Page 43 of Blood Freed

“And it strikes the powerful ones?” I ask, thinking of Soren.

Could he have it? There’d been no sign of it. But then again, I wouldn’t know what to look for.

“The affliction takes time to manifest. That’s why it often appears in older, more established vampires rather than newly turned ones. The vampires have never understood this pattern – they only know that sometimes, an affected vampire finds a witch whose blood can save them.” Gran’s voice drops lower. “These are what they call blood matches. But it’s not random chance – it’s our ancestor’s curse at work.”

“How many people know this?”

“Very few. Only the wisest and oldest among us. We’ve kept it hidden because vampires like Lucien would…” She breaks off, her face darkening. “Well, I believe that’s exactly what’s happened with your abduction.”

I slump back for a moment, exhaling a deep breath. “This is a lot to take in.”

“There’s more, darling.” Her expression darkens again.

Oh, God, how much more could there be?

My headache is back in full force.

“There’s something else you need to understand about blood bonds,” Gran says, her voice tight with concern. “Especially once sealed by the drinking of blood.”

My stomach clenches. “What about them?”

“They’re permanent, Mia. Unbreakable.” She squeezes my hand. “What you did last night… it bound you and Sorentogether forever. Before, there might have been a chance we could save you. But now, if he dies—”

“I die too,” I whisper. It’s something that has come up before, but now, Gran seems a lot more troubled about it.

Gran nods grimly. “Which means we need to stop this execution. Not just for Soren’s sake, but for yours too.”

I press my fingers against the bite marks on my neck, feeling their raised edges. “Does the Council know about this? About blood bonds?”

“Some do. But they don’t know about your bond to Soren yet.” Gran’s eyes narrow in thought. “We need proof of his innocence, and quickly.”

“Jemma and Sabine,” I say, sitting up straighter despite my pounding head. “There were two other witches he helped escape. They could testify about what really happened.”

“Yes.” Gran’s expression brightens slightly.

“If we can find them.” I gnaw on my lip. “He didn’t tell me where he’d sent them. If they don’t know that the facility has been exposed, they may still be in hiding, afraid of being recaptured.”

“They’re our best chance of proving that Soren isn’t guilty of everything he says he’s done.” Gran nods.

I push myself to my feet, swaying slightly. “We need to track them down.”

“Careful,” Gran steadies me. “You’re still weak. And after using blood magic…” She makes a tutting sound. “But you’re right about Jemma and Sabine. Their testimony could change things.”

The garden crystals chime a warning seconds before Rowan bursts through the French doors, her face ashen. She stumbles to a halt in front of us, breathing hard.

“Rowan?” Gran looks concerned. “What’s wrong, darling?”

“Maxwell Kern is dead,” she gasps out.

My heart lurches. “What? How?”

“They’re saying suicide.” Rowan drops onto the bench beside me, breathless. “But Darick just spoke to Marcus – he says there’s no way Maxwell would have done this to himself.”

Gran’s fingers tighten around mine. “What happened exactly?”

“They found him at dawn,” Rowan says, her face ashen. “He’d disabled all the UV protection in his private chambers and waited for the sunrise. But Darick says something’s not right. From what Marcus could determine, the security footage is missing chunks of time, and Maxwell’s final letter…” She swallows hard. “The handwriting changes subtly halfway through, like someone else finished writing it.”

“Lucien,” I whisper, bile rising in my throat. “It had to be Lucien.”

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