Broken Bonds

Oli dislikes the sexism displayed during the dinner. Afterward, she becomes even more cross when she begins menstruating and North refuses to stop at a pharmacy. She struggles with cramps and discomfort after she returns to her dorm but cannot reach a drug store before curfew. Gryphon arrives; he has heard gossip that Oli attempted an at-home abortion. Angry, she retorts that she has extremely severe menstrual cycles, which she usually manages with medication. To her shock, Gryphon uses his Gift to mitigate her pain. As she falls asleep, she admits that she struggled leaving her Bonds behind.

The next morning, Oli feels better. Gryphon brings her medication and comfort food, a considerate move that stuns Oli. Gryphon asks if Oli was forced to run away; she hedges, saying that she didn’t have another choice, but cannot reveal more without putting Gryphon and the others at risk. She refuses to reveal who is pursuing her.

He gives her a credit card and makes her promise to use it if she needs to. Oli would prefer to have a job and earn her own money. Gryphon finds it unlikely that North will agree but promises to support her if she asks. Oli admits that she would run if she weren’t being tracked, as it is “better that way” (211). When Gryphon urges her to trust her Bonds, she admits that, as a child, she desired having Bonds “more than anything” (212). She refuses to answer as to whether she still wants them, as having them is impossible. Gryphon rejects her claim that she is “better off alone” (213).

Oli snipes at Gabe for not helping her get out of the dinner with North. Gabe is angry that others are gossiping about Oli, a reaction that Sawyer characterizes as flirting. Gryphon comes to Oli’s dorm late at night, surprised to find her studying instead of sleeping. He stays, and the two fall asleep together. Sage and Sawyer, who meet Oli before classes the next morning, are shocked to find Gryphon in Oli’s bedroom. Gryphon is unbothered that rumors will circulate that they had sex, though Sage and Sawyer believe Oli when she says that their night together was platonic.

Over the following week, Gryphon stays over with Oli nightly, though he often arrives late and leaves before she wakes up. Oli likes sleeping next to him but worries that letting her Bonds get close is dangerous.

Oli is shocked when Atlas appears in her dorm one morning. Atlas plans to ameliorate the situation with North: Atlas’s family is as prominent on the East Coast Council as North is on the West one. Gabe is so angry when he sees Atlas that he nearly loses control of his Gift. The two men snipe at one another as Oli urges them to remain calm.

Sawyer and Sage are amused by the animosity between Atlas and Gabe. Oli finds their combativeness annoying, particularly since she, Atlas, and Gabe have identical class schedules. Keiran, the TacTeam member who apprehended her, is leading that day’s TT class. Atlas becomes protective when Oli is uncomfortable, but Gryphon intervenes, cautioning Atlas against using his Gift, which Atlas can’t turn off. Gabe and Atlas argue over whether they should ignore Oli’s history of fleeing them.

Oli frets as Atlas walks her back to her dorm; she knows that she cannot bond with him, but she likes and is attracted to him. Atlas is upset by her nearly empty room and urges her to move in with him. He presses her to allow him to help her until she manages to get a job. She agrees, though she feels bad about imposing, particularly when she learns that Atlas has only one bed. They decide to share, which makes Oli think of Gryphon. She texts Gryphon about her new lodgings.

Oli and Atlas are jolted awake at night by a TacTeam breaking down the door. North has deployed them and demands that Oli go with them. Although Atlas argues that Oli has the right to stay with any of her Bonds, Oli complies to avoid a fight between North and Atlas. North insists that she move into his house, where Gryphon and Nox also live.

Though North’s home is beautiful, Oli considers it an opulent prison. She is uncomfortable with the nervous obsequiousness of North’s staff. Nox taunts her with the cruel nickname “Poison.” He crowds her and grabs her by the throat, and Oli struggles between her hatred of him and her bond’s desire to be closer to him. She reminds herself that while being Bonded to Nox would be bad, having her power unleash would be worse. He yanks her into a kiss, demanding that she complete their bond so that he can have the power that comes with a completed bond. She kisses him back as he performs manual sex on her, finding their embrace sexually arousing despite her dislike of Nox. However, she manages to hold back the magical bond, so Nox insults her and leaves.

