CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The preparations to leave were in full swing as I got back, with Ophiuchus shifters running around between cabins and calling out instructions and questions to one another. I went back to our cabin and began packing up my own things as well. I heard Kaden's voice from the other room and stopped what I was doing to look out into the living room.
He had Clayton and Harper and a few of his other friends in the living room, and they were pouring over a map, discussing what the best way to travel would be. I watched him for a few moments before turning back to my work and finishing my packing. I moved onto Kaden's clothes and toiletries next, gathering them and putting them in a separate bag.
Eventually, I ran out of things to do, and I realized I couldn't put it off any longer. Jordan was being held somewhere, and I needed to see if we could get the mate bond dissolved. I was terrified of what would happen if it didn't work and I'd be stuck with him forever, but I had to face him and try before we left tonight.
We didn't have a proper prison here like there had been in Coronis, but there was a shed that had once been used as storage for water equipment. It was far enough away from the main cabins that Jordan couldn't disturb us, but close enough that we'd know if he got away. I made the trek toward the shed while Kaden finished in the living room. Larkin was outside, standing by herself and looking at the lake, and when she caught my eye, I waved her over.
“I'm going to talk to Jordan,” I said. “In a few minutes can you come in and try to do the ritual for removing the mate bond?”
Larkin nodded. “I'll get Kaden as well,” she said and headed back toward the cabin.
I almost called after her to tell her not to bother, that he was busy. But it would make sense for him to be there. He was my true mate, and he deserved to know right away whether it worked or not.
I turned away and walked toward the shed. When I approached it, two Ophiuchus pack warriors nodded to me. “Is he awake?” I asked.
“I can't promise that he'll be lucid," one of the shifters said.
"That's fine." I paused and took a deep breath in. I could do this. I'd dealt with much worse. I opened the door and stepped inside.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. There weren't any windows, and no one had bothered turning on a light. Jordan was tied up with cords, his hands behind his back, and more around his ankles. When he glanced up at me, he looked dazed. Ophiuchus pack poison, I thought. It was an ingenious way of keeping him sedated and unable to escape. The second our eyes met, the rush of desire and disgust filled me, but I tamped it back down.
“Are you happy now that the tables have turned and I'm your captive?” Jordan asked, his words slurred slightly. It did nothing to mask the bitterness in his voice.
I didn't want to give him an answer to that, because part of me was glad to see him like this, and that part felt a little too much like him for me to comfortably say it out loud. “I'm going to remove the mate bond between us, if I can."
“Good,” Jordan said. “I can't wait to be rid of it.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “Right, you never wanted to be mated to the half-breed. You made that very clear from the beginning, even before you knew I was your sister.”
Jordan stared at me but didn't say anything else. I let the silence fester between us like an open wound for a few moments, waiting to see if he'd say anything at all. He didn't. I let out a breath and shook my head. Before I could be the first one to break the silence, the door opened again. Larkin entered, followed closely by Kaden.
“I've never done this before,” Larkin said, her young face drawn down into a frown as she looked between Jordan and me. "Celeste thought it might work, but it might take me a couple attempts."
“Glad to be your guinea pig,” I said dryly.
“We should just kill him instead and save ourselves the trouble,” Kaden muttered. He'd leaned against the door frame, arms crossed. If looks could kill, Jordan would have been dead ten times over by the way Kaden was glaring at him.
“No,” I said, shooting him an exasperated look. “We need to know if the mate bond can be removed. We need to free everyone to find their true mates.”
Kaden shrugged. “Just as long as he suffers, I don't care.”
I rolled my eyes and looked at Larkin. “I'm ready whenever you are.”
Larkin nodded, her brows pinched in concentration. She lifted both of her hands up and began chanting, softly at first but growing louder with each iteration. She was saying a phrase in ancient Greek over and over again, and I could feel the pull of power as the spell took effect.
The cord running between Jordan and I drew taut. It was almost uncomfortable in a way it hadn't been since it had been put in place. It was too much too fast, all the emotions I felt when I was close to Jordan suddenly ramping up to a thousand, and I took a staggering step back. Pulsing need flashed through me, and I nearly threw myself at Jordan to rip his clothes off. I opened my mouth to tell Larkin that it wasn't working, but before I could utter a syllable, something else happened.
The effect of the mate bond—the constant need to get closer to Jordan, to give in, to stop fighting—lessened. I took in a deep breath, but before I could tell Larkin that it had worked, the spell ground to a halt. I pulled at the mate bond that still existed between Jordan and me, and let out a frustrated breath.
“It's weaker,” I said. “But still there.”
“Fuck,” Larkin said, and Jordan looked a bit surprised to hear the harsh word on a child's lips. He didn't know that she was older than all of us, but I wasn't about to be the one to tell him. I was enjoying the shocked way he was looking at her too much. “We were both worried this might happen."
"What's the problem?" Kaden asked.
Larkin grimaced. "We need a Sun Witch for this ritual since it's sun magic.”
“Oh, great,” I said, exasperation rising up in me suddenly. "Can Celeste do it?"
"No, we need someone who knows how the spell was done. Someone who was there at the time it was cast, probably."
I swore under my breath. “Sure, let me go out and ask one of our friendly Sun Witch allies to come in and help us.”
Larkin's face fell, and I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. There wasn't any reason to lash out at her, but it was so frustrating. Everything had been within arm's reach, and now it might as well be on the moon.
Jordan let out another bitter laugh. “Looks like we're stuck with each other."
I opened my eyes and shot him my own scathing look. "Shut up or I'll gag you."
Jordan fell silent, but I could still see he wanted to taunt me more. I wanted to get out of here before I did something stupid.
“Now can we kill him?” Kaden asked. “That would get rid of it for sure.”
“No. We need him alive, and we need a Sun Witch to help break the bond." I sighed and forced myself to calm down. "I don't know how we're going to swing this, but we'll get it done. We always do.”
Kaden looked at me, and I saw the acceptance there. He was willing to go along with this plan for now. I wondered how far his patience would run, and when it ran out, how catastrophic the ramifications would be. Jordan was the epitome of everything Kaden hated about the Leos. It wasn't completely about the mate bond, not entirely. There were older, deeper wounds that Kaden still had to heal. I just hoped we could find a viable alternative before Kaden got to the end of that particular rope. I didn't want to be there to see the fallout otherwise.