Chapter 26
BONES
The last time I was in the infirmary at Harker Mansion was when I first met Mia. Back when we were still trying to bully her into signing away her property. When the only thing we thought we wanted was the baneberry fields. Before I was willing to admit that the only thing I wanted was her.
I had thrust my fist through a car window after shaming myself over losing Sonny for the thousandth time. Then that made me horny, so I broke into her house and helped myself to her whiskey while I waited for her in the library.
As angry and annoyed as she was, it was her idea to stitch me up rather than let me bleed all over her carpet. She didn’t even know her house had an infirmary at that point. The poor thing was so lost in this massive estate that she only knew the path to the kitchen from her bedroom.
A knot forms in my throat. It threatens to choke me. The room is silent except for the heavy breaths coming from their slackened bodies. Side by side in dual cots, my little lamb and my baby brother. Both sedated for fear that they will hurt themselves or each other.
I can’t wrap my head around it. His face… he’s not human anymore. The last time I saw him, he was a giggling mess of bouncy black curls, rosy cheeks, and big, beautiful brown eyes. He was right fucking there. So close. I turned my back on him, annoyed that he was infringing on me getting high.
I didn’t need to see the scar on his leg to know it was him.
These are things that you just know. You sense your own blood.
You never forget it. The dread that enveloped me the second we locked eyes…
I knew in my soul that it was Sonny. Even despite the deer skull fused to his face and the fact that he towers over me at six foot four.
The devil created a monster of him. That sweet little boy is gone, and in his place is a harrowing, dark entity forged from bone and fire and shadowy brimstone.
And yet my heart couldn’t be more full. That mourning is lessening, fading into something else. Remorse. Sadness as well. I don’t know how I’m going to prepare Lettie and Felix for this though.
My gaze flits to Mia, and I have to bite back a sob as I take in the sight of her. Those same inky-black splotches mark her body, covering almost every inch of her. He did this to her. Every time he touches her, he inflicts pain and disease.
My stomach turns when I inspect her cheek. It looks like he’s stitched a piece of bone into it. I have no doubt it’s a piece of him. And yet the only thing she cared about was his safety when we came to save her.
I’ll never forget the sound of her screams, the terror in her voice, begging us not to hurt him. As if I would ever lay a violent hand on my own brother. But she didn’t know for sure. The fear in her voice was palpable.
He’s done something to her that cannot be undone. And now we will all have to live with it. We will have to make it work, or we’ll lose them both.
I use the hem of my white muscle tee to wipe the sweat off my brow. And maybe a few tears I don’t want anyone to wake up and see. I look down at my own tattoos, reflecting on their permanence. The one on my belly in particular… Pulvis et umbra sumus. We are dust and shadow.
I got it for him. In remembrance. But also as a reminder of the guilt and shame I will always carry.
He groans dramatically. “I can feel your pity party from here. You’re sucking up all the oxygen in the room, Bones.”
I chuckle. I used to say that to him when we were kids. Whenever he would cry over something stupid. But it wasn’t stupid to him. I’m realizing that now.
I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees. “So you are still him… You remember me?”
His gaze hardens on the ceiling. “And Felix. I remember how neither of you could be bothered with me.”
I bite down on my lip to stifle a sob. That pain in my chest returns tenfold, threatening to crush my lungs into dust. “Sonny, I’m sorry,” I blurt out.
“Lettie was who Ma and Papa paid attention to. So that left me to my own devices. No one cared when he pushed me into the river. No one believed me.” He clenches his fists and twists his arms inside the restraints.
I notice for the first time that his veins are pitch-black. “I cared, Sonny. I promise I did. I was just young and reckless.”
He snickers. “No, you were too busy eye-fucking your best friend. Was it him who kept you from coming after me, hermano? Hmm? Was Aries Thorn the reason you failed to look after your baby brother?”
The sob I’ve been holding escapes. A gurgled cry unleashes from deep inside my chest. The one I’ve been repressing since the day he went into the woods and never came out. I rush over and kneel beside him. I bury my head into the bed and weep. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Stop that. Bones. Don’t… Fuck.” His voice is softer and quieter now.
I can’t stop. I haven’t cried in over fifteen years, and now I can’t fucking stop. I fist his sheets, shaking as I relive that day over and over in my mind. “It should’ve been me. I’m the oldest. He should’ve taken me. I’m sorry. So s-sorry. I don’t blame you for hating me. I hate myself.”
“I don’t hate you. I’m just sad and angry all the time. Please stop. I just said I don’t hate you. Bones, please.” He writhes on the bed, forcing me to look up and meet his gaze.
I see inside his heart this time. It’s not completely lost. Not completely broken. “Will you ever forgive me, brother?”
He looks away. “There’s nothing to forgive. You were just someone to blame. I’m the one who went into the woods by myself. I did this. So please stop. Don’t waste your tears on me anymore.”
I reach for his hand but stop myself. I hover my hand over his instead. “You were a curious kid. It’s not your fault that we live on hallowed ground. This whole fucking place is cursed.”
He snickers. “Thanks to our blood and hers.”
I shake my head and lightly graze his knuckles, desperately wanting to comfort him.
“No. Thanks to the evil that has devastated Melancholia since before we were even salt on this earth. The devil has had Ever Graves in a chokehold for far too long… But I won’t let you go again.
Even if you really do hate me. I won’t let him have you. ”
Sonny turns his head to look at Mia. “She’s mine too now. I won’t give her up.”
