Page 128 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“Wait!” Kimberly choked out.

I braced for the magnetism of the queen’s blood, but as the box opened and my gaze settled on the black liquid, I felt . . . nothing.

“I don’t feel anything.”

“Nothing at all?” His eyes widened. “Would you taste it?”

“Aaron, no.” Kim grabbed my forearm, her brows knitted with worry.

“It’s okay. It’s just a little. I can handle it.”

I had to try. The look in Kilian’s eyes was beckoning me and told me he was onto something. I hoped it was good.

From the bottle, I drew a singular drop onto my finger. I sniffed the open air, then licked it off. It might as well have been water. There was no reaction from my body at all.

I shook my head. “It doesn’t taste like anything I remember.”

Kilian’s nostrils flared, and he let out a laugh. Crazed and exhilarated.

“What’s so funny?”

“I didn’t think it was true. There was no way to know. No way to test it out.”

“Test what?” Kimberly pulled at my arm, away from Kilian and the blood.

“There was a poem. The story of a man obsessed with a beautiful, mystical woman, but when he gave his heart to another woman, he was able to break the curse and fled with his lover. I believed it to be unrelated, or perhaps I was misinterpreting it.”

“But how? We’ve been together all this time,” I said.

I’d given my heart to Kimberly long ago, and I’d still felt the effects of Akira’s blood.

“Has something changed between you two?” Kilian’s eyes narrowed. “Anything.”

Kimberly and I shared a glance. There was one thing. I wondered if I should say it. Kilian already knew more about me than I cared for him to know, but I guess that was part of the sacrifice.

Kimberly spoke first. “We . . . did share blood recently. That’s new.”

“The mingling of lovers’ blood . . . You created a bond. A bond that is stronger,” Kilian mumbled.

He studied us, probably putting the pieces together in his head. It all sounded far-fetched for me, something out of a story book, but everything in my world was like that.

“So, this means . . . Aaron’s immune to the effects of the queen’s blood,” Kimberly said.

“More than that. He will be immune to Her completely. He’ll likely be able to be around Her with no issues.”

“This is good, right?” I asked.

“This is monumental.” I swear a tear formed in Kilian’s eye. “And it just confirms what I already knew. It’s time.”

He turned to address only me. “This is what I was waiting for. This is how we will save your brothers. She has no power over you anymore. The risk of bringing you to the battlefield has finally been alleviated.”

I looked at Kim, whose eyes widened in relief at the news.

“Then it’s time. We’re going.” It wasn’t really a question.

“A last-minute decision is our best route. We should expel your memory of the knowledge of this before we make way.”

“Wait. No,” I said.