Page 119 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“You would have made such a beautiful queen. You have enough hate.”

I said nothing. Every attempt to move only brought it closer to my face, centimeter by centimeter.

“The lonely girl destined to be alone for eternity.”

The laugh that left its chest sent a jolt of electricity through me. I couldn’t be scared here, but I knew I needed to run.

“What are you saying?”

“If you had taken the gift I offered, you’d feel nothing but bliss. And instead, I get to play with you and take away everything you care about. Lonely girl.”

“Stop that.”

“Lonely girl. It’s written in the stars. Can you read them? I can. Kimberly Burns. You live many lifetimes feeling empty and unwanted.”

“It’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? Can you read them? No, you can’t, mortal. But I do. I read them over and over. And you are the most nothing I’ve ever seen. You don’t matter. In every timeline, you mean nothing. You die alone. And them . . . those boys you call family . . . are mine. I take them from you, and it’s oh so good. All the goodness and love and innocence. It’s mine. And I’ll have fun squeezing it out of them. Every delicious drop until my thirst is finally quenched.”

“No.”

“Yes.” It smiled back at me. “And your Aaron is my favorite. The things that man can do . . . He is quite the lover. And soon, she’ll have her hands all over him. Or we will. It’s all the same.”

I shouldn’t have felt anything, but suddenly, my body was hot. Burning hot.

The Thing motioned to the water I’d hardly remembered we were standing by. Cecily was there face down. This place wasn’t real. It was all an illusion. I was seeing what It wanted me to see, and I needed to get out.

It was close again, and my skin grew warmer.

“You really thought I wouldn’t find out about you using the dagger to try to speak to the stars.”

“It worked,” I said. “They do speak to me.”

It frowned. “In normal circumstances, I’d make you a deal. Like me and Cecily have. She didn’t have to accept the ritual. None of them do. They can choose death instead. But she had so much hate. Beautiful, glorious hate. And now she tortures men for eternity, and I get what I need.”

Blood. Love. Goodness. This Thing devoured life itself. That’s what fueled It. She needed them like we needed blood to survive.

I spoke slowly. The heat under my skin only rising by the second. “It bothers you, doesn’t it? That I lived? Something is happening that you’re afraid of.”

“Why would I be afraid of something as insignificant as you? Are you not hearing me? It’s written in the stars. They are mine. You can’t save him. Or . . . maybe you don’t want to do the things that would keep him safe. What if your precious lover’s only chance at surviving is spending eternity with me? Did you ever think that?”

“I think . . . you want me to be scared because you’re scared.”

The figure said nothing. Its long hair tickled the skin on my face, but I didn’t shrink or cower.

Then I understood. As long as I had the dagger, I was connected to the queen.

They couldn’t leave the island because they neededmeand the dagger, and all Her servants needed Her. We had them cornered. They had nothing to do but wait for us to arrive.

“I’ll see you soon,” we said it at the same time.

It reached for me, and I reached for It, then the room was black.

When I opened my eyes, Aaron stood before me. His back was turned, and his shoulders were tight and rigid while he gripped the dagger and eyed Anzola. The entire room was . . . destroyed.

Everyone was on the ground. Halina was helping Felix out of a bookcase that was cracked in half. Anzola stood behind Kilian, who stood on the defensive.

I tried to grasp everything faster to find the danger Aaron had detected.