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

65. Sixty-Five

Sixty-Five

Kimberly

I arrived at the harbor and the fresh scent of dead fish greeted me. The sun peeked through the clouds and a fresh drizzle of rain was soaking the boats and harbor signs. A plane ride to Dublin, then another long car ride over to the ferry was torture. Every minute I didn’t have eyes on the boys filled me with dread. I had a vise grip on my backpack strap, and with every step I took, it tightened.

It felt dangerous to have the dagger secured to my back, but Kilian must have some plan for it. Maybe he figured out something about it, like the proximity would weaken Her or something. There was a reason, but I reminded myself I didn’t need to figure it out. My job was to go to the island.

A boy greeted me with golden-blond curls and blue eyes. He had to have just turned eighteen. Not much younger than me.

“Kimberly.” His eyes widened like he was surprised to see me, and I wasn’t the least bit surprised he knew my name. “You came.”

“Were you expecting me?”

“She was. Maybe. She said it was likely you could show up today . . . or not at all. The ferry is closed to the public for now, but it’s open for you. My name’s Connell.”

He held out his hand for me to shake, and I did.

“Hi, Connell.”

His calm, cheerful demeanor caught me by surprise. His Irish accent was thick, indicating he must have been local. I briefly thought of what his life story must have been like to become a part of The Family, then resolved it was better I didn’t know.

I followed him onto a barren ferry. It was a large barge with windows, and seating inside and outside. He led me to the back of the ship, and I looked out along the water. There in the distance, the island sat among gray clouds. It was a relief seeing it, knowing all the people I cared about most were there.

“I, uh . . . I need to bite you,” he said.

“What?”

“I should technically just grab you and not give you a choice. This isn’t a choice because I have to, but it would be easier if you just let me do it. I’m supposed to weaken you since you’re, uh . . . one of us.”

I checked we were out of view of any bystanders at the harbor.

“Okay.”

I held my arm for him, and he hesitated. I thought he was more nervous than me until he closed the distance between us and grabbed me to sink his teeth into my neck.

It hurt, but it was brief. I gripped the guardrail and counted my way through it. The intimacy of it made my skin crawl. He didn’t take everything. Just enough for me to feel human again. Which I didn’t mind so much.

“Sorry about that.” He pulled a handkerchief from the little pocket on his black blazer, and I used it to wipe the blood from my neck, with one hand still on the guardrail. If someone would have told me last spring that I’d be here, I would have never believed them. It was more unbelievable than vampires existing. I was in another country, far away from Blackheart—a place I thought I’d never leave, and I was going on account of someone else, sailing toward my fate that was more than likely my death. It felt good not to be running anymore and to finally face our problems head-on.

As I peered at the castle coming into view, a strange sense of doom and peace lingered. Like that place had waited for me my entire life. The thick green grass on the rolling hills and the stone wall high in the sky beckoned me forward, yearning to swallow me whole, but I wouldn’t be easy prey.

It was amazing how freeing it felt to be a dead girl walking.

When we reached the shore, Connell led me off the boat toward the castle that loomed in the distance. I recalled the map as I walked. There were two harbors on the island. One close to the castle that worked through the island’s tour service, and the other was reserved for merchant ship goods. A sparse forest covered a small portion of the grounds, and on the other side of the path, I spotted two black masses. One appeared to be old wood. A structure had burned to nothing but black ash and a few pieces of wood, and closer to the castle was a set of tall leafy hedges. As we walked around the path, most of the hedges were burned and charred. They surrounded a statue I couldn’t fully see. A vast expanse of gray ash marked the earth below the hedges.

“There was a fire a few days ago. Pretty wild. Really shook things up.” Connell’s soft voice made me jump.

A set of hands grabbed me from behind, and I pushed back on my heels and used my weight to throw them off balance. My attacker landed on the grass with a thud.

“Presley,” I breathed.

“You. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“What are you doing?” I asked, checking for more of his brothers.

“Hiding from Luke. Come on.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the castle. “I’ve got it from here Connell!”

“But sir—”

“It’s fine! Don’t tell anyone she’s here yet.”

Presley’s fingernails dug into my palm as he walked me toward the castle. I searched for the sounds of the twins or Aaron. Or the smell of anything familiar. He dragged me through the hallway a little too forcefully. With the blood loss, I could barely keep myself upright. It was all a vivid blur.

Where was Aaron?

Everything about Presley had changed. Not just his clothes that were now all black, with black boots that looked too big for his stature and a long black coat with a tight undershirt. His expression was twisted in an unfamiliar scowl that didn’t belong on his face.

He pulled me into a room and locked the door behind us. A dining room. A little like Kilian’s with a long table and chairs, but these were ornate and likely expensive. Every design choice, from the rugs to dusty lavender candles in the chandelier above, seemed intentional.

With one arm, he shoved me into a chair.

“I thought you’d know better than to come. You know, because you’re the smart one.” He stepped onto the table and walked, kicking off the ornate chargers and table runner. Uh-oh.

It hadn’t occurred to me that Presley could be dangerous. In all the scenarios, I hadn’t thought of it once. The Presley I knew wouldn’t hurt me. How much could one person change so drastically in a matter of days?

He crouched down to my level. “You look a little scared. There’s nothing to be afraid of. This place is amazing. And these people . . . they love me.”

The sun from the window cast a long shadow over his face. This wasn’t Presley. There was barely any light left in his eyes.

“But I guess this isn’t a social call, huh? You being here can mean only one thing . . . you want Her.”

“I came for you actually.”

“Oh really . . .” He moved behind me and snatched the bag from my shoulder. “What did you bring me as a housewarming gift?”

