Eight hours in a car with Draven driving and Thorne in the back seat not talking and Morgana reading through ancient texts on her tablet turned out to be exactly as awkward as I'd expected, which was very, and also I'd developed a new appreciation for how much the bonds helped when I couldn't actually see Kael and Riven.
The stretch was uncomfortable—not painful, just this constant awareness that they were far away and getting farther—and my brain kept trying to reach for them through the connection like checking they were still there.
"They're fine." Draven's voice cut through my spiral. "I can feel you pulling on the bonds from here."
Right. Because privacy was dead and everyone could feel my anxiety through supernatural connections.
"Sorry." I pulled my hand away from my finger where my thumbnail had been notching without permission. "I just—"
"Miss them." He finished for me. "I know. The bonds weren't meant to stretch this far. It's uncomfortable."
