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

21. Twenty-One

Twenty-One

Aaron

The sun disappeared behind the snow-covered trees by the time we made it to Kilian’s cabin. A strange sense of déjà vu fell over me. It was just another cabin in a different place, but this time, it was without my brothers.

Only, it wasn’t a cabin but a house with large glass windows. It was surrounded by trees drowning in snow. One big colorless rectangle with a modern staircase leading to a porch and a second floor.

I texted Presley our address. That way he’d at least know where to look if things went bad, but I was hopeful about the whole thing.

Ireland. They were in Ireland. I could find them, even if I had to search that whole country on foot. Technically, I could. That fact alone, even if impractical, helped ease the tension in my chest.

I was able to differentiate when the pain was mine and when it wasn’t. With one hand, I pat my chest, hoping it reached my brothers. Whichever one needed it. They just needed to hold on. We were coming.

I was the first to get out of the car. One reason was to open Kimberly’s door, but the other was to scan the area. With a sharp inhale, I let the cold air fill my senses. Snow muffled everything. It made sounds and smells murky and watered down. Everything in Blackheart was loud and sharp. The smells of pine and dirt were constant, and I’d learned to tune them out. Instead, I’d just smell Kim’s perfume and anticipate her proximity. That was more fun.

I was smelling for anything dangerous, like blood or people in the trees. While walking around the car to Kimberly’s door, I focused harder, and the only sound was my footsteps crunching in the snow. Kilian and Dom were already out of their car. I worked on memorizing their patterns: the sounds of their feet and their heartbeats each had a specific cadence.

All I heard was the TV in the house mixed with faint whispering but not a crowd, just a few people. I noted a few other cars built for snow in their driveway.

Kimberly’s blue eyes steadied me as I opened her car door.

“Are you good?” I pressed my lips to the warmth of her hand.

She had that faraway look in her eyes, like she was trying to solve an impossible puzzle. Kim’s brain gave her questions with impossible answers. It was a never-ending list of possibilities in her head. She explained it to me like constantly being bombarded with every outcome there could ever be while simultaneously only believing in the bad ones.

I squeezed her shoulders to ground her back with me. She liked it when I did that.

“I’m okay.” The corners of her mouth tugged but never made it to a smile. Smiles weren’t as common as they used to be for us.

I leaned in to kiss her on the lips, and that did it.

She melted into me, and we walked hand in hand after Kilian and Dom into the house. I could see no one else from the outside. Just a living room with a leather couch and fireplace.

The house smelled of firewood and a candle that reminded me of the sauna back at BFU gym. It was a massive upgrade from his place in Blackheart. No wonder he’d spent all that time in our library. That dingy cabin was a shack in comparison.

“I thought you weren’t loaded with money,” I said.

“This is a friend’s. She let me use it for the time being.”

“What are the odds of that?”

He said nothing and continued showing us down a long hallway with freshly polished hardwood floors. It was kind of a red flag but not enough to make me bolt.

Halina and Felix stood in a dining room with a piano and a long mahogany table surrounded by chairs. They stared as we came through the door, and I wrapped my arm around Kimberly.

I had spoken little with Felix since our poker incident in Blackheart, but I remembered his words about Kimberly’s imminent death. He had a toothpick in his mouth and his hands behind his back, but he wasn’t scowling this time. He and his sister had white-blond hair. His was short on the sides and spikey at the top, and hers was long and straight and flowed down to her hips. Halina’s features were sharper, and her brow lowered as we entered.

They weren’t the only ones in the room, but the only ones I recognized. I spent little time learning names in Blackheart and was starting to see where I’d spent most of my attention—pursuing the girl under my arm. I didn’t regret it, but I needed to think differently going into this situation. There was no safety net. I was Kimberly’s protector. What would my brothers do?

They’d take charge. Zach would scowl. That was easy. Luke would square his shoulders and puff out his chest. He’d probably listen too. I should listen.

The TV in the other room played the local news and talked about the weather. More snow was coming. A few feet stomped around upstairs but nothing fast moving.

“Are we going to have that rematch round . . . cheater?” I smiled, trying to make it the right amount of standoffish. I wasn’t going for Zach’s level of antagonism, but just enough. Felix’s teeth snapped his toothpick.

“We’re happy to have you. You could sit. Make yourself at home here,” Kilian said.

