Page 117 of This Blood that Bonds Us

All alone.

I didn’t know how I knew. Chalk it up to mystical daggers and magical blood bonds, but it was real. It crashed into me, and my head fell into my hands as I cried. Crying was an annoying side effect of being here, but the longer I cried, the more I wondered if it helped them.

I held on to the weight of it and rolled into bed. Sarah jumped up beside me and licked my tears. I buried my head into the fur of her neck. She needed a new name, but dog Sarah remindedme I could never forget the real Sarah and the person she was. She needed me to remember her.

Maybe that’s how I helped my brothers . . .

Maybe I needed to cry so they didn’t have to.

Maybe I need to be sad so they could keep going.

Then I’d cry all day and sit with all the anger.

It had to besomeone’sfault. There had to be a reason the pain wasn’t ending and wasn’t getting easier. I didn’t want to think about what Hell Bitch was doing to my brothers.

I wanted them home.

Fifty-Two

Kimberly

How much longer did I have? Finding a way to help everyone in battle was the most important thing, and still, I had nothing. Anzola must have known I was desperate. Desperate enough to gather on the day of the eclipse and try the dagger one last time.

The whole house was in a flurry. The usual group gathered with us in the library. Felix, Dom, and Halina. Kilian was seated as usual and studying with careful observation. It was quiet. The usual casual chatter disappeared weeks ago. The battle was close. It could be any day, and we were all tired.

Tired of gathering in the library.

Tired of rituals.

Tired of planning.

“I think . . . this energy will be different today. If I’m correct, it should be just as Cecily said. Stronger.” Anzola had set up candles on the floor, and she moved to each with precision and a whispered prayer under her breath. “Lay here.”

Aaron helped me to the floor. He was oddly quiet, and his attention stayed on Anzola as she glided from one side of the room to another.

“We’ll wait for the eclipse to head directly over the island. It should be any minute now.”

Anzola kneeled in front of me. “I want you to recite the words this time.”

“Me?”

She nodded. “Testing something. We’ll recite them together.”

I recognized all the Latin words she said even if I didn’t know what they meant. I’d heard Kilian recite them over and over, and I’d been practicing them. I did as she said, listening for the exact pronunciation.

Aaron placed the dagger in my hand, and I grabbed the handle, focusing on the weight. The sharp memory of the hilt sticking out from the middle of his chest sliced through me.

I hoped Cecily could show me something better.

With a smearing of blood on the dagger, I did as Anzola had taught me. I lay back on the floor with the dagger in my hand and recited the words. It sounded like an old song—ancient and lyrical.

I closed my eyes and willed it to take me.Cecily, I want to speak with you. Show me where you are.

Minutes must have passed without my recollection because when I opened my eyes, I was somewhere else. At the bank of a pond surrounded by fog and a bluish-green haze. The pond was surrounded by lanterns burning with fire and men lined up by the water.

A haze of white thrashing came into my view. Cecily was restrained and shoved into the wet grass that dirtied her legs and dress. She screamed and flailed as they tied a rope around her hands and dragged her toward the water.

The crowd muttered in a dull roar.