Beastforged Bond B4 Chapter 1

rlin knew about the Elental Phoenix. There was no doubt about it. There was a spark – one that clarified just how fucked up I was, if that hadn’t been obvious by now.

His towering figure appeared even larger before , his gaze burning into mine as if he could see the things I wanted to keep hidden the most. Cold sweat poured down my back, soaking my shirt, while I struggled–almost desperately–to suppress the panic attack bubbling beneath my skin.

How does he know? There’s no way. What did I do wrong?

Maybe rlin had been suspicious from the beginning. The Ruler of Fire had been doubtful too, or he would never have visited in the dorms after the Rulers broke the Pact and attacked Volca’s Voice, when the initial plan had been to negotiate with the Caldera. That entire incident had been far more chaotic than it should have been, leading to the deaths of two Rulers and the loss of the Elental Phoenix.

Volix, the phoenix, had sacrificed himself in a twist of fate and bound himself to my World. I was still trying to understand how he’d managed it, but I was no longer frustrated by the Elental Phoenix’s actions. If anything, I was glad to have Volix by my side. He was odd at tis, but his experience and knowledge were invaluable to my growth. The sa was true for the Blazing Gates that had ford through my bond with him.

Before his death, Volix had been an Emperor beast. He possessed the potential needed to grant the strength to surpass those who endangered . But I needed ti – decades, if possible. A century would have been even better.

Fate, however, didn’t seem inclined to grant that luxury. Not after I had survived a fall from several thousand ters, nor after convincing a human-hating tree to gift a sapling marked by her Essence. For the record, that sapling belonged to a World Tree. Whether it ate humans or not was irrelevant. Its power rivaled that of the Spirits–and those surpassed even Emperor beasts.

None of that mattered right now.

I was grasping at distraction, hoping rlin would laugh it all off as a joke and we’d go our separate ways. Never see each other again, if possible. Alas, after sharing yet another look with him, I was certain he knew for sure.

What now?

Was I supposed to flee and live in the wild? The latter wasn’t the issue–my ribs still ached, several bones were broken, and my soulshares were strained from the sparring match with Daniel’s sister. Lea Zerog’s last strike had taken by surprise, and it had hurt badly.

Mom and Dad are here.

I could use Mirage, turn myself into a flashbang, grab my parents, and run. Or I could take Daniel or his parents hostage to force an escape–but neither option was pleasant. Worse, neither was guaranteed to work. rlin was far faster and stronger than Lea. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t reach before I could make my move.

rlin’s lips parted into a bright, unsettling smile.

“You look like you’re overthinking,” he said. “How about you relax a little? Calm down for a minute.”

Calm down? There was no way I could calm down in a situation like this.

He waved dismissively. “Let make one thing clear: I don’t give two shits about what you have. You’re a lucky fucker, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. But I’m not going to endanger my family by exposing you. Everything bound to you is your responsibility to protect.”

That was…nice to hear. It didn’t stop the cold sweat from gathering at my back, but rlin Zerog sounded genuine.

“What exactly is going on here, uncle?” Lea asked, her hostility aid squarely at .

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“Adam has so things other people want,” rlin answered vaguely. He winked at before adding, “Quite a lot of things, actually.”

Lea Zerog – what in the Rul…what was wrong with her? – clicked her tongue, frustration flashing in her eyes.

“Of course,” she said. “Adam here, Adam there. And naturally, he has everything everyone could possibly want. What else could it have been?”

Lea flicked her long hair back, her ocean-blue eyes shimring in the light of the Zerog’s underground training room. At first glance, Daniel’s sister appeared delicate, almost like a doll, with a quiet, flawless kind of beauty. In reality, she was nasty… to .

Daniel erged beside , an arm draped over my shoulder, his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

“The sapling?” he mouthed, which probably should have set off more alarms. Instead, his sudden realization annoyed .

So he believes … now?

It hadn’t been long since I told Daniel the truth about how I survived in the wild: how I’d grown stronger when I should have struggled just to make it through the trek across several Forbidden Zones. I did, in fact, ntion the Elental Phoenix during that talk, but my best friend failed to notice anything off about it. He’d been too distracted, acting all annoyed because he didn’t believe my summary of how I ended up in the World Tree’s domicile.

He doesn’t know about Volix.

I shook my head. Daniel thought his uncle had been talking about the World Tree’s sapling. But if there was one thing rlin definitely did not know about, it was the World Tree itself. Still, Daniel believed otherwise.

rlin’s eyes moved from to Daniel and back again before he cleared his throat and pointed to the onyx ring.

“It was only for a short ti, but Ruler Kazriel appointed Adam as his Scion. Hence, upon death, Adam inherited his master’s belongings. And he takes them everywhere, for everyone to see. Easy to grab; one ‘incident’ near the frontlines, and the ring will change owners.”

Lea didn’t look convinced, but nobody cared about her opinion. I was far more concerned about what my parents thought of the implications rlin had just stated so utterly nonchalantly.

Mom had already been pale before. Watching spar with Lea may not have been the best decision. Now, however, she looked properly aghast–like a faint breeze might knock her out cold.

“Y-You think soone will a-attack my baby if he goes out there? P-Please t-tell you’re lying, Mr. Zerog…” she stuttered, her voice weak and trembling.

Lea stepped forward, clearly unhappy about being ignored. She looked angry, but there was doubt there too–confusion. She cleared her throat and spoke before her uncle could answer my mother.

“That doesn’t make any sense. I an, you ntioned the Ruler of Fire earlier. Why would he care about Kazriel’s inheritance? Didn’t he give that idiot the ring in the first place?”

This ti, it was my turn to stare at her, stupefied.

“What?” she hissed back at . “Either you’re totally out of your mind, or you really didn’t realize how much my parents fawn over your achievents. Between them and your parents, I’ve probably heard your stories about the Grand Camp three to four tis already.” Her voice cut the air, but the edge didn’t reach her eyes this ti. “I know Kazriel accepted you as his Scion, and–and as much as I hate saying this–you’ve grown fast enough to validate his decision.”

It almost looked like speaking those words physically hurt Lea, as if each one tasted of potent poison.

She turned her attention back to her uncle, ignoring my existence once more.

“Back to the topic – Why would the Ruler of Fire care?”

“Adam should have died in the phoenix fire. At least, that was Raffael Torch’s train of thought.” rlin shrugged lightly. “Since he did not die, he must have assud our young friend here sohow managed to ta an Emperor beast. And bind it.”

Lea scoffed in disbelief. “Ridiculous.”

I didn’t feel ridiculous. Neither did rlin Zerog, as he looked at knowingly.

“So that’s why he visited us in the dorms,” Daniel murmured, finally putting the pieces together.

“And he did not find anything,” rlin added, his voice taking on a teasing note.

I hated it. A lot.

Still, if hinting at my bond with the Elental Phoenix was all rlin Zerog intended to do to antagonize , so be it. I could live with that. It was certainly better than being exposed outright.

I’d have to co up with a few contingency plans in case more opportunistic people learned about Volix, but I had other issues to deal with first: a few broken bones, a mishmash of secrets now known by the Zerog family, and worried parents.

And… well… there was also that part about getting conscripted to fight the Outsiders.

It wasn’t like I didn’t already have more than enough to deal with. Why not join the army as well...right?