Page 43 of Blood Bond

But as certain as I can reach for a discarded bottle on the ground, I can reach for her life, for the golden glow streaming from him to her. All it takes is a pull, and she'd be gone.

Jolted back to reality, I release Layla's hand. She recoils as if burnt by my touch.

"I saw ..." I stammer, looking between Seth and her. "I saw when you turned her. She was in an alleyway, attacked, dying. And you ... you saved her."

"She was dying," Seth says, his gaze going from me to her and back again. "Dying, and I offered her a new life, so she accepted." His gaze shifts to me. "But how do you know this?"

I glance at Layla, now no longer crying but looking at me with an expression mirroring the others' wonder. "Because I saw it," I say. "I saw her, and I saw you."

ChapterThirty-Three

Theo sits astride a chair, its back pressed to his chest, as Elena meticulously cleans the fibres from his wound. She works with painstaking care, extracting each fibre from his skin to aid healing. The wound is a vivid red, appearing more aggravated than healing in my eyes. It looks sore, the kind that would make me wince and turn away.

Despite Theo's injury, the attention in the room has shifted. I've inadvertently become the focus. Theo, Elena, and even Killian, who clenches something so tightly in his hand that his knuckles have turned white. A tic pulses along his jawline.

“She isn’t human, is she?” Killian asks, his voice lacking malice but filled with confusion. “She something entirely different?”

I turn to Seth, seeking answers to the same question. Before all this, if someone had claimed I wasn’t human, I would have internally refuted it, denied any extraordinary power. But now, unless I’m lost in an incredibly vivid dream, I’m uncertain.

I am me, the ordinary version in a world where everything I thought I knew has been upended. So, why not question what I know about myself?

Seth returns my gaze, his intense stare as if he can see right through me. “I don’t know,” he admits.

“But you know something?” Killian presses, his question heavy with significance, echoing my own desperate need for understanding.

I don't divulge the golden thread I sensed, a thread I'm sure I could pull to end her existence. It’s a feeling so right yet unexplainable, like an innate knowledge without understanding.

As a child, I often felt out of place, harbouring a sense of strangeness within. It was why I struggled to make friends, why they labelled me 'weird' and other terms I prefer not to recall. But this feeling is different, more like a fiery energy pulsing through my veins.

“I am human,” I assert firmly. “Both my parents are human.”

Killian shakes his head, a gesture not of disbelief, but contemplation. “That may be so, but everything that’s happening …” He steps back, hand outstretched as if to emphasise his point. “This is not typical human behaviour.” He pauses, observing me thoughtfully. “You survived the virus when no one else on the planet did. How? How can you be human and do that?”

“But you never got it at all, did you?” I counter.

His tone isn't angry; it’s curious, a pursuit for understanding. If there were anger, maybe Seth would intervene. “I am immune, but there are many of us. You are the only person I’ve heard of who contracted it and lived.”

He’s sincere; everyone knows no one survives Alitora. The news was clear about it. When I got it, I felt my body fighting it off, resisting its invasion.

Theo frowns in disbelief. “She got sick and lived?”

Killian nods affirmatively. “Yes.” He turns back to Seth. “Is there something in her blood? She survived the virus, the thirsty are drawn to her, Layla is drawn to her, and then …” The unspoken implications hang in the air, almost tangible.

“Seth walked in sunlight after drinking from me?” I add, throwing in my own piece of the puzzle.

“Exactly,” Killian confirms. “You enabled him to walk in sunlight after he drank from you. How? What's causing all this?”

Even Elena, who had been tending to Theo, is now watching us intently. They’re unfamiliar with these occurrences. “That’s what I sense about you,” she remarks, stepping closer but maintaining a respectful distance. She studies me, her gaze lingering just above my head. “It’s like energy radiating from you.” She looks towards Seth. “Couldn’t we test her blood? Take her to St Mary’s. They still have their facilities. I could use it. I could--”

Seth’s objection is immediate and firm. “No.”

Elena's eyes dart to Seth, clearly shocked at the harshness of his reply. "But why not? We need to know what's going on. This could help us."

Killian nods in agreement, his brow furrowed with confusion. He looks from Elena to Seth and back again, his eyes searching for answers. The room is heavy with tension, the air charged as if a storm is about to break. Leaning against the wall, Seth crosses his arms over his chest, making a visible effort to control his emotions. "There's too much at stake," he finally explains. "She is too important."

Elena frowns, her nose twitching as she inhales deeply. "I understand that, but if she can help us understand what's happening with Layla—and the others like her—then we need to take advantage of it." She reaches out and places a gentle hand on my arm. Her skin is cool to the touch, her fingers soft like silk as they brush against my shirt sleeve. There's a spark between us, a connection that resonates deep within me. Elena leans closer, examining my face with piercing eyes that seem to see right through me. "I've never seen anything like you," she murmurs softly, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. "You're not just special, you're ... magical."

Killian nods, his gaze settling on me thoughtfully. "Elena has a point," he says, weighing his words. "If we uncover why she survived Alitora and why she attracts vampires... it could be a game-changer."

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