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

69. Sixty-Nine

Sixty-Nine

Aaron

“Move your ass.” Zach was fresh on my heels. Presley, Zach, and I followed Ezra to move the queen from the atrium to the cathedral. The loud noise had ended, but there was another explosion somewhere that shook the building. Their plan to disorient everyone had worked, at least on me. I had to focus on the facts. Kimberly was safe for now. Great. Presley was also safe. Perfect. My most important jobs were tended to, so I really needed to find the dagger and drive it through the queen’s heart. Problem was, I couldn’t do that while hiding.

After a series of hallways and one moved bookcase, we progressed down a stone passageway that smelled of mold and old rotting wood. The warm air of the castle wafted in, and the door shut us into another cold hallway.

“I thought the cathedral and the castle weren’t connected,” Zach asked.

“We lied,” Ezra said.

“Shocker.”

“I didn’t need you and your brother running around in the walls and sneaking out through the passageways to escape.”

They did try to escape . The thought only added to the growing anxiety in my gut. The punishments for escaping in that place were probably nothing I wanted to know about.

After another minute, our secret passageway opened into the cathedral where Luke was already waiting for us.

“I fortified the door.”

“Excellent,” Ezra said before turning to face my older brothers. “Do you both remember what I told you about the escape plan?”

They nodded.

“Now, we need to split up.”

“I want to stay with Her!” Presley said. He’d talked the entire way in the tunnel, but I’d tuned out the whole thing.

“I’d like you to stay too.” The queen tugged on Luke’s arm. “Please stay next to me, My Love.”

It was strange. On one hand, the girl I’d spoken to had seemed evil to the core, but the infliction in Her voice made me wonder if there was more of Cecily still in there than I thought. There was something there between my brother and the queen, something unnatural.

“Well, I’m fighting regardless.” Zach rolled his shoulders, like we were boring him more every second.

I interjected. “I want to come with you.”

“You’ll just get in my way.”

“No, I won’t. I learned how to fight with Kilian.”

Zach and Luke shared a look.

“You’ll watch him?” Luke said.

Zach grunted in agreement, then pulled me back through the passageway.

“You don’t have to drag me, you know?”

“You stay close to me. No running off. I need to see you at all times.”

“Worried about me?”

He spun on his heels, and I thought for sure he’d slam me into the wall again. “Don’t you even try to be a hero out there. You fucking die, I’m going to the afterlife to kick your ass.”

I hid my smile. I’d really missed that.

“Got it, brother.”

The sky had turned to a burnt orange and red as we stepped out on the lawn. The smell of explosives and smoke carried in the breeze from the ocean cliffside.

“Stay close!” Zach called over the sound of yelling. My ears rang as we moved over fresh bodies gleaming with blood on the lawn. Black blood melted into the grass and dirt. I’d tried to prepare myself for the death for months, but it didn’t stop me from feeling nauseated at the sight of it. I tried to orient myself. From what I could tell, the main force had moved in from the west side of the castle, but there were people everywhere.

“Sir!” Connell came bounding toward us, nearly getting taken out by a group of guys grappling.

“What the hell are you doing?” Zach spat.

“Looking for you, sir! I’m supposed to protect you.”

“No. You need to hide.”

“I can’t, sir. I’m supposed to protect The Guard and our queen.”

“Fine. Guard the cathedral, and if someone goes for the door, you come tell me. You don’t fight.”

“But sir—”

“No. You don’t fight. If someone goes for you, you run away. Do you understand me? You have no choice. You only exist to serve me. Nod yes as your confirmation.”

Connell was hesitant but nodded.

As he disappeared into the fray of people fighting on the lawn, I dodged some men about to ram into me. My brother ignored them. Looking for someone. The Legion saw me and went the other way.

“You were worried about him,” I said.

“He’s just a fucking kid . . . and he can’t fight for shit.”

My brother cared. He was still capable of caring even while attached to Her. I wondered if things would be different if I’d taken longer. If months turned into years and things hadn’t lined up, would I recognize him at all?

Zach stopped. And I followed his line of sight.

Kilian stood before us with his chest out and his shoulders back. He looked about ten years younger in his combat clothes. His muscles were on display in his cuffed T-shirt. The Legion, too, were dressed in all black, which made the battles circling hard to follow. A good strategy but confusing.

“What are you protecting in the cathedral?” Kilian asked, clearly knowing the answer. He had to have heard the conversation with Connell.

“Kilian. Don’t I get a charming greeting? Didn’t you miss me at all?”

Kilian cocked his head, but his shoulders stayed alert and ready.

“He’s not thinking clearly,” I said. “There wasn’t enough time.”

“Zach, this path you don’t need to go down. Fight with us. There’s still time to change your fate.”