“Not likely,” I whispered to Kimberly.

We were outnumbered, another new feeling I was still processing. Being one of four brothers was never lonely.

“Okay, we’re here. We’re listening. We need to know your plans,” Kimberly said.

Kilian stood next to a long window that stretched to the ceiling. I’d almost forgotten how tall he was until I saw him next to it. Halina and Felix chose to sit.

“Your disappearance was . . . unexpected. We’ve spent a considerable amount of effort in finding you all. I was surprised when we got such an obvious sign of where to find you. I’d been focusing most of our resources on not losing the leads we did have on The Family. It was Felix’s idea to keep an eye out for outgoing flights in the area and to track it.”

Felix interjected. “You’re welcome.”

“Once we had that likely location, we focused on following your trail up the coast. Right now, I have employed scouts in Ireland surveying the area and using any means necessary to get a layout of the island. They appear to run tourism there, and we’re working diligently to see if we can get a detailed map of the town and the castle grounds.”

“My brothers are living in a castle?”

“Most likely. I have not confirmed appearances of anyone we’re looking for yet. But that is our hope. It appears they’ve owned the castle for centuries. It might be the original place where Cecily Dooley was born. We’d never been able to find the exact location. Though, we didn’t need to find it before due to their location in the United States.”

“When do we get to ask questions? You’re not the only ones who need information,” Felix spat.

“How did you all kill Akira? Was Will there?” Halina asked, her eyes sparkled with something new. Desperation.

Maybe that’s why they were looking at us like that. The death of Akira was a big deal, and I’d hardly had time to process it all. They didn’t know the story. Will and Thane were supposed to fill them in when they met up with Kilian.

“How did you know we killed him?” Kimberly asked, a question I hadn’t thought of.

We’d left the building in flames. They had no way of knowing.

“The flight in the area came from Ireland. We have reports from our scouts that Ezra was away on business. They would never leave the queen with one member of The Guard without good reason. If Akira had lived, there would be no reason for Ezra to disappear.” Kilian’s voice stayed steady.

His calming voice helped me to focus. They had more resources than I thought, and I wondered if my brothers knew.

“Will helped us fight. Everything was great until Ezra showed up in the forest and took them. They would have taken all of us . . . but Will sacrificed himself so me, Presley, and Kimberly could get away.”

Felix’s blue eyes seared into mine. “How did they know where you were? We didn’t even know.”

“Thane. He was . . . taken over. He betrayed us. He must have been keeping tabs for them the whole time.”

Halina shook her head. “He wouldn’t.”

“I don’t think he chose it. Akira got to him somehow and used him.”

Felix and Halina shared a look. My stomach dropped. I guess twin telepathy was common. With a white-knuckled grip on the table, Felix’s hand shook.

I ran them through the rest. How Will snuck us out of the frat house and we’d found my brother and Kimberly. I told them about the fight with Akira and the blood my brothers and I consumed in order to kill him.

“So it’s going to be a battle, then? As you said before in the diner . . .” Kimberly brought us back to the plan.

“I’m afraid so. It will not be easy. And we are likely outnumbered, outmatched, and at a disadvantage,” Kilian said. “But as I said before, we have reason to hope and believe that this is the most advantageous time we have. There is a celestial event I have a feeling is closely related to the queen and Her power. I’m awaiting more intel. But there will be a solar eclipse in that region in March.”

“March,” I spat. March was so far. Too far away.

“It’s tentative. But I believe the event is important enough that we need to figure out its purpose. We need the time if we’re going to acquire victory.”

“You said celestial event . . . What does that have to do with this?” Kimberly asked.

“We’ve been collecting data for centuries, and one thing we know for sure is that Her strength is closely related to the moon cycles. Though She is the most powerful in regard to psychic and mental abilities that far exceed even the oldest vampires, we believe She does not always possess Her powers every day. On the night of the full moon, She’s the strongest and gradually through the waxing phases loses that power.”

“The . . . moon?” I scratched my head. “You’re saying that’s what Her power comes from?”

“We don’t know for certain where it comes from, but we have charted Her abilities with the moon cycles. I know it’s hard to believe. There are many things that were not pertinent to tell you before. I never imagined you, Aaron Calem, would be helping us in a battle. Keeping vital information about the queen hidden is what I’ve been trained to do for centuries.”

