Page 53 of This Blood That Breaks Us (This Blood That Binds Us, #3)

Forty-Four

Zach

I went looking for Will first. That might be a better plan than going straight for Ezra’s neck. But he wasn’t in my room. He wasn’t in the garden, on the grounds, or anywhere in the fucking castle. Instead, I found Connell, or he found me. Connell had been my shadow all night and stayed outside in a separate car while I was with the girl. I suddenly realized that I never got her name.

“Sir, you look well today. I hope I’m not bothering you. I only wanted to see if you needed my help with anything today.”

“Have you seen Will or Thane?”

“Oh yes, I passed your friend Thane. He’s been assigned outside today, but I didn’t see William. I haven’t seen him all day. Do you want me to help you find him?”

“First, I have another question. Last night something happened to my brother. And I know you weren’t there, but everyone around here talks. Tell me what you know.”

“We’re not supposed to talk about it. But it’s not like I’ve been sworn or anything. I’d love to be sworn to you or your brother. Not that you would want that. But I’d love to serve you if you thought you needed someone . . . ”

Connell kept mumbling to himself, but his words came out too fast for me to catch.

“Back up, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, they haven’t told you? Members of The Guard sometimes choose others to be sworn to their service. Like Henderson has been sworn to Sirius for many years now. They say Connery was sworn to Akira. You knew him, right? I assumed you and your brother were sworn to Ezra.”

“No.” Thank god. Sounds like something I would have happily done at one point. “They don’t tell me anything. What does it mean?”

“It’s a loyalty vow. They’re sworn into that Guard member’s care . . . forever.”

I bit my thumb till the blood beaded. “Bite your thumb.”

Connell did it without even asking me why. I pressed our thumbs together to mingle our blood, and his mouth hung open.

“Swear yourself to me. Swear you’ll do whatever I say and I can trust you above all else. You will never lie to me. And you won’t keep secrets.”

Connell eagerly pressed his thumb into mine. “I swear. I won’t let you down.”

“Good. Now tell me what you know about last night.”

“No one said specifics, but I heard they were needing to dispose of a body. A girl. And that your brother was upset. Inconsolable was the word they used.”

They killed her. And I’d bet money I knew why. That glimmer of interest in my brother’s eyes came to mind. Luke never left her alone. I should have known. I should have stayed.

“They also said Ezra took him back to the castle in his car.”

Ezra . All my problems started and ended with that name. My chest ached for my brother. They’d done this to hurt him. All of that blood on his shirt . . .

They killed her in front of him and made him watch. My eyes stung at the thought. It had to be the bond filling me with all my brother’s sadness that he wasn’t feeling. Because I should have been vibrating with anger and adrenaline, but I had to fight the lump in my throat. Luke had been all alone. He needed me, and I hadn’t been there.

“Connell, I need you to go find my brother and follow him around. Make sure no one hurts him, and if you hear anymore talk, anything that would harm my brother, you need to tell me. But you don’t tell anyone about this. Not even Ezra or Sirius. You’re sworn to me.”

He nodded quickly. “Of course, sir. I’ll find him right away.”

I sighed when he left. Having Connell be my sworn would help me have eyes on my brother, and I trusted him before he was sworn to me.

Moving to the garden was my top priority. I needed to find Thane and ask about Will. Thane was hiding behind a hedge. I barely caught the curtail of his shirt as he disappeared toward the edge of the garden. He was headed for the cathedral.

“Thane!” I called in a whisper. No one else was around that I could tell, everyone was likely busy making up for all their lost work the day before.

Thane stopped, shifting his feet impatiently. “This is a bad time. Can I talk to you in a second?”

“Have you seen Will?”

“Not since this morning.”

“I can’t find him anywhere,” I said.

“I can help you look in a minute. But I have to go.”

“What, why?”

“Someone is coming! I told you it would happen and it’s happening. I heard whispers that said in two days’ time. I need to go see if I can catch anything else from The Guard and the queen’s meeting.”

