Page 17 of Temptation
He still hid in the parts of my heart I saved for him. He still clutched at my soul with that pretty little smile and gentle words he uttered over the course of our lives. When you are poisoned throughout your whole life, your body starts adjusting until it becomes one with the poison that tried to kill you.
Dylan was my poison.
His name was engraved on my heart, and no matter what he did, no matter how much he hurt me, he would still be my brother.
Hurting him would hurt me more than anybody else. If he would die by my hand, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
“Sky.” His voice caressed my skin, his hand wrapped around my wrist, and I closed my eyes, hiding how much all this hurt me. “You need to cut my palm.”
But even cutting his palm would mean hurting him, and I couldn’t do it.
“I-I,” I stammered and opened my eyes. “I can’t. I can’t hurt you.” It both angered and saddened me.
I was trapped with no way out.
“Yes, you can. Just like Father cut his own.” Judah could die for all that I cared, but I couldn’t say that out loud—at least not yet. “Here.” He extended his hand, showing his upturned palm. “Just slice through.”
Just slice through.
I could do this. I definitely could.
I turned my body completely to him, and with a shaky hand, I lifted the dagger, pressing the tip in the middle of his palm—but I couldn’t press harder.
“Sky, hey,” Dylan murmured. “Look at me, Little One.” That one nickname pushed the tears I was holding at bay, and as the first tear rolled down my cheek, I pressed the blade into his skin, carving a straight line through the middle, mesmerized by the blood pulling through the wound.
There was no hiss, no flinch, no emotion, or reaction.
“Magnificent.” Judah clapped, and the crowd followed right after him, as if what I just did deserved praise. As if this entire night wasn’t just a sick game. “Now, Dylan.” I looked at him. “It’s your turn.”
There was no hesitation as Dylan took a dagger and pulled my hand open, my palm ready for the taking. His cold hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling me closer and closer until my chest pressed against his, and I felt as if two different empires fought inside me.
“This will hurt.” He smiled. “Just a little bit.”
I knew it would, but as my heart started hammering faster, I realized it wasn’t because fear coursed through my veins. No, it was from something else.
Something I couldn’t or I didn’t want to name.
“Just keep your eyes on me, Little One. Just me.”
When he pressed the dagger into my palm, I kept looking at him, getting lost in the blue skies hiding behind his eyes. I started imagining another life, another world, where none of this happened. I started believing that behind the mask of indifference and the skin of a monster, I could still find my brother.
Dylan took a piece of Lauren’s heart from Judah and pressed it against his bleeding palm. He then took my hand and placed it on top of his, while our blood merged, right over the flesh from Lauren’s body.
“Blood of father, blood of son, blood of daughter and a piece of sinner,” Judah said.
Dylan suddenly pulled me toward him and lifted my bloodied hand to his cheek, smearing my blood over his skin, closing his eyes as if all of this was what he always wanted. A satisfied sigh escaped from him, and when his lips connected with my forehead, I tried not to shudder.
“United now and lasting forever,” Judah started. “May it never break.”
“Sempiternum,” Dylan whispered against my skin, and placed another kiss on my cheek. “You and me, Skylar. It’ll always be you and me.”
“Eat!” I jumped at Judah’s raised voice. “Fortify this bond.”
No. No, they wouldn’t.
But I should’ve known by now that they would.
Dylan lifted the bloodied piece of Lauren’s heart to his mouth and bit down, slowly chewing as if he was tasting it, feeling the texture. His throat worked as he swallowed effortlessly, not a single trace of discomfort on his face.
