Page 32 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“Why are you so angry at me?” I was trying my best to understand him. I’d taken a full five minutes to prepare for our conversation by composing myself and thinking of what Luke would do. He never lost his cool and didn’t get snippy unless he was extremely stressed out. I needed to be a better brother than I’d been and be patient.

“I don’t know. I’m just angry and I’m sad. And my chest hurts. Like all day long, and it just doesn’t let up. It’s like that all day, and I can’t even nap or anything to get a break from it, so I just hurt all the time now. I just . . . I hate it.”

“My chest hurts too. It got worse when you left.”

“Yeah, I thought it did.” He’d briefly explained his adventure with the dogs, but something else was bothering him, and I didn’t think he’d tell me.

“You can be mad at me if you want.”

“What?” He stopped picking at an unraveled thread on the quilt.

“I’ll be your punching bag if it makes you feel better. I just want you to talk to me, and I want you to not run off where I can’t find you.”

When I couldn’t find Presley after thirty minutes, Kimberly had to remind me no one knew where we were. The likeliness of him being taken was slim but not zero. I couldn’t even imagine him disappearing. I’d never forgive myself.

He nodded. “Okay.”

“It’s going to be okay. This is temporary. I’m going to get them back. I promise.”

He lifted his head. “Really?”

“I swear. I’m going to make it happen.”

If there wasn’t a path, I’d forge one. I didn’t care what or who was standing in my way. Nothing, not even a vampire queen, would stop me. I had the confidence but not the skill. I was stillkind of hoping the skill followed heroic declarations like in the movies.

We moved to the kitchen where Mom and Kimberly had prepped dinner. The smell of thyme and baked bread filled the air. I snuck a kiss to Kimberly’s cheek. Now when she blushed, I remembered the taste of her. It was strange, like memorizing the sound of her heartbeat. The strangeness grew with age, I guess.

Presley had given Kimberly a hug immediately when he came home, and she accepted his very solemn apology.

At the dinner table, he took a seat next to Kimberly, and I sat across from him. The simmer pot wafted steam into the air, and the butter melted on the loaf of bread. Mom was still cooking like we could eat with her.

“So, Mom, I have something to ask.”

“Okay . . .” She sat at the table, and anxiously arranged her silverware.

“To find Zach and Luke, we need to find The Legion.”

“The one that locked you in the room?” she asked.

“Yep,” Presley answered.

“Kilian did. He’s the leader.”

“And this is the one you were trying to escape from before the fire?”

“Right again, Mom,” Presley said.

I gave him a warning glance, and Mom sipped her tea.

“Yes, it’s risky, but it’s the only option. They know all the history of the cult. We need them to help us.”

“And you think they’ll just do what you say because you ask them nicely?”

Kimberly stepped in.Thank god.“No, but they need us because of the connection the boys have to the leaders of the cult. We need them. We won’t be able to find the twins without their help.”

She said what we all knew. It wasn’t just improbable without The Legion, it was impossible. We had no choice.

“What’s your favor?” Mom asked.