Page 28 of This Blood That Breaks Us

I scraped myself off the floor for what had to be the hundredth time. It was a new type of torture. Sirius had chosen me as his prize fighter—the guy loved to fight. I loved fighting too until I realized how unfun it was being locked in a room with someone way stronger than myself.

“No.” Sirius came at me again, and I braced for impact.

“Well, I’m fuckin’ tired of this.”

He backhanded me across my forehead.

“Ow.”

He wasn’t even trying to hurt me; he was just that strong.

“You’re such a child.”

I rolled my eyes. Everyone was a child compared to his old ass.

“Come on, I don’t want to keep doing this. I need a break.”

“Luke is fine.” He said it too quickly, knowing exactly what I was thinking about. “Now, get up.”

I didn’t want to. Not without proof. I planted my ass on the ground. “Prove it, then.”

Sirius sighed, pulled out his phone, and started typing something. “You need to be properly trained. Your break sent you back years.”

“I’m sure you’ll catch me up in no time. Since you love torturing me.”

He laughed. “You’re so pathetic. Don’t worry, we all had this phase. You’ll get over it.”

He finally said something that piqued my interest.

“All of you hated this place at first?”

“Well, almost. We all had our own journeys. Akira, on the other hand, he was happy from the start.”

At the mention of his name, my heart ached. He needed to die. He deserved it, but it felt like a loss even to me.

“Are you pissed at me for killing him?”

Sirius smiled. “No, because She knew our day was ending. It’s how this works.”

“Who was the first?”

“Ezra, as you know him. His name used to be different. All of us have changed names at one point or another. You will too, I’m sure. Ezra knew Her when She was a mortal. Then came Akira, and lastly, my brother and I completed Her Guard. She said we were the perfect blend of differences and similarities. All coming from different walks of life but destined to come together for a common goal: to serve Her.”

“Did you hate sharing Her attention?”

“No. We were all destined for our roles. Like you and your brothers.”

I gave him a warning look, refusing to believe my brothers would be part of this.

He scoffed, probably knowing he could kick my ass any day of the week. “You’ll accept your role here soon enough. And when you do, you’ll know true peace.”

“I don’t know. I get major blood orgy vibes from you guys, and I don’t think I need to tell you how that’s not fucking happening with me and my brother.”

Sirius threw his head back on a boisterous laugh. “You don’t know what you’re missing. You have no idea. Your relationship with Her will be different than what we’ve had. You’re so young,you can’t even imagine how a few years with Her will change you.”

So, changing was part of it.

“Plus, I don’t think that would be wise with Luke. I’ve never seen anyone drink as much blood as him and stay sane, let alone so normal.”