Page 59 of Blood Ties (City of Blood #1)

Elina

Holding tightly onto Bash’s hand, like it’s my anchor in this sea I find myself adrift in, I lean against the cool marble of the tomb. This has been the longest night of my life. I’m tired—I did not think that was something that I would experience anymore but these last few weeks have been a lot.

“Sebastien, did you kill Ezekiel?” I blurt out, bluntly, before he has time to begin his own tale. I want to get right to the matter, really.

Shaking his head, he replies, “No, Tesoro, I did not. I know who did, but it wasn’t me.”

“Who was it?” I feel relieved it wasn’t him. I don’t know what I would have done if he truly was responsible for my father’s death.

“My cousin, Lucian,” he answers, sadness in his voice. “He is my uncle’s executioner. He does all the unsavory things no one else wants to do.”

“The one who tortured Talia?” He told me all about Talia’s involvement and subsequent questioning after the rescue.

“The same.”

“I think I know Lucian—we had a regular at the Tomb with that name.” I recall the many times he sat at my bar, brooding and angry.

I wonder if it was his work that made him that way.

“He has grey eyes, like yours, but his hair is black, I think. Either that, or super dark brown. He would always hire Lillith. That him?”

“Yes, that’s probably him. So, that's who carried out the order to take Ezekiel out so Marcus could fill his place.”

“Ok.” I breathe out heavily. “Ok.” I’m grateful the man I love is not guilty of a crime he didn’t know he was committing.

A quiet rage simmers low in my belly that my father, before I was even old enough to remember him, was stolen so someone else could step into his shoes.

No doubt, if they knew of me, they would have killed me as a child.

I shake my head to clear the thoughts, it isn’t as though the French, my own family, had not treated me similarly, and they are my flesh and blood.

“What about maman?”

I watch his profile in the moonlight as he sits beside me.

There is not a twitch or flinch. “That I do not know. I spoke with my mother and we checked the records. We were required by decree to record the extinguishing of any vampires within the city in the days after the massacre, and there is no record of anyone from our side killing her. I don’t know what that means though. Who else would it have been, you know?”

A face, a cruel face twisted in excited pleasure at seeing people suffer, flashes before me. The face that haunts my dreams and my waking hours—the man who is still out there, capable of hurting all of us.

“Nicolas. I think maybe it was Nicolas.”

“But why though? She was his queen.” He watches me, confusion written on his face.

“You weren’t there, Bash. Fuck, you can’t fathom this man.

I can’t even describe him.” I shake my head to try and clear the soulless eyes from my memory.

“One minute, he was kind, charming. In seconds, a switch would flip and he would kill someone, or order me to be tortured for the tiniest made up infraction. And he wanted to be King. My mother was in his way. He only wanted me to secure his claim to my father’s seat.

The seat your uncle now holds. I think, when he realized you and I were going to do the binding, he panicked and tried to get me so that he could control me and use my name.

He hated that I was a hybrid. He may have hated my mother more because she was human. ”

Grabbing the back of my head, he crushes me to his chest, holding me so tight, it would have hurt if I was still a fragile human.

His body is shaking slightly. Letting go suddenly, he stands and walks to the other side of the cemetery.

I jump up to follow him, unsure of what is happening.

When he reaches the stone block perimeter fence, he unleashes his fury against the stones.

One solid punch sends a crack up the entire wall, causing bits of stone to tumble to the ground.

He lets out a pained cry from deep in his chest before landing another blow.

I feel my hair move slightly in a breeze before realizing Jack is standing next to me. I startle.

“Sorry darlin’. Didn’t mean to scare you. What’s happened to him? I felt his anger all the way across town.”

Wide-eyed, I stare at him. “Felt his anger?”

“Yeah, it’s part of the sire bond, he sired me so I can feel him,” tapping the side of his head, “up here.”

“Oh, can Sarah feel him too?”

“She can. But he’s been my best friend for 200 years; I’m a little more aware, I would guess. I wanted to make sure he was ok.”

“Oh, I was talking to him about Nicolas, at the house. I have a theory that he had something to do with my mother’s murder.” I wonder how much of Bash’s moods he can feel. Like, all of them? I don’t have a sire so I have no one to be tied to. I wonder if Bash and Vespera are connected?

