He talked me through it—barely conscious, still directing me like it was any other procedure. We used a length of tubing and a syringe. Improvised a drip from my vein to his.
We cauterized the wound to stop the worst of the bleeding.
He stayed alive. Because healwaysdoes.
Even half-dead, he wouldn’t stop fighting to live.
He is fighting for us all now. But most of all, he’s fighting forme, the way I fought for him that night.
Blood brothers.
Jude has never been a vessel for my hate—never just something to pour it all into.
He is the transfusion. Our bond. Not a vessel for my rage, but the one who took part of me into himself and didn’t let it kill him.
He absorbed it. My fury, my fear, the worst of me.
And still, he stayed whole.
He didn’t just survive me. He made space for me inside him.
And somehow,we’re both still alive.
When he binds a strong hand around my neck, I freeze. His head bows to mine, a moment of depth, of intimacy I do not deserve. One I will reject. Because I cannot feel it the way he does. I cannot process it. But he does not deserve my hate.
And I am not ready to let go of my wrath.
Like Rory, I am saving every icy drop for her, on behalf of her.
The eclipse will be blacker than ever.
I’ll unleash the force of a black hole for her, obliterating everyone and everything in my path.
Even if it means I swallow her whole.
72
Rory
“TIME FOR BIG RED TO TAKE CARE OF SOME BUSINESS.”
Citizen Soldier Playlist
“Without You”
We arrive just before dawn.
The sky is like a fading bruise, quiet, before the world remembers it’s alive.
Easthaven’s a damn fortress, gates like steel jaws clamped shut, snipers dotting the rooftops and towers like ticks on a fat dog. I tap the side of my ear to make sure the comm’s still working and glance toward Raphael and Vincent, both scoping the place out with night-vision binoculars that cost more than my first flat.
“Snipers on the north tower and eastern perch,” Vincent murmurs. “Watch patterns reset every seven minutes.”
“Steel gates on both entrances,” Raphael adds. “Back gate’s got heavier coverage. East wall has a tunnel hatch. I can see the lock system. If we can draw enough guards off it?—”
“We need a diversion,” Jude mentions.
Seth smirks, jerking his head to me. “We should pack Rory into a glitter bomb, toss it over the wall, and see who survives.”
