Page 134 of This Blood That Breaks Us

“It’s nice to see you. I knew you’d come looking.”

“What did you do to him?” I repeated.

“I didn’t do anything. I’ve helped him sleep. Going out to the bar is tiring business. I’ll wake him if you’d like.”

“No. Let him sleep.”

At least he was getting some peace in his sleep. I wondered if he’d even feel the bond when he woke up or if he’d feel that same numbness I had.

“Do you want to join? You look tired.” Her hand grazed the inside of my jacket, and I stumbled toward Her. “Of course, you’ll need to shower first. Filthy business you were up to.”

I stepped back. “No. I’ll wait for him outside.”

She wouldn’t give me answers, and every minute I was with Her alone, I’d lose my resolve.

Suit yourself.

A smirk danced on Her lips. She wanted a reaction out of me, but I wouldn’t give it. Not with my brother so close to Her and Her having all the power.

I let the door shut behind me, leaned against it, then slid to the floor. Pulling a cigarette between my lips and inhaling the smoke was the only relief I had from the tightness in my chest.

I thought the bond was gone, but it was there. Or rather, it was still there for me. What did that mean? I knew one thing. If it wasn’t Her that hurt him and Sirius wasn’t there, it left one person, and I would find him after my brother woke up. I took a long drag of my cigarette and let the smoke fill the air around me. It would give me time to think and stew on how much I hated myself for letting them hurt my brother again.

I needed to find Will too and apologize for being an asshole. And Thane, where the fuck was Thane? I couldn’t move. Not till Luke was up. He’d need someone to be there for him, and I wouldn’t let him down again.

I stared at the wallpaper for what could have been days, but I think it was only a few hours. I don’t know why I thought hell would be fun. It was wishful thinking that I’d get at least one good night out if it. And it had been. I guess that’s the thing about eternal torment, every bit of good is met with twice the bad.

The door opened, and Luke ignored me.

Okay, deserved.He was probably pissed at me for leaving him.

I caught up to him quickly. “Luke, talk to me. What happened at the bar? Are you okay?”

His brows drew together, and his shoulders went rigid. “Nothing happened. I feel fine. Is there something wrong with you?”

“Bullshit. What about the blood all over your shirt?”

“What blood? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She wiped his memory of it. I wasn’t sure what shocked me more, that or the fact that even when he didn’t remember what happened, the pain was still there. All under the surface waiting to be felt and shared.

“When I left early with a girl. What did you do?”

“I went home. That was it.”

I stared at him for a moment. It was bad. It was really bad. How much did she take? Why?

“What about the girl? The one who looked like Sarah, what happened there?”

“Who is Sarah?”

My blood ran cold. Of course. Of fucking course. Sarah. She took the memory of Sarah. Something happened to Luke last night, and that something had to be so terrible he’d went to Her for help. My head spun. Why Sarah?

“No one. Sorry. You’re feeling okay, though? You’re not sad about . . . missing our brothers or anything, right?”

“Why would I be?”

Okay, he remembered them. It was a good sign, but there was something off about his entire demeanor. He was giving me majorfuck offeyes. If She’d taken the memory of Sarah from his life completely, that meant She took a lot. So much of Luke’s childhood was wrapped up in Sarah, and all of the things he enjoyed and wanted to do. If the queen took all of that away, then that meant She took a lot of his pain. The pain of Sarah’s death. The thing that pushed us both forward and reminded us of who the queen really was despite the draw of Her blood.