Page 147 of This Blood that Bonds Us
“Give me the dagger.” He pried the knife from Presley’s hand.
My heart beat faster as he turned. How far gone was Luke? No. Maybe he just couldn’t acknowledge me. She might not like that. He wouldn’t hurt me.
He put the dagger in his jacket and moved toward the door. “Pick her up. She belongs to the queen.”
“Wait!” I said as Presley lifted me and threw me over his shoulder.
Sixty-Six
Kimberly
The Legion would come soon. That’s the thing I had to recite over and over again as Presley effortlessly carried me over his shoulder. When they slowed, I flew forward, and Presley caught me. His arm wrapped around my neck to cover my mouth.
Ezra’s icy blue eyes stared back at me. I’d never forget seeing Ezra’s face after the day in the burning forest.
“You have to help me,” Luke said. “I don’t know what to do.”
“This is the girl.”
“Yes. I need to take her to the queen . . . but . . . She can’t kill her. I can’t let that happen. I don’t know what to do with her, but I just know that. It’s . . . confusing. Doesn’t make sense.”
“Give her to me. I’ll take her. You go get your brothers and bring them into the atrium. Quickly.”
“She had this!” Presley grabbed the dagger from Luke and handed it to him.
Luke hesitated, his shoulder rigid, and pulled back.
“I’ll take care of it. Just bring them.”
Luke nodded and Presley released me. My heart hadn’t stopped beating against my ribs since I’d reached the harbor, and in combination with the blood loss, it made me feel lightheaded.
Ezra clutched my arm to steady me.
“Can you walk?”
I nodded.
“Good. Don’t talk.”
He didn’t pull me nearly as fast as Presley, but I still struggled to keep up as we navigated the halls. We stopped in front of a wooden door carved with the sun and the moon. It opened to a room floored in intricate marble bathed in the sun.
“Kimberly Burns. We finally meet.”
Her voice cut the air like a blade. Standing next to a man, I guessed to be Sirius, was the queen. I’d often wondered what it might feel like to finally stand in Her presence. Cecily came to mind. The warmth in her cheeks and the green of her eyes had been leached from her. The woman in front of me was a ghost of the girl who once roamed the halls.
“Speak, girl,” the man with brown hair and warm skin said.
“Now, Sirius, she’s our guest. Let’s not be inhospitable.”
I guessed right.
“I’ve heard nothing but terrible things,” I said.
Ezra’s pressure on my arm tightened.
“Is that so? And here I thought all of the Calem boys were such lovely gentlemen. They’re so trusting and sweet.” She stepped toward me. Her bare feet made no sound on the floor. “I met your lover not long ago. He’s extraordinary. I see why you’re so fond of him. He had quite the appetite.”
I bit down on my cheek as the fire reignited in my belly. The image of Aaron drinking from Her was enough to bring me back into the present and ignore the lingering pain in my leg.
