Page 42 of This Blood That Breaks Us (This Blood That Binds Us, #3)

Thirty-Five

Zach

No one warned me that Ascension was a rager. I’d prepared for a banquet—a boring one, but every inch of the castle was bathed in red light, disco balls, and melting candle wax.

“What the fuck?” I said as I descended the stairs in the main foyer. The staircase and foyer led to the main hallway that opened to the lawn.

The doors were open, and people—humans—were mingling there dressed up and being served finger sandwiches. I didn’t know we had a working kitchen.

“This is for you, sir!” Connell was at my side dressed in some new fancier suit with an ornate flowered shirt beneath it.

“A party?”

“We’ve been waiting forever to celebrate you. We’re so fortunate to see your Ascension. We wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Oh, it is.”

The entire entryway and the lawn were covered in crimson and people. Men and women of all ages looked at the decor with wide-eyed amazement. No children, though.

“Who are these people?”

“Most are close-client relationships and their families.”

“Did you brainwash them all to be here?”

“No. Everyone wants to come celebrate with you. Well, I did bring in some tourists from the mainland. They think this is a super exclusive celebration of this castle’s second centennial. A lot of them are history buffs who I found in online forums. Blood for the boys and you, sir.”

Connell smiled despite his outright admission he lured humans here to drain them. Little fucker had cards up his sleeve. I bet that’s why Ezra recruited him. His good-boy disposition and knowledge of the internet and modern-day technology would do wonders for them . . . for us.

“Don’t start talking like that around my brother. He’ll bolt in seconds.”

Connell’s eyes grew wide, and he pulled out a notepad and pen from his pocket.

“Really, sir? He won’t like it?”

“No. He won’t appreciate you wheeling humans in like cattle to be slaughtered. He prefers to drink from blood bags.”

Connell scribbled something down with a bent brow. “What about you, sir? Do you mind?”

“What?”

“Do you care about the humans and the blood?”

I let his words marinate while he looked up from his pen and paper with an unblinking expression. My stomach sank, and heat flushed through my neck and cheeks.

“I—no. I don’t care.”

“I’ll have to make some arrangements.” He pulled out his phone and frantically typed something. His shoulders fell from his ears when he was done, then he was back to smiling. “Don’t worry. Luke will be joining us shortly after meeting with The Glorious One to ensure the party is kept far away from the church. I was instructed to walk him over myself.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?”

“Have fun, sir!”

“I need to jailbreak Thane and Will.”

“Already done. See!” He pointed across the crowd where Will was dressed in a true butler’s uniform and holding a platter of deviled eggs.

“Oh no.”

Judging from the scowl on Will’s face, I could only imagine the seething anger. I think that was the source of heat in my chest that felt a little like heartburn.

“I know. But I did sneak him some cigarettes and got his chores switched to the garden for the next week because I know he likes plants.”

“You did that for him?”

“For you, sir. I didn’t want you to worry about them. It’s your special night, and you should enjoy it to the fullest extent.”

“Thanks.”

I fought the urge to ruffle his hair like I used to do to Presley when he took a break from being a rambunctious shithead and was actually being nice.

Thane appeared beside me and placed a shot in my hand. His platter was all shot glasses. He winked at me after he bowed.

“I’ve heard Zach The Just needed a drink.”

“The guest of honor always has a drink in his hand.” Connell checked his phone. “Oh, I gotta go! I’ll be right back.”

I downed the shot of whiskey in my hand, then Thane handed me another . I could get used to this.

“I’ve been instructed to keep a drink in your hand all night.”

“It’s going to be a long night for you, then.”

“Mr. Calem.” A familiar voice caught my attention. Liam Brennan from the horse track made a beeline for me in the crowd.

He held out his hand, and I made sure to squeeze extra tight.

“Congratulations, sir. This place is magnificent. I’m honored to take part in the celebration.”

“I’m sure you are.” Me meeting people with alcohol in my system wasn’t a great idea.

Liam’s smile didn’t break. “I’m excited for the future ahead. To you and The Divine Path.” He held up his glass, and I held up my shot and downed it a second later.

He retreated into the crowd where a woman was waiting on him. She seemed to be human. These were normal people walking around in the most dangerous place in Ireland. I wondered how many would make it out alive. Another sip and I cared less. Not my problem really.

I’d need to make sure Luke didn’t think too hard about it when he arrived.

Just as I thought it, my brother rolled in, mirroring my surprise as he realized what he walked into. He, too, had a drink in his hand in seconds. Those fuckers were thorough.

“From frat parties to . . . whatever this is,” Luke said, sipping his beer.

“Cult parties. Much more sophisticated. We’ve leveled up, for sure. Think there will be an orgy?” I joked.

That made him crack a smile. “Is this all for us?”

“Take a wild guess.”

His eyes lit up as he took another sip. Aine from the blood bank was dressed in a cocktail dress with her hair pinned up. She was on the other side of the room with an older man.

“Aine!” He waved her over with a big smile. “Can I get you anything?”

“You’re the guest of honor. I think I should be askin’ you that.”

“Oh, right. It doesn’t matter. I’ll get you whatever you want.”