He pulled out the dagger, and my blood ran cold. With a lightness in his steps, he jumped up and onto the table again.

“Presley . . .”

“Don’t say my name like that. You’re just trying to manipulate me. That’s what She said you’d do. Try to make me feel sorry for you. She said I may not even have to see you again, but I guess . . . this is a different timeline.”

A different timeline. A different future than this one.

“I would have preferred the other. But of course you’d want this one. You’d want to hurt me and hurt Her. So that means . . . I have to hurt you.”

He stalked toward me, with the dagger gleaming in the light. Was this it? Was this the part where I met my fate? Something about it didn’t feel right. I wouldn’t hurt Presley. I couldn’t, but I also couldn’t let Presley do something he’d never be able to forgive himself for. He was making it out of the castle alive. That was nonnegotiable.

“Wait. We can talk about this.”

“Why would I waste my time in eternity talking to you when I could be talking to Her instead? You’re not even supposed to be here. I could have been with Her way earlier than this, but you just had to come into our lives. You ruined everything. And for that, I have to hurt you.”

Presley plunged the dagger into my leg, and every muscle in my body seized. I cried out, and the shock of it caused an agonizing panic in my entire body. I fought to steady my breath so I could remain present.

Something stronger burned in my veins as the adrenaline surged. This was Her fault. She did this to him.

Presley laughed in the wake of my pain. Not his usual chiming laughter that filled every room with a sense of ease. It was hard and forced through his chest.

“She doesn’t like you, you know? You’re just a blip. A blip in time, and you mean nothing. That’s what She said when I asked Her about you. When I showed Her you and everything we’ve done together.”

“You showed Her?”

“I had to. She needed to see everything. I hide nothing from Her. The only way to ascend is to surrender, and She says I’m close. Not long now and I’ll ascend just like Zach and Luke.”

I tried to move, and a soft cry left my lips.

“You shouldn’t move around. You’ll just make this harder on everyone. Especially me. Why did you come, knowing this would happen? Knowing I’d be like this and I’d have to eliminate you from my life. Why did you do that to me?” There was a soft pleading in his voice.

“I came to save you. I’d never want to hurt you. You know that.”

He shook his head and slammed his hands on the table, making me jolt.

“You’re lying!” He reached down, twisting the dagger in my leg. Tears spilled down my cheeks.

I grabbed his hand smeared with my blood, and he didn’t pull away.

It was worse than any nightmare. Worse than dying. The pulsing pain in my leg was nothing compared to seeing my best friend change and suffer before my eyes. That pain bubbled over into anger. It replaced the lump in my throat with bile I wanted to spit on the ground.

“It felt right. It made sense. But you’re here. I don’t understand. Why is this so hard? She said nothing would hurt anymore, but you’re crying . . . and now I feel . . . You’re not supposed to matter. Why do you matter? You’re just a girl. One stupid girl.”

Tear after tear fell as the blood from my leg seeped into my pants. Tears gathered in his eyes too. We were still connected somehow.

“This is how it has to be . . . right?” Presley’s eyes softened. “We all can’t exist here. You knew that, but you came anyway. You came here for me . . . for us.”

“I’d always come for you. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here with you.” I said it slowly, breathing through the blinding pain in my leg.

“You can’t mean that. After everything, you don’t mean it. Don’t lie.”

“I’m not lying.”

His face grew redder, and his tears turned into sobs. “Stop.”

“Remember the patch of land with the little cabins. And you were going to put yours next to mine. And you told me you were going to paint something cool over the door. Daisies and dandelions, we said. We can still do those things. That dream isn’t gone forever. I’m still here. And we’re going to be together again. Away from this place.”

Tears fell from his cheeks and onto the linen. He leaned forward, grabbing the handle of the dagger and pulled it from my leg in one quick swipe. There was a slight relief, but the pain made me tremble.

“Stop, Kim. Stop.” Something in me broke at the mention of my name.

“I love you, Presley. It’s going to be okay. Don’t cry. We can fix this.”

It was a relief when the door opened. Luke emerged, and I was sure all the color drained out of the room. He looked ghastly with dark circles under his eyes and a determined, stern expression. My memory of him in the forest, when he’d entrusted me with his brothers, replayed in my head.

“Luke . . .” My voice broke. I’d scarcely realized how much I’d missed seeing him. I’d missed his sureness. His strength. His help. God, I’d missed his help.

But what I remembered of him was long gone. There was no warmth left in his skin or his smile. In three months, he’s been gutted from the inside out, leaving someone I didn’t recognize.

He didn’t look at me. Not even a brief glance. He was less than an arm’s distance away. I could have touched his jacket, yet I feared the man standing before me.

“Hey, it’s all right.” He grabbed Presley’s face in his hands.

He sounded like Luke. It was all still in there. The warmth. The love he held for his brothers. So unbelievably real and visceral I almost forgot about the pain in my leg.

“No. No. No. She can’t be here. I need to kill her, and I can’t. I can’t. She’s not supposed to be here.” He wiped his face, where my blood stained his cheeks.

“You don’t need to do anything. It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.” He pulled Presley to his chest and kissed the top of his head.

“Luke.” I tried to make my voice stronger this time, but he ignored me.

“Give me the dagger.” He pried the knife from Presley’s hand.

My heart beat faster as he turned. How far gone was Luke? No. Maybe he just couldn’t acknowledge me. She might not like that. He wouldn’t hurt me.

He put the dagger in his jacket and moved toward the door. “Pick her up. She belongs to the queen.”

“Wait!” I said as Presley lifted me and threw me over his shoulder.