Why did his pesky emotions have to get in the way? And where the yavit were they coming from, anyway? Wouldn't his life be better without the old man's constant nagging and disapproval?
He was glad that Adar wanted to help, but the memory of finding Adar in his bed in the condition he had been after waking up from the dreamscape was still fresh in Markus's mind. And yet, if they did nothing... Maybe it was worth a little risk to get his father back, but they could certainly reduce it.
"Fine, but I will be beside you the whole time. If I sense any distress from you through the bond, I'm pulling you out."
Adar nodded with a wide grin on his face, like he'd won a special prize. "Deal. Now let's go do this. We are wasting time."
He watched his friend march for the door of the office, and Markus found himself in motion to follow. He wasn't sure how this would all turn out, but it was good to feel the possibility of hope once more. Maybe they could still save his father after all.