“I’m The Guard, and I haven’t heard shit.”

“Oh right. Weird. They’re still keeping you in the dark?”

I ignored the obvious. “The Legion is coming?”

“Yes! I think so, that’s what I’m trying to find out. I’ll catch you later. I’ll come find you in your room.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

I didn’t know how to take in that new information. I hadn’t believed anyone was coming to save us, but if it were true . . .

First, I needed to find Will.

I caught the whiff of his scent in the soft wind, and as I turned the corner of the cobblestone in the garden, I spotted Will and Ezra disappearing into the maze. They were moving fast, because no matter how quickly I followed, I found myself at a dead end. I burst through the thick bushes to where I thought the middle of the maze was. Cussing at the thistles and dead leaves, I broke through the hedges and moved my way toward the center.

Ezra was waiting for me. Only, he was alone with a large marble statue I’d only been able to see from the top of the castle. It was a statue of a man with wings falling from the sky.

“What the fuck is this?” My mouth was dry despite the wetness of the foggy air.

“Follow me.”

Ezra touched the edge of the statue, and there was a soft clicking sound.

A hidden door creaked open, and Ezra disappeared inside. It had once been covered with green vine and thistle. It led down a deep corridor with zero light other than the flicker of a flame and glow at the bottom of the steps. I ran my fingers over the cobblestone and concrete on either side as I descended. Something bad was about to happen. I wanted to run the other way, but Will had to be down there somewhere.

There was a shuffling of feet in the dirt and a shaking of steel.

“Oh god,” I choked out.

Will was there, being stored in a steel prison. His eyes widened when he saw me. “Zach, you have to help me. You have to let me out of here. I have to get to Her.”

I didn’t need Ezra to speak it. I knew. This was the madness he’d warned me of. It was more advanced than I’d ever seen with Luke or Thane. His eyes were pitch black as he reached through the bars toward me. There were scuff marks all over the stone walls and the dirt floor.

“Will . . . ”

I wasn’t sure he even registered my presence. He knew my name, but there was nothing in his eyes; he wasn’t in there.

“Please, help me. Why are you doing this to me? She gives me the world and then takes it away. What have I done? I can be good. I can be whatever She needs me to be. Let me out. I’ll be good.”

His voice cracked, and something in me did too.

“What happened?” I reached for him, and Ezra stopped me.

Will lunged a half second later. “You fucking promised! Fuck you. You piece of shit.”

For the first time, I had nothing to say. Any words of anger I’d felt were suddenly eclipsed by pain. The pain of the bond was still there, only now I was alone to feel it all.

“We can fix this. Like Luke. This is fixable?”

“Take me to Her! Take me!” Will’s screaming echoed, making me wince.

“No, it’s as I told you. There are some things you can’t come back from. He’s no longer tethered to you and your brother. It’s impossible like this.”

Will continued to throw a tantrum and kick and claw at the walls, stopping only to sob.

“I was right. She was doing this to him. Poisoning him with Her blood to punish him.”

“Watch it. You’re a member of The Guard now. You must filter every word that comes out of your mouth. I know he was your friend—”

“Yeah, he was my friend! Are you really going to try to tell me She did this all for his own good? For mine? And not Her sick twisted games She likes to play.”

I’d looked everywhere for him, except Her room. My life was crumbling around me. The ache from the bond flared through my entire body. Will punched the wall repeatedly.

“Will, stop!”

Ezra grabbed me by the shoulders. “Get it all out now. But when you walk out of here, you’re not going to speak a word about this.”

“Just admit it. Admit that She did this to be malicious. Admit that She did this to hurt me.”

“She didn’t. She’s never done anything to hurt you. Only what was needed for the prophecy.”

“Why even keep him alive at this point?”

I didn’t want him to die, but he’d have never wanted this. To want Her. It was a mockery to him and the person he was. It was cruel, and She knew that.

“That is for Her to decide.”

“Fine. Then tell me, what did you do to my brother?”

