Page 38 of This Blood That Breaks Us

It occurred that this might be an opportunity for someone. Her gravity was gone. She was weak and nearly sleeping. I should have hated Her so much I might want to hurt Her, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

“Will you lie with me? I’m so cold.”

I moved closer to Her and kicked off my shoes so I could lie next to Her with my head propped on a pillow. There were worse ways to spend my morning.

“Can I tell you a story?” Her voice was different. It was softer, and the faintest remnants of an Irish accent came through.

“Of course.”

“I remember layin’ in this bed as a young girl. The memory is almost faded. But on days like this, I can feel it on the edge of my tongue. I try to reach for it, but it’s so faint. I wish . . . it could always be like this. That I could always be this close to the veil.”

“The veil?”

She pulled Herself onto my chest, ignoring my question. “You’re so warm, Luke.”

“You keep calling me that.”

“That’s your name.”

I moved my hands through the lengths of Her white hair and down Her back. I felt nothing and was thankful for that. For the slightest bit of peace from whatever ran in the queen’s blood. That thing that made my blood boil over with need and urgency.

“But you never call me by my name.”

When She spoke again, Her voice was soft and far away. “Luke’s a good name. It’s light. The stars shine brighter when I mention it.”

“I like it. My mom named me Luke after my great-grandfather.”

My chest ached at the mention of her.

She smiled with Her eyes closed. “Tell me a story.”

“What kind?”

“One that you like. One that makes you happy.”

I had so many, but I settled on the one that came to mind first.

“Once when I was sick, my mom stayed home with me and let me stay in her bed. We watched movies all day long. She was so busy working and hardly ever took off, but she did it for me. It made me feel special. She let me pick out my own movie.”

“That’s beautiful. I miss my mother,” She whispered. “She smelled of lavender. I want . . . to see her again.”

This wasn’t my queen. This person I was talking to was different.Cecily Dooley.Maybe only The Guard was allowed to know about this because on this day, Cecily was “close to the veil.”

This person on my chest, I didn’t hate. She didn’t kill Sarah. The Thing controlling her did. When she fell asleep clinging to me, I moved to leave but stopped. If it were true, that meant she was trapped there like me. That meant she was scared too. The thought of leaving her to wake up alone made my stomach turn, and I leaned back again and pulled her to me. Her body, usually cool, was like a radiator. I was unsure how to escape and save everyone; I couldn’t even save myself.

But I wanted to save her too.

Ten

Zach

“She was manipulating you.”

“No, I’m telling you, She was different. It had to be her. Cecily. And she’s trapped here like we are.”

Luke and I had been fighting about it all night, and now the morning light came through our bedroom window and we had places to be, but we werestillfighting.

“Luke, She wants you to let your guard down.”