Zach scoffed, and a low laughter leaped from his chest. “Really? That’s the angle you want to go with? Too bad you spent all that time manipulating us instead of actually helping.”

“Zach.”

“No. Kilian doesn’t deserve your worship. Everything he says is a lie.”

“I’m sorry,” Kilian said.

My brother moved a step closer. “Nothing to be sorry about anymore. I don’t need your pity.”

“I’m sorry I failed you. I was selfish. My brother . . . he would be ashamed of the decisions I made to get here.”

The truth of it washed over us, and my brother’s stance went rigid. I realized I finally believed Kilian, and in the same moment I forgave him for not being perfect, even in the failure of what was happening in front of me.

“You can tell him all about it when I rip your heart out of your chest.”

Zach’s expression had fallen, and he braced for Kilian’s advance.

Kilian sighed, giving up a breath before his eyes hardened.

“I’m sorry, Aaron.”

“No!” I moved in front of my brother. “If you want to kill him, you’ll have to kill me first.”

“Get off me!” Zach tried to push me away, so I grabbed onto the front of his shirt with everything I had.

“No way, I’m not letting you fight!”

Kilian would win, and I wouldn’t let it happen.

“Kilian!” Sirius’s voice carried in the breeze. The moon hung between them in the twilight. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“I know.” Kilian squared his shoulders.

“We have a score to settle.”

They stood like statues, and silence settled between them like there was nothing else to say.

In the blink of an eye, their bodies collided. I’d never seen anything like it. Full out fighting from the most powerful vampires I’d ever known. Likely some of the strongest left on earth. Kilian flung Sirius into the side of the castle, and the stone cracked. Another blink and Sirius had his arms around Kilian, but he countered quickly and they separated. They were an even match physically, but it was evident Sirius was stronger in technique. As soon as Kilian would get close to Sirius, he’d find himself on the ground. It would be hard for them to get a bite in.

Hands squeezed my shoulders from behind, and I stepped back to knock them off balance. As I spun around to face my attacker, Felix dropped his hand.

“Shit, Aaron, I almost didn’t recognize you,” Felix said with a toothy smile. It quickly fell from his lips as he spied my brother.

“Felix,” Zach said.

“Calem.” They circled each other with straightened shoulders. Zach’s face went deadpan. All that talk with Kilian didn’t help.

“Wait, we want the same things.”

We did at the heart of it. We all wanted this to be over. My brother, my actual brother, wanted this to end. The Zach I knew in Blackheart didn’t want to care for Her. It was all a lie.

“What if I said I’m going to kill that witch bitch in the cathedral. What do you say to that, Calem?”

“I’d say you’d never even make it in the building.” My brother was deadly still.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Don’t do this,” I pleaded.

Zach pushed me. “If you’re not going to help, move.”

Zach would fight for the queen, and Felix was a good fighter, but I’d fought him. He wouldn’t beat my brother.

“Felix, he isn’t thinking straight. Don’t. Just leave.”

“Sorry, Aaron. I didn’t have the heart to tell you it would probably end up this way. Your brothers were never going to listen. Even if you had the time . . . they’re a lost cause. That’s what The Family does. They corrupt everyone they touch.”

Zach snickered and threw off his jacket. Felix bounced with excitement at the challenge, and I looked out across the field, trying to see past the garden arch. I still didn’t see Halina or Dom.

“See, this is the Zach I remember. Cocky smile. No sense of humor.”

Zach licked his teeth. “I remember you too. You’re weak on your left and you rush too early.”

Felix frowned.

“I remember you’re not good enough to beat me.”

“Let’s put it to the test.”

I stumbled back as their fighting began. It took seconds for Zach to tear into Felix’s shoulder. He wasn’t just focused, he was feral . I’d never seen him so bloodthirsty. Felix rushed, and with a kick, Zach cracked something in Felix’s knee. When he stumbled, Zach kneed him in the back and laughed when he fell.

It was too much.

My brother was a monster.

I had to stop it. I had—

A reflection caught my attention across the field. A man had the dagger in hand and disappeared into the garden.

Shit.

When I looked back, Felix was on his feet again and going blow for blow with my brother. He was already slowing. A punch in the gut. Another knee to the ribs.

I forced my feet to move to the garden. The faster I had the dagger, the faster everything could be over. If my brothers wouldn’t listen, I’d have to kill Her, and to do that, I needed that dagger.

I snuck through the rose bushes and walked along the stone path. The sky grew darker by the minute, and the sounds of grunts and yelling filled the air, but the ocean hitting the cliffs almost drowned it out. No one knew about the absolute massacre happening on the island, and I wondered if anyone would find all the bodies when it was over.

I guessed it depended on who won.

