Page 146 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“She doesn’t like you, you know? You’re just a blip. A blip in time, and you mean nothing. That’s what She said when I asked Her about you. When I showed Her you and everything we’ve done together.”

“You showed Her?”

“I had to. She needed to see everything. I hide nothing from Her. The only way to ascend is to surrender, and She says I’m close. Not long now and I’ll ascend just like Zach and Luke.”

I tried to move, and a soft cry left my lips.

“You shouldn’t move around. You’ll just make this harder on everyone. Especially me. Why did you come, knowing this would happen? Knowing I’d be like this and I’d have to eliminate you from my life. Why did you do that to me?” There was a soft pleading in his voice.

“I came to save you. I’d never want to hurt you. You know that.”

He shook his head and slammed his hands on the table, making me jolt.

“You’re lying!” He reached down, twisting the dagger in my leg. Tears spilled down my cheeks.

I grabbed his hand smeared with my blood, and he didn’t pull away.

It was worse than any nightmare. Worse than dying. The pulsing pain in my leg was nothing compared to seeing my best friend change and suffer before my eyes. That pain bubbled over into anger. It replaced the lump in my throat with bile I wanted to spit on the ground.

“It felt right. It made sense. But you’re here. I don’t understand. Why is this so hard? She said nothing would hurt anymore, but you’re crying . . . and now I feel . . . You’re not supposed to matter. Why do you matter? You’re just a girl. One stupid girl.”

Tear after tear fell as the blood from my leg seeped into my pants. Tears gathered in his eyes too. We were still connected somehow.

“This is how it has to be . . . right?” Presley’s eyes softened. “We all can’t exist here. You knew that, but you came anyway. You came here for me . . . for us.”

“I’d always come for you. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here with you.” I said it slowly, breathing through the blinding pain in my leg.

“You can’t mean that. After everything, you don’t mean it. Don’t lie.”

“I’m not lying.”

His face grew redder, and his tears turned into sobs. “Stop.”

“Remember the patch of land with the little cabins. And you were going to put yours next to mine. And you told me you were going to paint something cool over the door. Daisies and dandelions, we said. We can still do those things. That dream isn’t gone forever. I’m still here. And we’re going to be together again. Away from this place.”

Tears fell from his cheeks and onto the linen. He leaned forward, grabbing the handle of the dagger and pulled it from my leg in one quick swipe. There was a slight relief, but the pain made me tremble.

“Stop, Kim. Stop.” Something in me broke at the mention of my name.

“I love you, Presley. It’s going to be okay. Don’t cry. We can fix this.”

It was a relief when the door opened. Luke emerged, and I was sure all the color drained out of the room. He looked ghastly with dark circles under his eyes and a determined, stern expression. My memory of him in the forest, when he’d entrusted me with his brothers, replayed in my head.

“Luke . . .” My voice broke. I’d scarcely realized how much I’d missed seeing him. I’d missed his sureness. His strength. His help. God, I’d missed his help.

But what I remembered of him was long gone. There was no warmth left in his skin or his smile. In three months, he’s been gutted from the inside out, leaving someone I didn’t recognize.

He didn’t look at me. Not even a brief glance. He was less than an arm’s distance away. I could have touched his jacket, yet I feared the man standing before me.

“Hey, it’s all right.” He grabbed Presley’s face in his hands.

He sounded like Luke. It was all still in there. The warmth. The love he held for his brothers. So unbelievably real and visceral I almost forgot about the pain in my leg.

“No. No. No. She can’t be here. I need to kill her, and I can’t. I can’t. She’s not supposed to be here.” He wiped his face, where my blood stained his cheeks.

“You don’t need to do anything. It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.” He pulled Presley to his chest and kissed the top of his head.

“Luke.” I tried to make my voice stronger this time, but he ignored me.