Page 42 of Twisted Bonds
After our…
I hesitate to call it a lesson because Tairyn didn’t teach me anything. After our… chat?
He placed the shield around me again, dampening my access to Chroma completely. Losing the feeling of Sunder and Bobble felt like a huge blow. But if I’m really in a Dreamshare with them…
Then I see him.
Flecks of rainbow Chroma fly around Sunder like he’s stuck in a wind tunnel, and occasionally he reaches for one. He’s wearing gloves that look like golden soccer goalie mitts. Every time he catches one of the flapping things, he looks at it. Emotions writhe across his face. Pain and discomfort are clear.
I move toward him, hand outstretched. Is this real? “Sunder?” I ask cautiously.
He watches the thing until it quiets, then once it does, he lets it go.
This is super weird.
“Mira?”
I know that voice.
I spin, throwing my arms out. Bobble lifts me up, holding me tight. I want to cry out as I hold on to him. I know it’s him beyond any doubt. He smells like a comforting mixture of homey musk and clean linen, a scent that I would identify anywhere as belonging to my Bobble cat.
“Mira.” He breathes my name like a prayer. I can hear the tears in his voice. “Are you okay? Where are you?”
Pulling back just enough to see his face, I nod. “I’m okay. I’m somewhere in the Western Slopes. It’s like an entire palace built under a mountain. I don’t remember getting here, though. I can’t tell you how to get in exactly.” I squeeze his arms lightly. “But I’m fine. The Fourth Shard is with me.”
“What? Is he dangerous? Is he…”
“He’s fine,” I reassure Bobble. “He’s a little odd if I’m being honest, but he’s kind of… great.”
I step back, dropping Bobble’s hands. “You can’t come here,” I breathe. “I think he’d hurt you if you showed up.”
“It’s okay, Mira,” Bobble soothes me. “We know the risks. Nothing is going to keep us from you.”
“You need to leave me here. I have my own way out,” I whisper.
“How?”
“We made a deal. I just have to bond him, but he’s teaching me how to use my red Chroma. Trying to, at least.” Bobble raises an eyebrow at me.
“And how is that going for you so far?”
“I’ll get it done. You just be ready for me. Once he releases my shield again, I’ll reach out to you.”
“We’re coming for you.”
“Please be careful. You don’t know Tairyn. The things he can do. He’s very powerful, Bobs. He can channel white.”
“We’re coming for you,” Bobble says again, his voice even more firm this time.
I give him a look of doubt but shift my focus to Sunder. “What’s going on over there?”
“He hates it, but he’s feeling his feelings,” Bobble says with a proud purr. I smile at him, feeling the warmth in my chest blossom at that soothing sound I didn’t realize I missed so deeply.
“Did you teach him to do that?”
“I did. We hope that he can use his ability to sense emotions to find you, or at least, to find the other Shards. Now I know you’re really far west from here, but this might help us pinpoint the exact location.”
He bounces on his toes with excitement, clearly relieved to have new information.