This Blood that Bonds Us (This Blood that Binds Us #4)

Prologue

Luke

“Don’t think you’ll be able to keep me from Her, because you won’t. I want to go see Her.” My little brother was causing a scene in the garden. The fresh scent of rain and the darkness of the night enveloped us.

I was still taking it in and regaining my bearings. The evidence of my fight with Zach was all over my body—sticky, wet blood and bites that struggled to heal.

Presley had shed his soaked jacket and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his forearms scrawled with black ink. The word ‘Her’ was written over and over, covering every inch of skin, some jagged and long while others were small and hard to see.

Everything was slow with the blood loss, and when I stopped Presley with a hand on his shoulder, I fought to summon the strength in my arm.

He was full of Her blood—shimmering and exuding strength while bouncing with energy. She’d taken hold of him, and it reflected back to me in his dark irises.

I’d have killed anyone else for acting like that, like they belonged to Her. Like they, too, could have the same bond as Her and I did, but this was my little brother. My blood, and I felt the draw of something much stronger there.

“We’ll see Her in a minute, and we’ll be with Her all night. I promise.”

My voice sounded soft and sincere. How long had it been since I’d registered my own voice? My own existence? The churning in my gut worried me. Where was Zach? We’d been fighting, and I vaguely remembered why, but it wasn’t me. Nothing about that person carried any traits of mine, and I’d have never fought with my brother. Luke Calem wouldn’t.

“Tell me what happened with Aaron and Kimberly. Where are they?”

Presley should have never been standing before me. He should be where I left them all, safe and tucked away. Together.

He turned away. “They’re better off without me.”

“They’re okay? They’re alive?”

“No. They’re dead.”

He couldn’t be serious. He couldn’t be so far gone that he wouldn’t care. Did I care? The ache in my chest and the heat in my face told me yes.

Presley scratched at the back of his hand.

“You’re lying,” I said.

Recollection passed over his eyes, like he was seeing me for the first time. “H-how would you know that?”

Because I’m your brother, and your tells have always been obvious to me. Because it’s my job. Because I love you.

“They’re not dead. Are they?”

He shook his head with his gaze fixed on the ground. All his light was dull. With the bond, I felt the ache of sadness in him. They’d given him more blood, and now we were all equal. It almost felt complete. Like it was whole in a way it wasn’t before with just Zach and me. The bond was always moving, surging in and out, but now I felt my brother’s pain, and it didn’t topple me to the ground. That pain wasn’t weakness. It was strength. The three of us were glowing with it.

“I’m sorry, Luke. I couldn’t be good. I couldn’t do the one thing you told me to do. It was too hard.”

His eyes were pure onyx. Not a hint of the warm brown was left in his irises.

“It’s all right.” I pulled him into me, expecting him to jerk away, but he didn’t.

“My chest doesn’t hurt anymore. Isn’t that great?”

“That’s great, Pres.”

How could I not hope? Even despite everything, our connection remained. It was just enough to keep me together. I stroked his head and breathed in his scent. He smelled like my mom, like vanilla and laundry soap.

It was repairing something in me. My queen was right. My brother was always meant to be at my side. The Guard could never be just Zach and me and two others; it was always going to be the four of us.

Zach appeared next to me. “She wants to see him.”

He seemed different than I remembered. When did the haziness of my memory start? We’d gone through Ascension, then went to the bar and . . . that must have been it. Ascension was the answer.

“She wants to look in his head and see what he’s been up to.” Zach looked at me with a stern, unmoving expression, but I knew the fear in his voice.

“She wants to see me!”

Presley moved toward the cathedral again, and Zach and I both stopped him.

“Pres, listen. When She looks into your head, what is She going to see? I need you to tell me all of it right now.”

“Why?”

“Because we need to know so we can protect you.”

“She won’t hurt me.”

I should have agreed. A part of me did. Everything She’d done and we went through was for a reason. We’d run away. We’d deserved the punishment. Things were different with him. It confirmed the prophecy. We were on The Divine Path.

Yet I was still afraid for my little brother.

“I know. Just tell us so we know everything about why you’re here.”

I already knew. The prophecy. Fate. The Divine Path.

“If I tell you, you’ll take me to Her?”

Zach and I shared a look, then we nodded. A little of that dull ache in my chest dissipated. Just enough. I’d protect him till my heart stopped beating. We would be a family again. It’s how it was meant to be. The one true path.