Bonded in Darkness(18+)*Slow Updates*

Torment

*You guys are the best! You've been so patient waiting for me to get it together and update this story. All of your comments and encouraging words are so appreciated and I'm sorry if I don't get back to you all. I've been way too busy lately but I haven't forgotten your awesome support. I've been working flat out on this update. I love this story and want to make sure I don't drop the quality of the chapters. I hope this new chapter is okay. I'm still editing it and I'm part way through the next one. Enjoy!*

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My father's words drop like stones into the silence and the wall of muscle at my back stiffens.

I feel like I've swallowed one of those stones as I try to speak. "Dad," I wait until his eyes meet mine, "who told you this?"

He utters a word that ricochets like a gunshot. "Priests." His gaze shifts above my head, jaw clenching. "Not the normal kind."

They must have harassed my parents before turning up here. What if they had done more than that? How close was I to losing them for good? Sweat beads on my temple as something else occurs to me. What if my parents have known all along where they might find me but have not bothered to try?

"How did you know where to find me?" Cramps squeeze my gut as I wait for the answer I don't know if I want to hear.

Slade's voice at my ear has me releasing the breath I didn't know I was holding. "I sent my trackers to check on them. I did not tell you in case you fretted and tried to follow. They had orders to escort them here if they were in any danger. Your father agreed to come but your mother was unable. She is being watched from a distance."

There's relief in knowing my parents didn't just abandon me but it morphs into guilt. I did not think about the danger they might have been in.

Slipping from Slade's hold, I avoid his heavy gaze as I pace back and forth. "I never thought... but it's obvious, isn't it? If they're chasing me, of course they'd target my parents." I glance at my father, but he is not looking at me. He's staring at the bodies wrapped in cloth.

"They did this?" At Slade's nod he grows agitated, his stare accusatory. But an observant person would recognise the fear mixed with heat. "You said she'd be safe with you but clearly, these men are extremely dangerous. What if they managed to overpower you? What if they'd gotten to Mikaela...?"

"My brothers died defending her. Is that not good enough for you, Rowan?"

Slade's clipped words are like a shower of ice and they instantly douse the heat in my father's glare. I shiver and rub my arms, trying to ease the stiffness in my body.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." shaking his head, his expression is pained as he glances at the crowd watching our interaction. "Her mother and I are in your debt. We could never make up for the loss of your loved ones."

Slade loses a little of his chilly edge. "We protect what we love."

Cora steps forward, nodding as she glances from Slade to my father. "It's how we've always been. Your daughter is my son's other half, Rowan. Make no mistake... she is loved, and her enemies are ours."

"She is the beginning and the end of everything for me. I will fight to the death to defend her and I have told you many times." Slade stares at my father and something cryptic passes between them.

My hand on my father's arm startles him. He curves one over mine as I inject confidence into my tone. "Hey, I'm not helpless. I can fight, too. I've been learning some new... techniques." Images of charred and chalky bones are fresh in my mind, but something stops me from telling my father. Maybe, admitting to what I can do is like confessing there is a monster hiding inside me, waiting to be set free. "And if something horrible happened to you guys it would be far more devastating than anything they could threaten me with. It's because of me they're doing all of this, anyway, so I should be the one to fight them."