Oli retreats to her room, which, a maid tells her, locks from the inside. Only North has a key. Atlas files a complaint with the Council, though they will likely favor North. Oli confides in Atlas about Nox and apologizes for being unworthy of her Bonds.

Oli wakes to the house rumbling; Atlas is using his power—the ability to create earthquakes—to destroy the manor to get to Oli. North storms in, furious. Oli frets that she has done something wrong by confiding in Atlas. Nox insists that Oli didn’t refuse him, but Atlas contends that Nox “used her bond against her” (254), which makes his actions rape. Atlas and Nox are poised to fight using their Gifts when North intervenes. Nox’s and North’s eyes turn black, as does North’s hand. Atlas’ eyes turn white. Oli wonders about the nature of their Gifts; she has only seen her own eyes turn fully black before. 

When Oli prepares to leave for her morning workout with Gabe, Atlas stops her, urging the importance of making a plan. His family wants them to return to Philadelphia. He insists that she isn’t a prisoner. As Atlas, Gabe, and Oli work out, Atlas is competitive with Gabe. When they head to breakfast, Oli’s Gift warns her that something is amiss. They flee to an evacuation point while Gabe alerts North and Gryphon. There is an explosion, and multiple Resistance groups infiltrate the campus. 

Some students hide, one using his invisibility powers to conceal them. Gabe and Atlas plunge into the fray to fight the Resistance. Oli stays behind the invisible shield until she hears Gracie scream for Sage. When she learns that Sage has been taken, Oli allows herself to be apprehended, too. Oli avoids being noticed by Olivia Turner, “the Resistance’s sniffer dog” who finds “the Gifted worth taking” (261). Oli and Sage are loaded into a truck, which drives away quickly.

One of the Resistance members uses Shield powers to keep the truck undetected as they move, while a Dampener stops the five kidnapped students from being able to use their Gifts. Sage tries to track their movements, and Oli feels grateful for the GPS chip in her neck. When the Resistance drives them away from the city, Oli determines that they will test each captive and then kill the ones who don’t have strong enough Gifts. She debates between using her Gift to protect herself or being killed for apparently not having a Gift. One of the abducted students is executed by an uncaring Resistance member.

Oli recognizes the Resistance tester, Carlin, but he doesn’t recognize Oli. Carlin can detect Oli’s power but not its nature. The four remaining students, including Sage and Oli, are magically Transported to a Resistance camp. Sage and Oli are put into adjoining cages. Gabe is dragged in, but Oli doesn’t reveal that they are Bonds. Finally, Oli lets her Gift loose, which makes her feel like herself for the first time in years. 

The other captives whisper among themselves, but Oli urges Sage to stay quiet, as the Resistance listens in and uses what they learn to manipulate their captives. A Resistance member named Fiona attempts to use her power to knock Oli unconscious, but Oli’s Gift protects her. Gabe is shocked when he registers the strength of Oli’s power, but she concentrates on her escape plan, scared to lose control of her power and accidentally kill Gabe and Sage. Oli’s Gift makes two Resistance members hallucinate their worst fears, something that will continue until they die.

Oli steals keys from a collapsed guard and frees the captives. She uses her Gift to sense the surrounding area and, to her surprise, finds Nox and Gryphon. Outside the tent where the captives gather, there are gunshots.

The group works together to escape. Sage confirms that she is mentally prepared to use her Gift to fight, if needed. Kieran appears; he is a Transporter who followed Oli’s Gift. They move cautiously through the bloody camp, which is covered by a sentient fog full of “barely formed creatures” courtesy of Nox’s Gift (278). Oli is horrified by the monsters but forges ahead at Kieran’s urging.

Kieran Transports the group to safety. Gryphon appears to heal the captives, starting with Gabe. He and Oli sit together, exhausted, when a convoy of Resistance vehicles approaches the spot where they have been directed to await Council rescue. Gryphon and a spent Nox try to protect Oli, but she steps forward and releases her power, which drops nearly 100 Resistance members. They writhe on the ground, consumed by their worst nightmares.

While the other captives murmur in shock, Oli struggles to contain her Gift. It bursts out when Nox insults Gabe, though it does not incapacitate anyone. Gryphon wonders how they will explain matters to North. Oli privately thinks that the nightmares are the least of her powers.