She rolled her eyes but bit back a smile. Not surprisingly, my brother made her blush. His natural effect on women. Her attention landed back on me, and the smile faded. My natural effect on everyone.

“Pleasure to see you again, Mr. Calem. Congratulations to you both on your promotion.”

That’s what they were calling it. She scanned the walls and the wrapping staircase while she sipped her martini.

“I’m glad you came,” Luke said.

“My father is here. Would you want to meet him?”

“Absolutely.”

I let them chat while I greeted a few people. No one else I knew, but they knew me. The alcohol was working faster than it usually did. Damn vampires.

As the day went on, the thumping music grew louder and the lights shifted. Aine and her dad left as the sun disappeared and the crowd got wilder. Luke came back with his face flush and that electric excitement he got in the eyes from meeting new people. It was like hooking him up to a car battery.

“Enjoying your party?” Ezra grabbed my shoulder.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been able to have a party like this.” Sirius appeared beside him. “I hope you’re both faring well and enjoying your time to relax.”

“With someone putting a drink in my hand every five seconds, sure,” I said.

I was already feeling the third. Or was I on my fourth? Luke had traded for something stronger and was swaying to the music.

“We want you both to enjoy your night. Worry free. There’s nothing for you to look out for. Leave that to us.”

“No one will go near the cathedral.” Sirius looked directly at my brother. “She’s safe.”

When they left, Luke beamed.

“Wow, this is so fun. Come on. Let’s go dance,” he said.

I followed Luke into the middle of the foyer where a horde of people were standing. Everyone was pinned together and swaying to the music coming from the DJ. There was a strange sense of peace as we lingered in the crowd. It went from a party on the lawn to an all-out house party in the foyer with music that deafened me and vibrated me from head to toe. Somewhere in the music, the haze of the lights bathed the room in iridescence.

It could have been the alcohol, but I might have been a little bit happy.

All the faces in the crowd showed me the same expression. Flashes of teeth and chants of praise and encouragement. They wanted me there. It was working. Luke was having a great time too. There was no pain. Not even the slightest hint of ache in my bones.

Why had I fought this so hard? I was meant for this place. It had taken time like Ezra and Sirius said, but I was coming around. This place was perfect.

The bodies pressed against me made me feel warm again. I had new brothers and a new family to keep the cold of winter from ever freezing me again. One that would do anything for me.

That last shot did me in; I was floating in the crowd. Luke and I got lost. There were hands all over me, moving down my back, my chest, and my arms, but I didn’t care. It felt good to be wanted. Worshipped. Godlike.

Luke’s glow was back as he bounced up and down in the absolute surging wall of bodies. I wasn’t worried about him, though. Not there.

Someone grabbed me in the crowd, and I let them take me to the corner of the room.

“This one, sir. Saved for you.”

A man lay with his head resting on the back of a red velvet couch. He was smiling and laughing but moving slowly like he couldn’t stand. My head was pounding from the alcohol. Somehow, I ended up on the couch.

“Drink, sir,” a voice said. I didn’t know whose.

I didn’t need to drink blood. I’d downed a few blood bags only a few days ago, but I felt empty. Like I needed and wanted to consume. I grabbed the man by the collar and sank my teeth into his neck. It was good. So good. Drinking from a vein was dangerous for him but satisfying for me. There was something else mixed with his blood. The euphoria of it laced itself into my veins, and I drank deeper.

I pulled away with no recollection of how long I’d drank, but it didn’t matter. I was full. Full of blood and alcohol and ecstasy. I’d had it wrong. I wasn’t in hell. It was heaven. The effect of it was already moving into my body. I was free. I wanted to run anywhere my body would take me, but not to escape. No, I wanted to run in the halls and outside in the rain. I wanted to feel.

I stumbled back into the crowd. This time I felt every brush of skin against mine and the surge of the crowd with the music.

The flicker of a lighter flame caught my attention in my peripheral vision.

Will glared down at me from atop the stairs with a cigarette pressed between his lips.

I pushed my way through the crowd with loud protests and arms begging me to stay, but I had to know why Will was looking at me like that.

“Enjoying yourself?”

“What if I am?”

“I give Luke a pass because he deserves a night off out of hell, but you. Not so easily.”

“Little too late to play the holier than thou card, isn’t it? Am I not allowed to have fun?”

“You were fuckin’ loving it. The attention.”

“So what? It’s better than what I normally get.”

“This is it, then? You ascend and say fuck all to everyone?”

“Please tell me what I’m supposed to do. Luke and I are blood linked, and the only way to fix it is to ascend.”

“That’s what they want you to think! This. All of this is an illusion. They’re manipulating you. They’re brainwashing you, and I thought you knew that. But now I think you do know that but ya just don’t care about anyone but yourself anymore.”

“I’m happy for the first time in months, and I’m not letting Captain Buzzkill ruin it for me. Fuck off.” Flipping him off, I hopped on the banister and slid down. I wouldn’t let Will ruin my night. Not when it was finally getting good.

“Fuck you too,” Will barked in my direction.

I was already tuning him out and blissfully falling back into the rhythm of the music and the sway of the crowd. This place was great. I let my new family take me with their hands in my hair and under my shirt. I’d let this place devour me.

I was finally home. Home sweet home.