Page 83 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“He’s right.” I rubbed her leg, but she pushed me off.

“No! I have to do this. They wouldn’t want us to be doing any of this at all. They told you both to stay here and leave them there, but . . . I have to do this. It’s my decision.”

Her tone pricked at me, and it frayed in a way that wasn’t normal for her. There was anger in her eyes, and the usual blue pools were darker.

“Let’s go again.” She looked at Kilian.

“I really do advise against—”

“You know, I don’t care what you advise, Kilian. Please. Start the chant again.”

Presley and I shared a worried look. He stayed at her feet next to us as she grabbed the dagger again and closed her eyes.

The chant started, and my muscles tightened. I didn’t know what to expect, and my imagination ranged from Kimberly turning into the mega Hulk and hurling me across the room to falling into a coma. I forced myself to stop thinking and focus on her heartbeat instead. It beat steadily and picked up speed when a white film overtook her eyes as she stared off into the distance. One of her hands gripped the dagger, and the other wason my forearm. Minutes passed again, much slower this time. Slow enough for me to notice the feet shifting on the floor and a grandfather clock in the other room ticking away.

A sudden change in her heartbeat pulled me back to her.

In seconds, her chest heaved and tears streamed down her face, and those tears turned into a sobbing.

“Kimberly.” I grabbed both shoulders and shook her. “That’s enough.”

She kept sobbing, shrieking, and shaking while she white-knuckled the dagger in her hand.

I grabbed her face in my hands. “Come back to me. Please.”

I was seconds away from ripping the dagger from her grasp when she blinked and her blue eyes returned. She fell into my arms sobbing.

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” I held her tightly and stroked the top of her head, but she wouldn’t stop crying.

Was she still in pain? Was it something she saw? Something It did to her?

I kissed her forehead, soothing her the best I could manage. “I’m sorry. We should never have tried this.”

“No,” she said between sobs, clutching my shirt. “Aaron . . . I saw the future. You were dead.”

My stomach sank at her words. I probably should have been more concerned than I was, but all I cared about was how upset she was. I’d never seen her so undone.

“You can’t go there. You can’t.”

“Hey, I’m right here. It’s okay.” I pulled her off the chair and guided her out of the room. “We’re done here.”

“Wait,” Kilian called.

“Touch her, and I take that arm,” I warned him. Every nerve in my body was on fire. The room remained silent, aside from Kimberly’s sobs. Presley was next to her, also trying to soothe her, but her heart hammered erratically.

I needed to get her away from here. Away from everything.

Thirty-Five

Kimberly

I cried the entire way home, with my face buried in Presley’s sweater while he rubbed my back. The tears were relentless, and any attempt to stifle them was futile. Nothing in my life had everbroken me like the image of seeing Aaron dead and cold on the ground.

The image was too vivid and specific to be fake. It was real.

Aaron would die.

None of us said anything on the drive back to the cabin, and I was surprised how quickly the time had passed when the car door opened.