Page 33 of This Blood That Breaks Us

“You got it, brother.” Zach hit my shoulder, and we went our separate ways.

Thane and I started toward the basement. The last few days were a blur. I’d spent all morning with Her every day. It started in the garden, then it grew into me staying with Her till Ezra came for me. It was always when the sun was highest in the sky.

She was lonely. Lower-ranked members scrubbed Her floors and cleaned Her room, but they could never look at Her. Not that it mattered; Her eyes were always on me.

I thought She’d be hard to understand, but She told me about places in the castle where Her and Her brother played as kids. Her hobbies. Her wants. She felt real. Like The Divine in human form, and it made this place feel easier to take in a way.

I hadn’t realized I’d spent the entire walk down thinking of Her and tuning Thane out.

“Luke?”

“Sorry. Say it again.”

“We should check down this way. There’s this door that’s locked I can never get into.”

“Oh, Ezra gave me keys to almost every room in this place.”

“I thought he would.” Thane winked.

Something about his optimism made me smile. I tried not to let it pull me down a bad road, but it was hard not to think of my brothers daily. I wanted to know what they were doing. Where they’d been. I missed Presley’s stories. Mostly, I missed how they both made me laugh. I never talked about it, but sometimes, I’d stare up at the skylight and imagine them all living their lives. I hoped they were happy.

After trying a few iron keys, the door opened and a wave of cold blew through the corridor. The smell of mold and dust lingered in the air. Dimly lit bulbs lined the walls and illuminated an abandoned path of dirt and cobblestone.

“This must be where they tortured people,” Thane said.

I think he was joking.

I led us through empty archways. Most were barren. There was nothing useful. Just dirt, old furniture, and decaying wood crates. A near silent electrical humming echoed in the walls, and I followed it to the far end of the hallway to a large storage fridge filled with fresh blood bags. I swallowed.

I’d almost forgotten about feeding. It’s not like I had the calendar on my phone anymore. Luckily, I felt fine.

Thane and I split up, moving our hands along the walls for any signs of a way out.

“I’m not finding anything.” Thane’s voice echoed.

He was right. No secret passageways. My guess was it was an old armory hundreds of years ago, and now there wasn’t a need for one.

“There you are.” Ezra stopped us. “What are you doing?

“Uh, exploring,” I said.

Ezra’s eyes flickered to Thane, who was getting good at bowing.

I’d need to be more convincing. “I was looking for blood. Connell told me I could find it here.”

“Next time, tell me.” His eyes seemed to soften as he opened the fridge and handed me a bag. “Here.”

“What about Thane?”

“Luke, you don’t need to—”

“Fine.” Ezra grabbed another and handed it to Thane. “Drink quickly. We have somewhere to be.”

After biting into the plastic, I let the blood fill my mouth. It was cold like everything else. I closed my eyes, willing myself to be anywhere else, and She came to mind. I missed the taste of Her. I couldn’t drink any blood without thinking of Hers. My heart raced at the thought, and in seconds, every last drop was drained.

“Good. Come on.”

“Where are we going?”