Page 34 of The Blood that Binds Us

“Well, you carried out your mission, you can run back to your fancy castle now. Can you remove the glamour, Wren, or does he need to?” Eldridge diverts his eyes to me and jerks his chin in Sin’s direction with the question.

“She’s not staying,” Sin interjects before I can answer.

Eldridge yanks his attention back to him. “What do youmean, she’s not staying?”

“The witch is in kingdom custody now.”

“The w— Who thefuckdo you think you are?”

I put a hand on Eldridge’s chest and push him back. He could have resisted my nudge if he wanted to, but he heeds my warning to back off and gives a half-step.

Zorina appears next to her brother and places a hand on his shoulder, attempting to calm him with her touch.

“I made a deal with Singard that I could come home for a few days to check on you all, but I have to return to the castle. And I can’t remove the glamour. Only Singard has the reversal tonic.”

“What business does the kingdom have with you that he’s keeping you there?” Zorina asks.

I resist the urge to look at Sin to check his expression, but Ifeelthe heat rolling off him. He’s simply better at masking it than Eldridge. “The Black Art knows what I am. He knows… he knows I’m a bloodwitch.”

Zorina hooks her fingers over her now opened mouth, and the panicked look in her hazel eyes matches the one in Eldridge’s gray ones. “My gods,” she sighs.

“I can explain everything, but I’d rather do it in front of everyone. Is Cosmina home, or is she at the inn still?”

My heart drops into my stomach as the panic on their faces twists into something darker, sadder. “What is it? Where’s Cosmina? Where is she?” I ask, the words falling from my mouth quicker now.

“She left to go looking for you,” Zorina finally answers. “A few weeks ago. But if you’re here now and she’s not with you…”

“Legion.” Air hisses through my teeth. I turn to Sin without thinking and find him already watching me, assessing my reaction.

“Where were they when you last encountered them?” Eldridge asks.

“Just outside Blackreach. But I’m sure they’re long gone now. Sin’s armies took them out quickly.”

Eldridge huffs. “Like I’m going to trust that cunt to take down Legion. Singard or Sin or whatever the fuck his name is—none of those kingdom cunts ever get anything done.” He interlocks his fingers and stretches his hands out in front of him, rolling his neck as he does. “I’m not waiting around while they have a pissing contest. I’ll leave tomorrow—I’ll bring her back, and I’ll roll a few heads doing it.”

“Eldridge, stop it—you’ll get yourself killed,” I warn.

“I will notstop it,Wren. They took our godsdamned sister, for crying out loud. I haven’t even said what I’m going to do to them for takingyou.”

“All of you better stop it right now,” Zorina yells over us. “Let’s take this inside. Wren, your mother will be ecstatic to see you. We’ll discuss the rest indoors. It’s cold out here.” She clutches her open sweater and pulls it across her body so the two seams meet and heads towards the cabin. I put my hand on Eldridge’s arm and give a light squeeze, and we follow our sister to the front door, Sin trailing in behind us.

The smell of sun warmed wood and ash welcomes me as we pass through the worn-in door. There is no floor beneath our feet—merely beaten ground that is soft enough, and a few cones of moonlight shine in through the cut-out windows. Transcendents believe their magic is strongest with both feet on the crust, so most shifter homes are built without a foundation. White candles dripping with wax adorn every surface from the window ledges to the small kitchen table to the mantle of the fireplace in the center of the home. Rows of herbs—clary sage, spearmint and parsley—hang to dry in front of the kitchen window, while sprigs of lavender are tucked in every corner of the house, dousing the whole place in an earthy sweet aroma.

My heart somersaults as I behold the place so near and dear to me, the home I was worried Legion had destroyed in my absence. Chairs with green and blue cushions occupy the living space to my left and vibrant overgrown plants splash the home with rich greens and yellows, a product of Morrinne’s nurturing personality. Nestled in the back right corner are three beds, one for each of my brothers. A winding wooden staircase climbs to a smaller second story with four beds where my sisters and I slept.

The upper stairs creak, and I suck in a breath as Morrinne rounds the stairwell. Her deep brown eyes meet mine, dart to assess Sin at my side, then fixate on me again.

“Mom.” My voice cracks a little as my mouth utters the word I feared I’d never get to say again.

“Mama, I know this is bizarre, but this is Wren. Eldridge and I already vetted her and—”

“I know who she is,” Morrinne says, gripping the railing and descending the rest of the stairs. “You think I wouldn’t know my own daughter when I saw her? Magic be damned.”

I rush to her, throwing my arms around her slender body, and tuck her graying bun to my nose, inhaling the distinct scent of jasmine flowers permanently embedded into her hair. Morrinne is never without a piping cup of tea at her side, and the aroma of floral infused tea has become as much a part of her clothing as the buttons and seams. Galen bounds down the stairs and wraps his arms around my waist in a soul shattering hug, exclaiming my name. My heart leaps with joy as I scrunch my hands into his golden curls and crush him against me.

I fill all of them in immediately—from my time in the camp to the tethering spell to what I learned from Bennett Langston—not leaving out the details of what I’ve learned of Sin’s upcoming war. Sin is quiet while I explain. The only words he spoke since entering our home was to respectfully decline when Morrinne offered him a cup of tea. The five of us sit in the living space while he paces the other side of the cabin, occasionally stopping to eye the tonics and salves and canned jams Morrinne and I have made. I imagine our home is strange to him, having grown up in a state of luxury where everything has always been provided for him without the need to craft it.

“Tethering spell or not—you can’t go back there,” Morrinne says.

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