Page 27 of This Blood that Bonds Us

She wanted to go. Mom loved work. It was something I never understood. No one likes work, but no matter how exhausted she was by the end of the day, she’d come through the door with a smile. Something about helping sick people brought her joy. I didn’t get it, but she always said,“One day you’ll find something that brings you as much joy. And you’ll understand.”

Now that was just comical.

“We can’t let people suffer because we want to see Mom,” Aaron said.

“Debatable. I haven’t seen her in almost a year.”

“I’ll be back by dinner. I promise. Kimberly, if you need anything, I have makeup, clothes, shampoo, conditioner. Everything I have is yours. Go nuts. But boys, stay out of my room.”

More nostalgia hit me as Mom neared the door in her scrubs with a packed lunch in hand. Her hair was perfectly slicked back in a bun out of her face. I was certain there wasn’t that much gray in her hair last year.

I wanted to talk to her and catch up on everything I’d missed. If there was anything I’d learned, it was that a lot could change in a matter of months. Maybe she had new hobbies or a boyfriend. Or a secret new love of romance novels. Whatever it was, I wanted to hear about it.

“Thank you,” Kimberly said right before Mom blew a kiss and scurried out the door.

“So, how was your guys’ swanky new cabin?”

“Cold,” they said at the same time.

We gathered in the living room by the fire. I’d kept it going through the night while I avoided my bedroom and watched TV till the sun was up.

“Okay. So, Kimberly and I were talking last night, and we agreed we needed a plan. Zach and Luke aren’t here, and I’m sure we can all agree it’s up to us to find them. The three of us are their last hope.”

“Yep.” I edged a little closer to the fire. My chest hurt more than it did yesterday. It was so deep I felt it in my back.

I waited for him to get to the point.

“Then the question is, how do we find them?”

I planned on telling them about the phone number in my pocket, I did, but first, I wanted to hear all our options. Aaron would freak out when I told him about the phone call, and I’d silently prepared myself for that during commercial breaks.

“I have an idea that I’m certain neither of you will like,” Kimberly said while pulling her hair into a bun—Kimberly Burns with black hair was kick-ass. “We need to find The Legion.”

That snapped me out of my daydreams.

“Kim, did you forget about them locking everyone up and kidnapping us?”

“Let her talk,” Aaron said.

“No. But I spent all night thinking through every possibility, and I’m certain it’s our best option. They’ve been tracking the coven for centuries. They may even know where their new location is. The Legion knows their histories, their patterns, their strengths . . . weaknesses. We know nothing. Even if by some miracle we find some type of clue to lead us to Zach andLuke, we won’t be able to do anything about it because it’s just the three of us. We need help.”

“We can’t trust them. They don’t have hearts, Kim. I’m pretty sure Kilian is the tin man,” I said.

“You’re right. But we need them. And they need us. We’re their last bit of connection to the queen. Kilian is closer than he’s ever been to bringing them down. Plus, they have Will. And we know that Kilian kept Will safe more than the others. We might be able to strike a deal.”

“This is stupid.” I stood up.

Aaron growled, “It’s not stupid. She’s right.”

“You don’t know that. What happens when they decide to lock us up and do experiments on us? Or they put us in a cage and serve us up as bait?”

I could see it all play out perfectly as they stuffed us in their creeper van.

“This is different than before. Kilian didn’t know how important the twins were to The Family.” Kimberly’s voice was so calm and rational it was giving me a headache.

My blood was boiling over with anxious energy, and I had a lump in my throat that matched the weight in my chest.

“There’s got to be a better option than that.”