“Ah. Yeah, he’s pretty torn up about the whole thing. And a little mad at himself that it took so long to find you. It’s his instinct to protect you, even when you can protect yourself.”

At that moment, Bash must hear us talking and he growls at Jack as he spins in our direction, abandoning his destruction.

Jack puts his hands up, placatingly. “Easy brother, I was worried about you.”

“I’m fine, Jack. We have to find him.” His knuckles and shirt are splattered with blood, but the skin is unbroken. I approach him slowly, making sure he is done with his display. Taking his hand and raising it to my mouth, I slowly lick the blood away, looking into his eyes as I go.

“And that's my cue.” Jack smirks, knowingly, before disappearing with a rustle.

A deep chuckle emanates from Bash’s chest. Picking me up, he wraps my legs around his waist. I feel his body tight against mine and kiss him. Pulling his tongue into my mouth, I suck on it gently, my fangs sliding out of my gums. Kissing my way down his jaw, I suck lightly against his pulse point.

“Bite me, Tesoro. I want to feel your teeth.” So I do, easing my fangs gently into the delicate skin covering his jugular, I pull hard on the blood flowing across my lips. He moans huskily in my ear, his dick hardening against my pelvis as he holds me wrapped around him.

Releasing his neck, I lick my lips and plant a kiss on his mouth, sharing the leftover blood with him.

“That was pretty hot, l’immortal,” I tell him, a huge grin plastered on my face. “Don’t hurt yourself because of that psychopath. We will find him, and he will have to face what he’s done.”

“Let’s go, little troublemaker.” He takes off at a quick pace, me still clinging to him and laughing the whole way.

“Hey, so, Jack mentioned something,” I say, a little shyly, walking beside him a short time later.

“Oh yeah, I can only imagine.” He rolls his eyes at me, making me laugh.

“He said he felt your anger across the city…”

“Yeah, we are bonded, through the sire bond. You will have a similar bond to me after we do Legame di Sangue.”

“Ok, but…how much can he feel?”

I know his eyes are searching my face as I try to appear uninterested in the answer. Suddenly, he doubles over in laughter, clutching his stomach like I’ve said the funniest thing he’s ever heard.

“You’re wondering if he can feel when we…” He lifts his eyebrows at me.

If I were capable of blushing as a vampire, my entire face would be flushed. “I mean, yeah, kind of. Stop laughing at me!”

Still chuckling, he nudges my shoulder. “Yes, baby, he can. But he can block it out. And he can’t really feel it physically, more like a rush of emotions. I can feel him too. It’s like—happiness. He only knows I’m really happy, or maybe pleased. But he can't read my mind or anything.”

“And Sarah too? What about your mother? You don’t have a sire.”

“Yes, to Sarah, and that one was hard to add to my brain once she turned because you were missing. But Ethan was not. And he spent a pretty fair amount of time trying to cheer her up.”

“Ew, Bash!” More laughter. I join in this time.

“But no, not Vespera. She’s not really my sire.

It’s weird, I guess, because it would make sense but no.

It feels natural to me, like an extension of myself, so I don’t pay a lot of attention to it.

But if Jack or Sarah were to be hurt, my nature, as their sire, would compel me to find them and make sure they’re ok.

The same way Jack felt compelled to hunt me down a few minutes ago.

When you were missing, I was in bad shape, baby.

Jack stuck pretty close to me, making sure I was ok.

He walked the city from sundown to sunrise every single night, until he smelled you in that sewer drain.

He was as obsessed as I was, but not only for me. For you too.”

“Why? Why would Jack care so much about me?”

“I don’t know exactly. He loves you. He loves you for my sake, but somewhere along the way, he loved you all on his own too.” My heart warms at his words. Knowing that we are building a life, a family gives me a sense of belonging I’ve never had. It’s always been grand-mere and I, plus Sarah.

“What happens when we do the ceremony?”

“From what I have been told, it should be relatively similar—you’ll be in my head, bound to me.

We will have a stronger connection than I do with Sarah and Jack though.

The binding, it’s soul deep. It’s a different sort of connection.

We won’t only be able to feel each other, we will be able to find each other.

Like I said, no one will ever take you from me again.

” Grabbing his hand we walk in silence for a while.

“When can we do it?”

“Whenever you’re ready, Tesoro Mio. Anytime.”