Page 163 of A House of Gold
The apathy is an absence, a void, a complete and utter lack of anything. It's not peace, it's emptiness. The sense that nothing matters, nothing has meaning, nothing is worth the effort of existing.
I feel myself starting to slip into it. Starting to think that maybe I should just give up, stop trying, let the void take me,
"NO!" Croesus's voice cracks through the chamber. "Raven, fight it!"
But why? Why fight? Why do anything? It's all so pointless, so exhausting, so...
Pain lances through our existing bond. Croesus, deliberately hurting himself to hurt me, to shock me out of the apathy.
It works. I gasp, cling to that pain, use it to anchor myself.
The apathy settles. Becomes a pale thread connecting me to Caspian.
Six bonds. Six threads. Six deadly sins all pulling at my consciousness.
And then Croesus is in front of me, and I realize we're creating a seventh bond, reinforcing the one we already have.
"I'm already connected to you," I manage to say.
"Not like this. Not permanently." He takes my hand gently, carefully. "I'm sorry. I know you're exhausted. But we need to complete this."
His blood is pure gold when he cuts his palm. When we connect, greed floods through, but this time it's familiar. I know his hunger, his endless need, his three-thousand-year emptiness.
The new bond forms quickly, solidly. Becomes a golden thread that blazes brighter than all the others.
Seven bonds. Seven threads of light. Seven deadly sins all connected to me, through me, part of me.
I collapse backward, unable to sit up anymore. The threads remain, pulsing with light, tethering me to seven fallen angels who are all staring at me with varying expressions of concern.
Through the bonds, I feel them ALL now:
Seraph's pride and worry.
Kael's wrath and respect.
Idris's envy and fascination.
Lysander's lust and interest.
Dorian's gluttony and concern.
Caspian's apathy and... something else, something that might be actual feeling.
Croesus's greed and love and absolute terror.
"It's done," Seraph says quietly. "The bonds are formed."
"Are they stable?" Dorian asks.
"For now." Seraph studies the threads of light. "But they're not temporary. I can see that already. The magic...it's locked in. Hopefully it won’t be permanent."
"Fuck," Kael mutters.
"Eloquent as always," Seraph says dryly.
We're bound to her.All of us, Idris adds.And through her, to each other.
The implications of that hang in the air.
