Page 54 of This Blood That Breaks Us (This Blood That Binds Us, #3)

Forty-Five

Zach

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I couldn’t find Thane, and he never showed up. I’d waited all night in my room, but my paranoia pushed me back out into the hallway. I hadn’t seen my brother or Connell all day, but that was probably because I’d been hiding all day. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t. I’d dodged everyone who came looking for me.

I needed to focus on finding Thane and getting more information on The Legion. My new plan was simple. Try to keep Luke safe until The Legion came and hope they didn’t kill us in the shuffle. I had to get Luke out though; it wasn’t an option not to anymore. Only, I was hoping I’d have someone to go over that plan with because the crux of my plan was to ask The Legion nicely not to kill me and my brother.

There was one place I hadn’t looked for him, and I was dying to tell the queen what I thought of Her and Her little tirade. I made my way to Her room in the darkness of the castle. At night, the walls glowed with candlelight, and a cool breeze lingered in every hall.

When I opened Her door, She was lying in Her bed with a book in hand.

“Where is he? Where is Thane?” I wasn’t in the mood for our usual banter.

“Who is that again?” She blinked, giving me the doe eyes.

I dashed over to Her and grabbed Her by the shoulders. “Stop. Just tell me. Did you hurt him too?”

“I don’t know where your friend is. Truly.”

“Why did you do that to Will?”

“Will was twisting your mind. He was hurting you. I waited till you Ascended to soften your bond to him. And I didn’t kill him. I did you a kindness.”

“How?”

“Now you never have to say goodbye. You can go visit whenever you like.”

“He isn’t a fucking pet. He’s a person.”

It was so fucked. Thane was likely dead, and Will was gone. And my brother . . .

“Have I made you unhappy?” She stuck out her bottom lip in an innocent pout.

“Don’t do that. Don’t give me that fake doe-eyed bullshit you give my brother.”

“Why not? He seems to enjoy it.”

“Yeah, because he wants comfort.”

I let go of Her shoulders, but it was too late. I felt the draw of Her gravity holding me to the sheets. Her hair was wet and brushed back from her face in a way that made Her feel bare and open.

“And you don’t want comfort? What about in the atrium? You seemed to want me then. I heard you calling for me.”

It was so loud.

I’d made a mistake. The anger was running out of me quicker than I could grab hold of it, and Her fingers, light as a feather, brushed my skin.

“You didn’t tell me this would happen. That I’d have you nagging me in my head.”

She smiled and ran Her tongue over Her teeth. “You’d have put up more of a fight. You’ll grow to enjoy this bond. I promise.”

She never stopped touching me. Her long nails raked across my chest, and I let Her undo a few buttons. Why had I come in Her room in the first place? I was forgetting and melting into Her as She leaned in closer. I expected Her to hit me. Slap me. Anything that hurt. Instead, She pushed Her hands through my hair. “I’m yours, Darling. Whatever you need.”

Darling.

“Where does it hurt?” She moved Her hands under my shirt and over my bare chest.

“Everywhere.”

My body felt bruised. I wanted to feel better. Happy. I’d missed that train a long time ago, or I’d never bought the ticket.

“I’ll fix it.” Her lips grazed my neck, and I groaned.

It was wrong to want. Her lips on my skin. Her hands roaming my chest. She was cold. Every kiss froze me in place, but I couldn’t stop. I wanted to bury myself in Her and lose all control. Her lips sucked at the skin on my shoulder, and I undid my belt.

When I opened my eyes, my brother was standing in the doorway.

His eyes were dark as night. Every sense snapped back into my body as Her glamour fell away. I shrugged Her off and went for Luke, who retreated through the door. At the first step of my presence, Luke turned on a dime and slammed me into the wall. Hard. Hard enough to leave an echo trailing through the hallway and make my ribs ache. The lit flames in the hallway flickered.

“What the fuck was that?!”

Luke had never cussed at me before. Ever. Not like that.

“It was nothing.”

He slammed me into the wall again, this time busting through the wall. “Don’t you ever touch Her.”

He flung me, and I hit the wall again.

His absence left me hollow in the silence of the hallway.

She had truly bewitched his mind, and instead of standing up for him or finding a way to help, I’d run to Her. My brother was turning into a monster, and it was my fault. It was all my fault, because I couldn’t let him go. He told me it would happen, and I never believed him. The room spun and the realization set in. I was alone.

My composure slipped for a moment. A sob escaped my throat, and I covered my mouth to stop it. The tears forming in the corners of my eyes couldn’t be allowed to fall, because I’d never be able to contain them again.

Two members were coming down the hall. I dropped my hands and pulled my shoulders back. Composure returned to me and left me encased in steel. There was peace in perfect composure. They stalked past me, stopping a half a second too slow to bow. I could have let it go and let them pass . . . but why would I?

“Stop,” I said.

They did as I said with their eyes averted to the ground. I took a page from Ezra and grabbed one by the collar and kicked the other in the shin.

I couldn’t be soft or sad, but I could be a monster for all of eternity. It was better than feeling, and with the ache in my bones from the sheer force of Luke’s wrath, I wanted to feel numb again.

“Bow.”

They both kneeled but not nearly low enough.

I fisted my hands in their hair and forced their faces onto the ground. “Every time you see me, I want your fucking face on the floor. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” they said quickly.

“Yes what?”

“Yes, sir.”