Page 103 of This Blood That Breaks Us

He didn’t spend the entirety of the night pacing in the room, thinking of Her. Why did She offer Her blood? It created an itch I couldn’t scratch.

I sighed. “What’s all the fuss about, anyway? We’re ascending. Doesn’t mean much for any of you.”

“It means everything, sir. The Guard is becoming whole again, and roles will shift. We’re coming into a new era of power. Things are aligning in our favor, and The Divine is on our side. Some say She’ll do more miracles and we’ll find lost brothers from all over who would have never found our family. That your bond will draw us closer together, and we’ll be able to serve Her better than ever before. You’re both ushering in a new generation. Who knows what we’ll be able to accomplish with you both leading us?”

Connell talked so fast his lips could barely keep up.

Luke looked at me with his eyebrows drawn. The last thing I needed was Luke worried or thinking. Thinking too hard about all this was much worse. Sometimes, the answer was to go with the flow.

“Fine. Let’s go jump around the fire and sing ancient ritual songs. Sounds like a fucking blast.”

Luke’s smirk turned into a radiant smile.

“I can’t wait to tell them Your Justness is coming! Oh, and Luke The Great, they’ll be so pleased.”

“Stop calling me that when I’m around,” I said.

“But I can when you’re not around, sir?”

“Knock yourself out.”

“I-I don’t think I’m able to, sir.”

“I think it’s quiet time, Connell.”

The night air was bone chilling next to the cliffside, and that was after I asked for another coat. All this shit about not getting cold as a vampire was bullshit. It wouldn’t kill me, and I wouldn’t shiver, but it didn’tfeelgood. Nothing in this place felt good.

I couldn’t believe I was sitting next to the fire with brainwashed, unstable scumbags. I guess I was a brainwashed, unstable scumbag too, but at least I knew that’s what I was. Most of them had no idea. Luke sat next to me looking way too excited to be a part of whatever the hell the ritual was. No one here had ever heard of a lawn chair. They’d taken their nice dining room chairs and set them up in the grass and dirt. Mom would have had a fit.

Poor Will would probably have to clean them. It wasn’t as fun giving him a hard time anymore since the queen was torturing him. He’d had another bad day, and Thane thought it would be better if they got locked in for the night. Doubted rituals would have been his thing anyway.

“Tonight is a very special night.” Henderson got up and spoke with a wine bottle in his hand. “Not only do we devote ourselves to our glorious queen as we celebrate the coming of the dark sun—just as it was foretold, but we get to share it with two of The Guard. I can’t put into words the honor of being present for your origin story into our family and to see you both grow into your roles. It’s a privilege I don’t take lightly. You’ll usher us into a glorious era.”

Luke and I shared the same look of wide-eyed amusement. It was a little funny. We were used to the strangeness by now, and laughing was better than crying. It’s possible we were cracking a bit. We should have been asking questions, turning up tables, and causing a scene, probably. Why were Luke and I the chosen ones? What was this “new era” they spoke of? I knew the answers they told me, but was any of it true?

“In two days, our family will be complete. The dark sun will come, and we’ll all be one.”

“I didn’t know he was so poetic.” I snickered to Luke.

He gave me thebe nicelook but smiled. Fun, unserious Luke was coming out to play, which meant weird cult ritual or not, it would be a night to remember.

“I’ll never forget the night Akira found me standing in a subway in New York. It’s a long story I’ll have to tell you both sometime but . . . I thought I was alone and my life was over, but he came out of the shadows and showed me a greater life with purpose. This family is all I’ve ever had, and we’re all exceedingly blessed to spend it with both of you. To you.”

He held up a wineglass, and they made a toast.

“Here. Take some of the wine. Guests of honor drink from the bottle.” Henderson handed the bottle to Luke, and he chugged a good bit of it.

“Well, ya were only supposed to drink a sip,” Connell said with a coy smile. “We should have said so.”

“Fuck it.” I grabbed the bottle and downed the rest.

There were loud cheers mixed with pounding and stomping on the dirt coming from our harmonious brotherhood. I kinda wanted to be like them. Under the spell and immersed into the bond. That could be what Ascension would mean for us.

I may not have gotten straight answers, but there were things I knew for sure. The thought of leaving the queen made my stomach turn, and being bonded to my brother hurt physically and mentally. I couldn’t deny those things like I couldn’t deny the fact that trying to fight this fate was futile.

Maybe all those guys were right. We were chosen. Somehow blessed with some bond that would make the brotherhood stronger and serve Her better and for longer. That meant the prophecy was real. It meant the entire thing was.

“Please, sir, if you’d both take your shirts off.”