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

70. Seventy

Seventy

Kimberly

“Will, can you hear me?”

He hadn’t said a word or even flinched at the explosions above. I tried not to think about what was happening. Aaron would bring the dagger and be in front of me any minute. He would be fine. They all would be.

Every second that ticked by only added to my restlessness.

“Will,” I repeated.

He was at the other side of his cell, scratching something into the wall.

“You have to still be in there somewhere.”

“Ah, fuck off. You’re so annoying. If you’re not going to take me to Her, I don’t care what you have to say,” he mumbled.

“How did this happen?” I needed him to keep speaking. Anything to distract me from the fact that the people I cared about were above ground, likely fighting for their lives.

“She opened my eyes and then . . . took it away.” He hit his head against the wall. “I hate it. It hurts.”

It didn’t make sense. If Her blood was sacred, why would She give it to someone like Will? Someone She was supposed to hate.

“Why? Why would She give you Her blood?”

“She said it was a punishment. But . . . it made me feel like I was connected.” He groaned like he was in pain and rocked on the dirty floor. “Are you sure you can’t get me out?”

“I can’t even get myself out.”

“You’re useless,” he spat.

I sighed. He didn’t deserve it. No one deserved to have the core of who they were stripped away with no thought. It was the opposite of connection. I decided on a different approach.

“What about your sister?”

“I don’t have a sister.”

“You do. And you love her . . . more than anything. I know that about you, and you didn’t even have to tell me.”

“I don’t! I don’t need anything else but Her. You could never understand. She’s everywhere. It’s everything I have.”

I stood at the sound of the door opening. Excitement ran through me at first, then fear. I hoped for a friendly face, but I wasn’t expecting the one I saw.

Thane stumbled down the steps and came straight for me.

“Thane! Oh my god. I thought you were dead,” I said.

“Yeah, I had to hide for a while. After what She did to Will . . . She was going to kill me, so I hid. I couldn’t leave without the others, so I hoped you guys would come, and you did.”

Thane smiled a toothy grin, like the world wasn’t falling apart. It reminded me of home. His clothes were disheveled and a little bloody but nothing major. He looked radiant in a way the other boys didn’t.

“Listen, Kim, I have to apologize to you too. I know you might not believe me, but they cleansed my blood, and everything is different now, but I’m—”

“Please don’t. I’m just glad you’re okay.” It wasn’t his fault. It was Hers. Every path led back to Her. “We came for all of you. Did you see Kilian?”

“He hasn’t seen me yet. I had a job to do first.” He pulled a shiny object from behind his pack and presented it.

The dagger.

“How did you get it back so fast?”

“I didn’t. There are two. This is the real one.”

My stomach sank.

“Wait, that means . . . Aaron doesn’t know the dagger is fake. He’s searching for the wrong one.”

“I’ll go help. Okay, he’ll be fine. Halina . . . she wanted to make sure I got this to you specifically. She said you could use it.”

“Halina . . . Where is she?”

His expression cracked and his jaw feathered. “She gave it to me before Ezra took her and a few others. She’s gone . . . I wanted to help, but she said getting this to you was more important.”

I nodded and stuffed the surfacing emotion down. Halina believed in me, and I couldn’t let her down.

“They have a plan to evacuate the queen, there’s a tunnel that runs from the castle to below the cliffs. Things are moving quickly up there. If you use this, maybe you can keep them on the island and give Kilian more time.”

“Okay. I will.”

“This is going to work, Kim. We’re going to win.”

He sounded like Aaron. I grabbed his hand through the bar and squeezed. I needed the boost.

“We’re going to win,” I repeated.