“Right. Okay. So we need to track the moon. Got it. And that’s going to help us defeat Her?”

Kilian nodded and lowered his head. “There’s something I want to show you. Just a moment.”

He went upstairs, leaving us in silence with Dom and the others. Kimberly and I shared an equal look of confusion as we processed Kilian’s words.

“So, Calem, how’s life treating you without big brother?” Felix didn’t smile. He seemed genuinely curious. Something about him was softer and open. And me . . . I was harder.

“Been better.”

“You changed your hair,” Halina said to Kimberly while looking her up and down. “It’s . . . interesting.”

Kimberly’s brows furrowed as she took on the weight of that comment, and I kissed the top of her head. She was so beautiful, and I’d never let her forget it.

“My sister would have liked it,” Dom said, looking down at his shoes and running his thumb over his bare knuckles.

“That’s not the only thing that’s changed, it seems.” Felix licked his teeth while he eyed Kimberly. When I squeezed her closer, he turned his attention to me. “I’m surprised you changed her.”

“It was my decision. And yes, I do like it. More than being human, anyway,” Kimberly said.

“Anything’s better than being human,” Felix said.

The sound of Kilian’s footsteps flowed down the hardwood steps, and we quieted as he entered the room with a wooden box. It resembled the one that once held the black blood that had brought my brothers to their knees.

I flinched when he opened it. There was no vial of black blood but a silver dagger the size of my forearm. It had a floral pattern engraved on the silver handle, and it led to a pin-straight blade that looked freshly polished and sharp.

All the movement in the room stopped. Everyone’s eyes were trained on the blade.

“What am I looking at?” I asked.

“This is one of the last daggers. The daggers were crafted and are believed to be the key to bringing more queens into existence. Much about the first creation of the first queen and the creation of these daggers is unknown, but it’s believed through ritual text guided by the fates the queens were formed. Each blade is carved with a unique Latin phrase, and there is blood harbored in the handle from the victim of the ritual. In this case, Cecily. It’s kept sealed with an emerald on the end of the handle.”

“You could have mentioned a magical dagger.”

“The existence of the daggers themselves is lost to many around the world, and we desire to keep it that way. It’s how we’ve kept the formation of more coming to fruition. We’ve worked tirelessly for centuries to eliminate the daggers from existence. There are only two remaining, and the other one is with The Legion’s archives.”

“Why keep them? Why not destroy them?” Kimberly eyed the dagger with wide eyes.

“Because it’s our greatest aid in killing them.”

“So we can kill Her . . .” I said, my throat dry and hoarse.

“Yes, these daggers are believed to hold power. At every fall of a queen, one of these daggers were present. Queens historically are hard to eliminate, not only due to their Guard but also the physical effects of being near them. Humans are not strong enough to kill them, and anyone who has been turned has the power of Their blood in them. It’s easy to overpower and bring them into Her thrall. But it’s believed the blade can pierce Her skin without the loss of blood.”

“Do they know you have this?”

“Yes. This dagger was taken in the battle where my brother lost his life. It’s the last hope for many, especially those in this room.”

Dom interjected. “Everyone here has committed. We have close to twenty souls that are willing to fight.”

“Working on more,” Kilian said.

“How many do we need?” I asked.

“It’s impossible to estimate how many they have right now, but my intel should help.”

“Can’t you just turn more people and make a little army or something?”

“Don’t ask questions about things you don’t understand yet,” Felix growled.

“It’s a good question,” Kilian said. “I can promise any idea you have has been tried before over the centuries. Finding people who have a reason to fight is crucial. Changing people for the purpose of our cause hasn’t worked in the way we’d hoped. It also leaves us vulnerable. The Family has been known to use the ones we turn and bring them over to their side.”

“What about your friend who loaned you this house? Are they included?” Kimberly asked.

“No, unfortunately. There is something you both must understand about me and The Legion in general. This dagger is unknown to anyone outside of this household, and I have kept it so for a reason. The Legion as it stands is very secretive. They don’t take risks, and they don’t fight on whims and feelings. They work more on principle and rules. I have prior interest in this endeavor with the coven of your brothers, and due to my closeness to the situation, many will not help.”

“They think it’s a suicide mission. And it is,” Halina said.

“I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t they want to band together to take them down?” I asked.

