Page 127 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“Did you get the popcorn for movie night?” Mom asked.

“Extra butter just like you . . .” The bag hit the floor, and its contents scattered and spewed onto the hardwood.

His eyes widened and he keeled over, holding a hand to his chest. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes until he was sobbing.

I was already near him, holding him and trying to get him up to speak to me, but he was inconsolable. Only uttering under his breath.

“Something’s wrong.” He looked up at me with red eyes. “Something happened. Something bad.”

“Did something hurt you?”

“Not me! It’s them! They’re hurt. It’s Zach or Luke . . . or both. I don’t know. Something is wrong.” He fell into my chest again, sobbing harder. “It hurts. It hurts.”

His hands fisted in his hair as he writhed in agony.

Fear coursed through me at what was happening to him, urging me to find the solution.

“It’s going to be okay, Pres. I’ll fix it.”

“You don’t feel that?” He hiccuped. “Why don’t you feel it?”

I hadn’t noticed the weight in my chest was gone. That constant pain had vanished. I felt nothing at seeing my brother cry, other than normal sadness and the urge to kill whatever wascausing him that much pain. There was no ache of any kind. No stabbing or aching.

I didn’t feel the bond anymore.

“They need help. Something is wrong. We can’t leave them there.”

I squeezed him tighter. “We will. I promise. We’re going to be together soon, and this will all be over.”

Presley sobbed into my shoulder for at least twenty minutes. Then Mom went into protective mode and scooped him up and had him sit with her next to the fire.

All three of us sat with him until he quieted, but when it stopped, he wasn’t the same. This was different from the times before. Presley’s eyes had gone vacant as he stared into the fire. The only thing that shook him from that state was Sarah nuzzling his legs.

Something was wrong, and I had to find out what. No more waiting.

Fifty-Six

Aaron

Kimberly squeezed my hand as I recited play by play back to Kilian. This time we sat in the living room without an audience. Everyone else was too busy preparing for the battle that could begin at any notice.Wait for the lights.A helpful note, but how long could we wait? My brothers needed me.

“Then Presley freaked out and grabbed his chest from the pain of the bond. He said it was so intense, and I felt . . . I felt nothing.”

Kilian stalked toward me. “What does it usually feel like for you?”

“Like pressure. Like my heart is bruised. And it’s gotten worse before to the point I’ve been on my knees. But this time I didn’t feel even an ache. It was like . . . he had all of it or something.”

Kilian nodded and excused himself without another word while Kimberly and I sat alone on the couch hand in hand. The clock on the wall ticked by slowly. Outside the window were blankets of snow cast in shadows from the clouds.The lights. Maybe it was referring to the weather.

All my extra seconds went to figuring out my dream riddle or the cryptic message Cecily had said. I’d entertained it at all because it came from Cecily, and after hearing Kim’s interactions with her during the ritual, I was willing to try to believe her words.

Kilian shot into the living room quickly enough that Kimberly and I flinched. In his hands sat another wooden box, and I knew what was coming because I’d seen it before.

“You kept the vial of the queen’s blood.” The sight of it had nearly brought my brothers to their knees.

“I want to test something.”

It wasn’t a question. He cared very little about my protest as he went to open it.