Orders.
And he knows, knows better than allmy brethren, how I react to orders.
The room dips into darkness, my voice low. “I do not need to—”
“You cannot, will not, see her whilst you’re not fully grounded.” His voice is firm, definitive, incorrigible.
I seek out the others and grow furious as all three hold a similar look of concern—andagreement.
I stare at the newly emerging shadows. “You would punish me further, brothers?”
“You know we don’t take pleasure in this, Julien.” Kane’s voice is the clearest I’ve ever heard it, strong and convincing. “But you know it’s necessary. You must feed.”
“My darkness sees it as a betrayal.” Kane is ready to rebut me, but I continue. “If I cannot feed from her, it will not allow me to feed at all. Even the thought of tasting another—”
The room flickers in and out of colour, silencing me.
I’m very aware of how ironic it is for me to be saying such a thing about betrayal, but it is the truth.
“You know he’s right,” Sai says to me with a small shrug. “You’re not ready to be near her—not like this.”
Kane steps closer, his darkness trailing behind like a heavy cloak, one fit for a king.
Eyes level with mine, the darkness there thriving. “She wants you there, therefore, I will offer you a bargain.”
My darkness, if it had a true physical form, rears its head at his comment. The room is immediately consumed by thick shadows, pulling me under and rendering me dormant as my darkness rises to take residence.
“I’m listening.” My voice is doubled.
“You feed and I’ll share a memory with you.”
I know the significance of this. Kane is offering a piece of himself, a vulnerability. But my darkness… that is a beast, one that survives on animalistic instincts, and all it wants is—
“Of her, a memory of her.”
“Yes,” we immediately reply.
“So for future reference, guys, Red-based bribery works on Julien.” Sai smirks, nudging my shoulder.
“Listen, we all need to focus now, put all our disagreements aside, and come together as a unit,” Ezekial addresses us all, his eyes a softer silver, the calm after the storm. “This is our chance, maybe our only chance, and wecannotfuck it up.” He glances at Sai, me, then Kane. “We need to make it right. All of it. All of us.”
“We will.” I’ve never heard Kane so certain about anything, and when his dark gaze settles upon us, his conviction pulses down the bond.
We will make this right. No matter what it takes. No matter how long.
Chapter 12: Jasmine
Kacey can’t stop her smile from forming when I walk back into the kitchen, phone in hand, remnants of all their voices rattling in my mind.
“Stop it,” I say, shooting her a brief look and hopping onto the counter.
She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t need to.
I accused Kane of feeling smug, but no, smugness is the feeling radiating from this necromancer. Her questioning gaze dances over me without pausing her steady grinding in the mortar.
“Just say it,” I sigh, dragging a hand over my face and through my hair.
“How did yousleep?” Her gaze now locked on her crushing, but I catch the sly, subtle undertone.