“Many will not intervene unless they believe they propose a large risk to the public. The ones that have were taken out. But not without a great deal of sacrifice to our cause.”

“Wait, so you’re not even Legion? You’re a weird rogue branch?”

“I am. We share the same ideologies. I just . . . have a prior interest.”

He was a fraud and a liar. My palms flamed, and I clenched my fist. I wondered what would have happened if we’d met someone from the real Legion. The type that wanted to keep to the rules. Something told me we’d have never made it out of the church. I wanted to be mad at Kilian, and I was. He’d done nothing but lie and bend the truth. He used me and my brothers for his own gain. And still, he may be the only reason we were alive. If they’d never picked us up in Blackheart, Akira would have taken us all back to Her.

“Is this because of your brother?” Kimberly asked Kilian. I hardly remembered that bit of information.

The color leached from Kilian’s face. “Yes. My brother was inquisitive and curious. He had invested interest in this queen. And now, so do I. We tried once before to take them down, and we were unsuccessful. Though we did bring down a member of Her Guard, my brother couldn’t be saved.”

My chest tightened. I couldn’t even think of losing one of my brothers. When I looked at Kilian’s solemn face, my perspective shifted. It didn’t change the things he did, and I didn’t agree with his methods, but there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to get my brothers back. That feeling could lead anyone down a dark path. If I didn’t have Kimberly firmly pressed against me or my little brother to look after, things might be different.

“I’m sorry,” I said, knowing it was stupid. I probably should have hated him more than I did, but I wasn’t an angry child anymore. All the anger I had would be better disbursed on the people who took my brothers from me and were currently holding them.

Kilian nodded. “We need you. Both of you.”

He looked at Kimberly, and I felt prickly all over.

“We’ve never had a woman with such close connection to the bloodline. Now that you’ve been changed, we want to test some things. One thing we need for the battle is an advantage. Right now, with the queen’s abilities, it will be easier for Her to see us coming, who we’re bringing, and more options for our attacks and our most likely day of arrival.”

“What kind of tests?” I asked, my muscles tightening.

“This might be hard to believe,” Kilian said.

Kimberly and I shared a look and shrugged. There wasn’t much we wouldn’t believe.

“The full moon is tonight, and with this dagger and Kimberly, I believe we can access some of that power and use it to our advantage.”

“How?”

“On the night of the full moon, She feels the most connection to Her power source. We will tap into it and hopefully be able to use it, possibly Her clairvoyance. I have not been able to test any of my theories until now.”

“Through Kimberly,” I said flatly.

I didn’t like it. He had that look in his eye again that glowed with something more than hope. It was hard to trust a desperate man. Backpedaling was an understatement. Suddenly, all those thoughts about not being angry were gone.

“What would I need to do?” Kimberly asked.

“I will try a few incantations. I’m not certain it will work, but I’ve never been able to try until now. The queen doesn’t change women, and the ones She did, died long ago. Skylar’s blood was too far removed, as is Halina’s. I’ve tried it on myself, but I’m a mutt by blood as well. I theorized that it may only connect with women. The entity has always favored women.”

“Kim, I don’t like this,” I said, knowing they’d hear.

“This is not a coincidence. Us meeting on this day. Meeting here of all places. This is destiny. From the moment we first met, everything was aligning for this purpose.”

I hide to fight an eye roll at that one.

“Can we have a minute?” Kimberly asked.

“Of course.” Kimberly grabbed my hand and guided me to the front porch. It was snowing again.

“We can’t trust them,” I said.

“I know. But Kilian is just desperate enough that I . . . believe it.”

“We don’t know what the ritual is.”

“I know. But I’m willing to try it.” She looked off into the distance before staring deep into my eyes. “Aaron, if you want to find your brothers and save them, it’s going to be hard. And it’s going to cost. I don’t think we’ll always like what it costs, but I think we need to try. We need to take risks. If we play it safe, I don’t think we’ll find them.”

She was right.

“I don’t want you to do anything that could hurt you. And they wouldn’t want you to do that either.”

“And I’m telling you it might, and I’m okay with it.”

I sighed and wiped a fallen snowflake from her face. There wasn’t any use arguing with her, as that determined look in her eyes scorched me from head to toe.

“And if I’m not?”

“You can’t tell me what to do.” This time, she smiled.