Page 37 of Crimson Bond

“I do want to be with you, Reece. I hope Sadie will agree to it. What about the Bloodbound, though? Won’t they fight for Imogen?”

“You leave that to me. I’ve been thinking about it. She isn’t exactly good to us. The Bloodbound are loyal to her because they have no choice—her queensblood keeps them bound to her. I’m an exception. I guess because she’s my maker. It must give me some immunity. But Sadie has queensblood, too, right?”

“Right. She must have if they’re sisters. She told me a little about how they were turned—they had the same maker. Oh Reece, I think this could really work.”

If Sadie agreed to our plan, Reece could help distribute her blood to the other Bloodbound and turn their loyalty from Imogen to Sadie. Then it would be a simple matter of taking Imogen out.

Simple. Ha.But there had to be a way. And we still had time to think about it.

“How long till sundown?” I asked.

Reece checked the clock. “Two hours. Why?”

“I want to get to Sadie as soon as possible. The sooner we get this plan in motion, the sooner our eternity together can begin.”

19

A Swarm of Drones

Reece

The weather had cleared by the time we left the hotel that night.

What I saw when we emerged from the building’s front door surprised me. We were in Niagara Falls, and from up here on the bluff, the view was amazing.

The view right next to me was even more spectacular. Abbi had put on another of Larkin’s provocative outfits, a skin-tight top and micro mini skirt she’d paired with ankle boots and thigh-high socks she said were for warmth.

If she’d meant formywarmth, the ensemble was working beautifully. It was all I could do to pry my eyes away from the band of bare skin between the top of the socks and the hem of her skirt and force myself to look at the world-famous geological marvel below us.

I wrapped my coat around her for her sake—and for mine.

“Wow. It’s so pretty,” Abbi said, craning her neck to see around me. “Look at the lights. Do you think we have time to just walk down and see the falls for a few minutes before we get back on the road?”

“Sure. We’re only about five hours from Sudbury now—we’ll easily make it there tonight.”

Together we walked down the hill toward Queen Victoria Park and its viewing area on the brink of the falls. Standing at the railing, we watched the progression of colored lights dance over the powerful multiple cascades.

The mist rising from them coated Abbi’s hair and face, making her look as if she was covered in a layer of tiny gemstones.

She gazed around like a little girl at a Christmas light display. Her mouth was wide open, and she kept laughing and pointing in different directions as she noticed each new aspect of the natural wonder.

She looked over at me with a happy smile, and I sort of lost my breath. “Isn’t it so beautiful?”

I reached over and stroked her damp cheek with one finger. “Youare so beautiful.”

“So are you,” she said, wrapping her small hand around mine. “I wish I could kiss you right now. Right here in public.”

“Soon. Let’s get going so we can make that as soon as possible.”

We walked back to the car. As we drove away, we passed the falls one last time, and Abbi turned back for a final look.

“I’m really glad I got to see that in person,” she said. “I saw it in a book once. Growing up in my community, the library was how I experienced the world. I sort of thought that was as close as I’d ever get.”

“Your family didn’t travel?”

“Short trips only. Horse drawn buggies aren’t meant for long distance.”

“Right. My family had an SUV, but we never took any long car trips.”

---