The man I followed was tall with big broad shoulders. Taller than Luke even. I could snatch it from him, but he’d likely stop me. No. I had a better idea.

“Sirius wants the dagger taken to him.” My words echoed in the air.

“Does he . . . really?” As the man turned around slowly, revealing a muscular fighter build, I realized I knew his name. Henderson. Maybe it would be fine. He seemed agreeable enough.

“Yeah, he needs it right now. Let’s go.” I walked a step closer. “Or give it to me, and I’ll bring it.”

“That’s interesting because I’m his sworn. And he instructed me specifically to keep it from you .” He walked in close till our chests were inches apart. “So, tell me, Calem, why would you want this dagger?”

Shit.

“Change of plans.” I grabbed the blade of the dagger and tried to wrestle it from his grasp. It was sharp but couldn’t break the skin as long as I kept all my blood in my body. With one push, I was down on the ground. I swept his leg, and the dagger flew out of view.

I’d made a mistake. The guy was Luke-level big. When he got me on the ground, he held me down with one arm like a mouse in a trap.

“Are you a traitor, Calem? Because I’ve been looking for a reason to kill one of you.”

Henderson tore into my shoulder, and I ground my teeth from the pain.

I wasn’t done. I trapped one of his arms and bridged my hips to destabilize him. He moved off just enough for me to weasel past and stammer to my feet.

“Ah!” Henderson charged me again, and I braced myself to be taken to the ground.

“Stop.” Zach emerged bloody, but I saw no physical wounds. Henderson halted midstride. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“He was trying to take the dagger.”

“Did I ask? Do you think so highly of yourself that you believed you could touch my brother, a future member of The Guard?”

Henderson hesitated, looking around for the dagger we threw.

“You don’t want to be standing next to me in the next few minutes. If I turn around and see you, I’ll kill you myself.”

“Yes, sir. It will only take a minute. I was ordered by Sirius—”

“Leave now,” Zach said. “Unless you feel like fighting me. And you know how that ends for you.”

My brother didn’t know the importance. I wasn’t even sure that Henderson guy knew either. The dagger had to be somewhere close in the flowerbeds. He’d come back for it.

“You’re supposed to stay next to me. That’s an order.”

“An order? These people are my friends. You’re fighting on the wrong side. You killed Felix!”

“I’m doing what has to be done. And he’s not dead . . . yet.”

“What did you do with him?”

“He’s bleeding out on the lawn. I noticed you were gone and had to go find you.”

“You have to snap out of this. You have to let them kill Her.”

“No,” Zach snarled. “She’s mine to protect.”

A blood-curdling scream zipped through the air. The scream of a woman.

In seconds, I was on the lawn in front of the cathedral.

Ezra had Halina on her knees, as well as a few other members of The Legion.

“I found them ambushing from the north.”

“Wait. Don’t.” I reached for them, but I was too far.

Ezra didn’t hesitate. He twisted the heads of them one by one. Their skin was already bloody and torn, and they had no fight left. Zach held onto my shoulder, not letting me move.

Halina’s screams sent shivers down my spine, then it stopped. Forever.

I felt . . . nothing. Stumbling back into my brother, I reached for him to steady me.

“No! That’s my sister.”

A bloody and weak Felix flew forward. I went to stop him. A flash of movement blurred in front of me, then Felix’s head rolled from his body and onto the lawn.

I was frozen. Staring at the horror.

There was pressure on my shoulders and the world spun around.

“Look at me,” Zach said. His palms were warm against my face. “It’s okay. It’s going to be all right.”

I’d seen death before, but not like this. Not the death of a friend and the end of his family. The end of all their dreaming. All they wanted was for this to end. That’s all we ever talked about. It was the only thing we talked about because it’s the only thing that mattered.

“This is almost over. Sirius and Ezra will finish off Kilian, and then we’ll all be safe.”

I nodded.

“Talk.”

“Okay . . .” I said, replaying the images of death. “What about Kimberly?”

“We’ll figure something out.”

He was right. Things were moving in The Family’s favor. We were losing. Kilian wasn’t a match for two members of The Guard and my brothers. Kimberly was still locked away. If we lost, she wouldn’t be safe. They would torture her, then kill her. Everything would crumble. My brothers and I would stay tethered to Her. The fear of that froze me in place.

“Can I . . . have a minute?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

My feet moved on their own. The world slowly came back to me. The sun had set, and the moon was taking hold in the sky. I had two options. Go for the dagger or abandon ship and go find Kimberly and get her out. There was still time. It might be my only opening.

I made my way into the garden, still fighting the disorientation.

My feet hit something hard in the grass, and the dagger stared back at me.

I couldn’t give up on our dream. I had to end this once and for all.

I grabbed the dagger and made my way to the cathedral.