Spoken like a true Crane. “I know. But it needs to be her choice too. If she feels the same… then we’ll all have to get used to it.”
He licks his lips, his fingers twitching with the urge to touch her. “It’s not about choice, Bones. There is none. She knows I belong to her too. Crane and Harker. Harker and Crane. Mine. Mine. Mine…” He slurs his words, the toxin still working through his inky veins.
“Why did you hurt her then?” I move to Mia’s side now and touch her forehead. She’s still warm but not as hot as she was when we first brought her in here. Which means the healing salve is working.
He hisses. “Because she’s a wretch like me. And oh, how she loved it, Bones. You should’ve felt how wet she was for me.”
A flicker of jealousy threatens to unnerve me. I forget for a second that he’s my brother and instead he’s just another man, a monster, who made the woman I love scream and cry and cum harder than she ever has. All at the same time, no doubt.
The door creaks open behind me. Without turning around, I know who it is by the way Sonny’s smirk fades. “Come to feast your eyes on the devil’s new favorite servant, have we?”
Nox doesn’t grace him with an answer or even an acknowledgment. He turns to me instead. “Aries has made up another batch of bloodroot salve. I need to put it on her. You go get some rest while I take care of it.”
“No. I’ll stay. I’m not done with him,” I grit out.
Nox nods.
“Does the nightmare man ignore me, then? The devil said you were the strong-and-silent type. But I think you’re just a coward who couldn’t cut it in hell, so he made you her whore.”
Oh, fuck. I’m about to be in the middle of a brawl between two demons. I’m strong as fuck, but this might present a problem. Luckily, one of them is tied down, but who knows how long that will keep him if he’s provoked. “Okay, Sonny, tranquilo. Comate, por favor.”
Nox sets the bowl of salve down on the table next to Mia’s bed. The muscle in his jaw ticks. “I’d rather be Mia’s whore than the devil’s little bitch.”
I stifle a laugh. What the fuck? This day couldn’t get any weirder. “You got jokes now?”
He shoots me a wink.
Sonny snorts. “We’ll see who’s better at that soon. Good luck trying to satisfy Mia now that she’s had my cock inside her.”
Nox finally turns around to face him. He palms the crotch of his pants. “She always seems very satisfied when both of my cocks are inside her.”
Sonny’s eyes widen. “Well, touché. Fuck.”
And that round goes to Nox. Fucking hell. I scoop some of the salve out and join him in slathering it on Mia’s skin.
He presses a wet leaf over her cheek. “Scars are gifts. Each one makes you stronger.”
“I make her stronger,” Sonny snarls. His cot rattles against the floor as he flails, attempting to break out of his restraints.
I dash over and place a hand on his chest. “Stop. We’ll let you up when you calm down. You’re too fucking unhinged right now.”
Nox doesn’t seem fazed as he places a kiss on Mia’s forehead.
“Mia doesn’t need any of us for strength.
She’s a Harker. Courage and power thrum in her veins.
They always have. I’ve felt it since the beginning.
And I have been there with her since the very beginning, young man.
She will have use for you. As she has use for me and Bones and Aries and Draven.
But make no mistake, we need her more than she will ever need us. ”
Nothing truer has ever been said. I feel Sonny’s tension release. He sinks back against the mattress in defeat. “Allow me to rest, then. Let me close my eyes and dream of how I can be worthy.” I can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or not, but I’m guessing it’s the former.
We spare each other further lashings as we finish applying the salve. I check her vitals, and to my relief, her heart rate is steady, and her breathing is finally back to normal. “I’ll be back later to check on you, mi amor.”
I throw Sonny another glance before following Nox out of the infirmary. He smirks even with his eyes shut. I hope he stops taunting her so she can rest. If he wakes her up, Nox will have his head, deer skull and all.
Downstairs, in the parlor, we find Aries and Draven with a half-empty bottle of Blackwell gin between them.
“How is she?” Draven asks.
“Healing,” Nox replies as he accepts a finger of whiskey from Aries.
I take one as well. “They are tethered. We have to accept that.”
Aries gets up to take the seat next to me on the velvet settee. He drapes an arm across my shoulders. “What do you need from us, baby?”
I sigh into his embrace, happy to be close to him again. “To put your jealousy aside. To remember that he’s my brother and that I will do literally anything to keep him safe. And to help me do that.”
“Of course, Bones.” Nox settles back against the couch next to Draven. “What a mouth he has on him though. He’s definitely the diva of the family.”
I look at Draven. He’s been my best friend and sometimes my lover for over twenty years. He’s drowning in his own darkness right now. More than usual. I want to comfort him, but I also can’t allow him to hurt Sonny. “Tell me everything’s going to be fine, Dray. Please. Tell me.”
He takes a drag off his cigarette and exhales slowly, blowing smoke rings into the space between us. “I would rather cut off my own arm than harm a hair on that boy’s head. I know he’s a man now, but he’ll always be little Sonny Crane to me.”
I sigh in relief. “Oh, thank fuck. I love you, Dray. Fucking hell.”
“But,” he continues, “I will not hesitate to check his ass if he gets out of line with Mia.”
“Agreed. I promise you I will do the same.” I want to cry again, but this time it’s not from sadness but just from fucking relief at seeing the people I love agree to put aside their differences. Because the worst is yet to come. And the last thing we need is to be at each other’s throats.