Page 22 of Broken Bonds

She instantly freezes and I pump my wings to take us higher into the air. Samantha lets out a startled gasp as we rise higher and higher, but she holds perfectly still, much to my relief.

Soon, we’ve risen above the ravine and I begin to head toward the base, leaving the snowmobiles and everything else behind. I’ll return tomorrow to collect everything.

Samantha is stiff as a board, which is good, because my hold on her is somewhat precarious. I can almost feel the threads of her snowsuit protesting against my grip and I’m afraid they’re going to snap at any moment. I move my wings faster, determined to reach the base before I end up dropping her.

Thankfully, flying to the facility is much faster than snowmobiling, and we arrive within just a few minutes. Very carefully, I lower us down and let Samantha put weight on her good leg before easing her to the ground in front of the door. Her whole body suddenly goes lax and she lets out a gasp, as if she’s been holding her breath the whole time we were in flight.

“Oh, my God, that was terrifying and amazing all at once,” she declares, staring up at the sky as she sits in the snow. “Am I dead? Is this all some weird frozen brain hallucination or something? This can’t be real.”

“It’s real,” I assure her before I shift back. There’s a lot I can do in phoenix form but unfortunately opening the door to the facility isn’t one of them. She lets out a startled cry and instinctively jerks back away from me. I’d normally be insulted that my human form received this kind of reaction, but she’s been through a lot today, so I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt.

“Oh, sorry,” she murmurs when she realizes what she’s done.

I shrug and move to pick her up in my arms. “It’s fine. Let’s get you inside and get that leg looked at…”

“Hold on,” she shrieks, jerking away from me again.

I frown and narrow my eyes at her. “What is it?”

She stares up at me and I can see a million emotions rushing through her eyes, even through the lens of her goggles.

“I just…sorry,” she says again. “It’s just…I’m not sure what to think right now. This is…it’s a lot to take in…”

I nod. “I get that, but can we talk about this inside? After going to all that trouble to rescue you, I’d hate for you to freeze outside the front door.”

She glances between me and the door and then slowly nods. “Y…yes. Okay. You’re right.”

I bend down and slip my arms around her before picking her up. The urge to cradle her tight to my chest hits me like a face-slap, but I force myself to remain clinical and refrained as I walk to the door and carry her over the threshold. She doesn’t say a word to me as I make my way through the facility toward the small medical room adjacent from the dorm area. Once inside, I set her on the metal exam table and begin helping her strip out of her snowsuit. I’m careful not to make skin-to-skin contact, but thankfully the bond is more concerned about me caring for and protecting her than mating with her right now.

When the snowsuit is a pile on the floor, I reach for her pant-leg, ready to assess the damage.

“Stop,” she suddenly snaps, her tone agitated.

I glance up and meet her wild gaze. “What’s the matter?”

She opens and closes her mouth as she struggles to come up with a response, and she reminds me of a gasping fish.

“I…I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room first,” she insists.

I straighten from where I was bending over her leg and cross my arms over my chest.

“You mean the fact that I’m a phoenix?”

Her eyes go round, as if she’s surprised by my candidness.

“Umm…well, yes,” she said, somewhat bashfully. Then, more forcefully, “That seems like something that I’d have picked up on living so freaking close to you.”

I shrug. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. I’ve gotten really good over the years at hiding myself from humans.”

Samantha furrowed her brow. “When you say years…?”

“I mean centuries,” I answer, picking up on her question even as she trails off.

“Holy shit,” she gasped, and I think I might have just blown her mind again.

I finally manage to get her to stop babbling long enough to remove her pants so I can look back down at her prosthetic and inspect it carefully. It doesn’t take me long to spot a large crack compromising the knee joint. I point to it.

“I’m guessing that’s the problem?” I ask.

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