Page 13 of This Blood That Breaks Us

“We’re ready.” Fire ignited in my veins as I said it. The moment was finally here, and I wouldn’t cower or run away.Fate, here I come.

The cathedral was on the other side of the castle. Its flying buttresses towered into the night sky but didn’t quite make it to the height of the castle. Sirius explained they weren’t connected as he walked us toward the back until we stood in front of a large set of double doors. The stone of the cathedral was gray, but the door was a warm mahogany. Sitting above it, a stained-glass window was illuminated by the light inside. I couldn’t decipher it, but it reminded me of my art history class and looked like a nymph bathing in a pond.

The doors to the cathedral opened. At the back, a tall stained-glass window overlooked the building with high ceilings decorated in the most intricate painted art.

She stood at the foot of a set of stairs near a chair fit for a queen. Her hair was a white blanket at Her shoulders, and Shehad a sheer ivory fabric draped across Her thin frame. I swore Her eyes darted to me first.

A wave of emotion anchored my feet to the floor until I was kneeling. My body shook from the weight of it. I wanted to run to Her. To feel Her. To apologize. To hide in Her shadow.

Zach placed a hand on my shoulder and bowed next to me. He met my eyeline. Only, he had desperation in his eyes, like he was hoping to see something in me. Something strong and sure. It was enough for me to straighten my shoulders and face Her head-on.

The emotion surging inside me was a feeling, and feelings weren’t truth. It would pass.

The lace hem of Her dress trailed after Her with a long fabric train, and the ivory fabric fell from Her arms. Her slender fingers brushed a hair out of Her eyes. And Her lips . . .

Why had I been so afraid? Why had I wanted to be anywhere else but here?

Her irises, cloudy and gray, stayed steadily on me, and I waited for beautiful words to come from Her glorious lips.

“Welcome home.”

Could words sever a soul from a body? They cut deep in my marrow and sinews. I tried to fight the pull, but Her words were ink to page.

“How was your journey?” She stopped looking at me to turn to Ezra, and the absence of Her attention left me empty.

“Eventful. Akira did well. He served his purpose with honor.”

“And honored he shall be.”

She stepped toward me, and I froze. How long had I waited for this moment? All that pacing around in my room in agony for this small sliver of time in the universe. I’d thought it had been fear. Disgust. But those words didn’t exist in this place.

Her cool fingers caressed my cheek, and my chest seized.

“That’s enough,” Zach snapped.

“You dare speak out of turn?” Sirius said.

I couldn’t stop looking at Her and feeling the ecstasy of Her skin on mine. I never wanted it to end.

“It’s all right, Sirius. Let them get their bearings. You may all speak as freely as you wish.”

Her thumb moved along the stubble on my jaw. I wasn’t moving. I was Hers. Entirely. Completely.

“I missed you,” She said in a whisper. “You look well.”

My whole body was hot. My only thought was that I wanted Her to never stop touching me.

“I-I missed you too.” I didn’t know if I meant it.

“I mean it. Stop.” Zach moved closer, but Ezra grabbed his shoulder. “Touch me again, and I’ll take your fucking arm off.”

His aggravation broke me from the trance, and I pulled away.

“It’s fine, Ezra. He won’t hurt me. He worries for his brother.”

When She moved away, all the air got sucked out of the room, but I was grounded again. She reached toward my brother, and he flinched with gritted teeth.

“Don’t.”