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

66. Sixty-Six

Sixty-Six

Kimberly

The Legion would come soon. That’s the thing I had to recite over and over again as Presley effortlessly carried me over his shoulder. When they slowed, I flew forward, and Presley caught me. His arm wrapped around my neck to cover my mouth.

Ezra’s icy blue eyes stared back at me. I’d never forget seeing Ezra’s face after the day in the burning forest.

“You have to help me,” Luke said. “I don’t know what to do.”

“This is the girl.”

“Yes. I need to take her to the queen . . . but . . . She can’t kill her. I can’t let that happen. I don’t know what to do with her, but I just know that. It’s . . . confusing. Doesn’t make sense.”

“Give her to me. I’ll take her. You go get your brothers and bring them into the atrium. Quickly.”

“She had this!” Presley grabbed the dagger from Luke and handed it to him.

Luke hesitated, his shoulder rigid, and pulled back.

“I’ll take care of it. Just bring them.”

Luke nodded and Presley released me. My heart hadn’t stopped beating against my ribs since I’d reached the harbor, and in combination with the blood loss, it made me feel lightheaded.

Ezra clutched my arm to steady me.

“Can you walk?”

I nodded.

“Good. Don’t talk.”

He didn’t pull me nearly as fast as Presley, but I still struggled to keep up as we navigated the halls. We stopped in front of a wooden door carved with the sun and the moon. It opened to a room floored in intricate marble bathed in the sun.

“Kimberly Burns. We finally meet.”

Her voice cut the air like a blade. Standing next to a man, I guessed to be Sirius, was the queen. I’d often wondered what it might feel like to finally stand in Her presence. Cecily came to mind. The warmth in her cheeks and the green of her eyes had been leached from her. The woman in front of me was a ghost of the girl who once roamed the halls.

“Speak, girl,” the man with brown hair and warm skin said.

“Now, Sirius, she’s our guest. Let’s not be inhospitable.”

I guessed right.

“I’ve heard nothing but terrible things,” I said.

Ezra’s pressure on my arm tightened.

“Is that so? And here I thought all of the Calem boys were such lovely gentlemen. They’re so trusting and sweet.” She stepped toward me. Her bare feet made no sound on the floor. “I met your lover not long ago. He’s extraordinary. I see why you’re so fond of him. He had quite the appetite.”

I bit down on my cheek as the fire reignited in my belly. The image of Aaron drinking from Her was enough to bring me back into the present and ignore the lingering pain in my leg.

It was part of the plan. It was fine.

“What do you want with me?”

“So many things. You see . . . you’re quite the pest. We didn’t squash you soon enough, and you’ve turned into a full infestation.” Her gown trailed behind Her, and She closed the distance between us. “Infestations must be dealt with accordingly.”

I flinched as She reached for my cheek, and the world fell away.

Let’s see who Kimberly Burns really is.

Panic burst through my chest. I couldn’t feel my hands or my feet. It was just me and Her in my head.

Focus. Show me. Now.

Before I could protest, my memory fluttered by. I was back in foster care, sitting alone on my bed looking out the window. Crying. Sobbing into my hands.

My head pulsed like it was being sawed in half. Flashes of light and images pushed me along in the vast expanse of my mind. She was raking her nails through my childhood. That’s what it felt like. Her fingers scratched at the back of my skull and pulled up every memory in Her wake. Excruciating. Unbearable. It had to stop.

“Stop.” I barely managed the words.

The world returned, and I crumpled up on the floor, and my face was wet.

She laughed. “You’ve always been so painfully alone. Longing for bonds . . . It must be terrible knowing you have nothing now.”

Her palm rested on my cheek delicately, and She dug her long nails into my face. The blood trickled down my cheek, and I licked it from my lip.

“I’m going to love combing through every single one of your sad little memories. We can have so much fun together.”

Ezra interjected. “My queen . . . if I may.”

“Yes, you may speak.”

“It will not be wise to torture her now, and killing her isn’t favorable.”

“Ezra,” Sirius growled a warning.

“The Legion is nearly at our door. This girl is important to the Calems. Doing anything to interfere with their emotional state at such a vulnerable impasse is ill-advised.”

“Ill-advised. You baby them. She is too dangerous to keep alive,” Sirius said.

“I’m aware of all the possibilities.” She leaned into my ear. “That’s the only reason I don’t have your pretty little heart in my hands right now.”

I swallowed.

“What’s this?”

Her attention turned to the ring on my hand. Cold fingers wrapped around my hand and yanked the ring off without mercy.

Her eyes darkened as She examined it in the light from the glass ceiling. “He gave this to you?”

“We’re married.”

“So you are.” Her fingers brushed the gold band. “Such a small delicate little thing.”

Without another word, She pushed my ring onto Her finger.

“Fits perfectly. I’ll hold on to it for you. You won’t be needing it anymore.”

Warmth pooled in my cheeks, and my eyes stung. My stomach burned with anger. This was just another one of Her tactics for getting into my head.

“I’ll get it back eventually.”

“You’re so confident.”

“I’m alive, aren’t I?”

“For now. There are still so many variables at play. Can’t you read the stars ?”

I lifted my head again to meet Her eyeline. She knew.

“You know about the rituals . . .”

“Presley might not have had all the plans, but he remembered you using the dagger to get to me. I guess you could say we’re linked now. No matter. I’ll be sure to sever that bond.” She grabbed the dagger. “I was hoping you’d bring me this.”

The Legion were coming , I reminded myself again, but it could be a week . . . weeks . . . longer. I would likely be tortured for as long as I was in Her presence. But maybe that was the right future, maybe that’s what would save them.

She handed the dagger to Sirius, and he walked in behind me.

A sharp pain cut through my shoulder. The warmth of my blood slipped down my back.

It’s okay. Do it for them.

“Shall we bleed her now?”

“Patience, Sirius. Let’s see the lovers’ reunion first. Shallow cuts only. I want to hear her sing like a songbird.”