I wanted to hear it from his own lips. For him to admit it out loud. Ezra’s hardened expression softened for a millisecond. If I hadn’t known him and I hadn’t been looking for it in his eyes, I’d have never caught it.

“What are you talking about?”

“Stop fucking with me! You know what I’m talking about. Luke was fine when I left. I saw the bloody shirt. You did something to him. I know it was you. You were there watching him. You’re always watching him.”

“These events are important to The Divine Plan.”

“I trusted you to protect him, but you did something even you don’t want to admit to yourself. You hurt my brother.”

My voice shook with more sadness than anger, though I felt that too. The bond was eating me alive with the pain. It was my fault. I deserved to shoulder it all. Luke had done his shift already.

“No. I’d never hurt him or any member of our family.”

“Oh, come off it. Admit it, Ez, this was your destiny. To be an evil bastard. She’s orchestrated all of this. It’s all your fault.”

I can’t believe I’d trusted him again. My eyes burned from the betrayal and guilt at my own words, but I had a share of the blame. I’d wanted Luke to be happy and to have some peace, but I’d led him right into the arms of the people who hurt him the most.

“No.”

“You’re seriously denying it?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ha! No, you don’t get to be the good guy anymore. Because I see you. You’ve been parading around playing the part of the morally righteous. But you’re the worst one of all of them, and I can’t tell if it’s because you pretend to care or if you do. Either way, it makes you a manipulative bastard that lured me and my brother here. At least Sirius is honest with who he is. You want to be the good guy, and you want everyone else to believe that you are, but I know the real you. You can’t hide from me.”

He stepped up to me, squaring his shoulders and shoving me back a step. I shoved him too. I’d finally struck a nerve.

“Come on. You have to start hitting me. You want to, so do it. What’s holding you back? That fake moral righteousness? We both know that it’s all a lie, so why don’t you hit me?”

“Watch what you say to me.” He grabbed me by the collar, and I flung him off.

“No. Fuck you. Come on, it will make you feel better for hating me so much. Hit me!”

The pain hit me hard and fast, and I stumbled backward. He hit with the force of a semitruck, and I rubbed my face, reeling through each emotion. First, shock. He actually fucking hit me. Then, pain and the seething anger that bridged on utter hysteria. I couldn’t contain the laughter that sputtered out of my lungs.

“See how good it feels when you’re not holding back and you’re honest about who you are?”

“You don’t know everything!” Ezra’s calm was finally cracking.

“I would have never been here if it weren’t for you. We didn’t follow Her. We followed you. We trusted you while you pretended to care. Being a shoulder to lean on so we wouldn’t lean on anything else. So when you look at me and my brother and all the pain you caused, I want you to remember you did it. You created this.”

“There’s your problem. You think you’ve been the victim, but this is what you wanted. You are the only problem here. Luke is happy. She’s happy. We’re all happy. And then there’s you, going around and blaming others for your own failures. Where were you last night? Maybe if you hadn’t run off in your vendetta to hurt the queen, your brother would have never gotten into trouble.”

My vision went red, and heat flushed through me so quick it stole the air from my lungs. Bloodlust curdled in my veins, and my shoulders pulled back at his outright admission. I was sure I’d never wanted to kill someone as much as I wanted to kill him then, and I didn’t care how long it took or if I had to train morning to night. I would watch the light leave Ezra’s eyes someday.

“You’ll have to answer for this. I won’t let this go. The reason you leave this earth will be by my hand. And you won’t see it coming.”

Ezra paused as he stared back at me, and his eyes softened. “So be it.”

I turned my attention back to Will, but I had to find Thane and warn him. If this was his fate, they’d be out to get Thane too.

“I’ll be back, Will.”

“Why are you abandoning me? You’re supposed to be my friend. Why won’t you help me?” Will sobbed again.

“I’ll come back to visit you in a little bit. I promise.”

“You can’t leave me here. I hate you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck—”

Will’s words bore into my skull in an echo as the door shut behind me.