Page 157 of This Blood that Bonds Us

Kilian would win, and I wouldn’t let it happen.

“Kilian!” Sirius’s voice carried in the breeze. The moon hung between them in the twilight. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“I know.” Kilian squared his shoulders.

“We have a score to settle.”

They stood like statues, and silence settled between them like there was nothing else to say.

In the blink of an eye, their bodies collided. I’d never seen anything like it. Full out fighting from the most powerful vampires I’d ever known. Likely some of the strongest left on earth. Kilian flung Sirius into the side of the castle, and the stone cracked. Another blink and Sirius had his arms around Kilian, but he countered quickly and they separated. They were an even match physically, but it was evident Sirius was stronger in technique. As soon as Kilian would get close to Sirius, he’d find himself on the ground. It would be hard for them to get a bite in.

Hands squeezed my shoulders from behind, and I stepped back to knock them off balance. As I spun around to face my attacker, Felix dropped his hand.

“Shit, Aaron, I almost didn’t recognize you,” Felix said with a toothy smile. It quickly fell from his lips as he spied my brother.

“Felix,” Zach said.

“Calem.” They circled each other with straightened shoulders. Zach’s face went deadpan. All that talk with Kilian didn’t help.

“Wait, we want the same things.”

We did at the heart of it. We all wanted this to be over. My brother, my actual brother, wanted this to end. The Zach I knew in Blackheart didn’t want to care for Her. It was all a lie.

“What if I said I’m going to kill that witch bitch in the cathedral. What do you say to that, Calem?”

“I’d say you’d never even make it in the building.” My brother was deadly still.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Don’t do this,” I pleaded.

Zach pushed me. “If you’re not going to help, move.”

Zach would fight for the queen, and Felix was a good fighter, but I’d fought him. He wouldn’t beat my brother.

“Felix, he isn’t thinking straight. Don’t. Just leave.”

“Sorry, Aaron. I didn’t have the heart to tell you it would probably end up this way. Your brothers were never going to listen. Even if you had the time . . . they’re a lost cause. That’s what The Family does. They corrupt everyone they touch.”

Zach snickered and threw off his jacket. Felix bounced with excitement at the challenge, and I looked out across the field, trying to see past the garden arch. I still didn’t see Halina or Dom.

“See, this is the Zach I remember. Cocky smile. No sense of humor.”

Zach licked his teeth. “I remember you too. You’re weak on your left and you rush too early.”

Felix frowned.

“I remember you’re not good enough to beat me.”

“Let’s put it to the test.”

I stumbled back as their fighting began. It took seconds for Zach to tear into Felix’s shoulder. He wasn’t just focused, he wasferal. I’d never seen him so bloodthirsty. Felix rushed, and with a kick, Zach cracked something in Felix’s knee. When he stumbled, Zach kneed him in the back and laughed when he fell.

It was too much.

My brother was a monster.

I had to stop it. I had—