Page 52 of Blood Bought

My stomach turned until I was running to that bewitched chamber pot and losing every bite of food Alaris had fed me before our nap. The thought of Ciro touching me, of Alaris being tortured like that, ofallof it had me hurling until my legs were so weak I couldn’t stand, and Kellian had to bring that glass to me and make me drink it.

Maybe on some level, Alaris deserved this for all of the horrible things he’d done, all the people he’d hurt and let suffer without doing anything to help, but that didn’t make it right and it didn’t make it any less my fault.

Even if we all came out of this alive, I wasn’t sure he’d ever forgive me.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever forgive myself.

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Kellian’s blood helpedsettle my stomach, but I still felt like a traitor as I stared at the empty glass and Renzo made himself known. “Bout time,” Kell said. “Where were you?”

“God, you’re hot when you’re grouchy. I was standing outside the courtroom in case I had to bust the doors down and fight next to Alaris. Why the fuck did he take the whole thing? We could have carried some of that burden.”

He glanced over at me with a solemn expression, making me blush and stare at the ground. “I would’ve too, don’t look at me like that.”

“You know why he did,” Kell said quietly. “If all three of us were punished, then Adalind would be unguarded for a week.”

Make me feel worse about it, why don’t you. “Why didn’t any of you tell me this would happen?” I asked.

“Blame your boyfriend. We don’t blame you, neither does he. He didn’t think his father would actually give him this level of punishment, but he pissed him off a lot lately so I guess we should have seen it coming.”

I licked my lips nervously as I waited for Renzo to add anything good to that at all, and when he didn’t, I realized there wasn’t anything they could do. “For what it’s worth, whether you blame me or not, I’m sorry.”

“I know,” he added, walking over to grab my empty glass of blood and take it back to Kell. “He said he’s sorry he didn’t warn you, he just didn’t want you to blame yourself. He also said to drink all you can because he needs you to be okay.”

“So I’ve been told.” I watched as Kellian filled it again, but it went down a little easier that time. “Okay. So all he has to do is get through the week, and I just have to get through Ciro and then everything goes back to the way it was. Is Ciro allowed to kill me?”

“No,” Kellian said slowly. “But accidents happen. I wouldn’t put it past him to try.”

“He might try. But I’m pretty sure he knows that would start a war within the castle, and we have to hope he’s smarter than that. Addy, he wants me to ask you a serious question. If that were to happen, do you want to be brought back?”

I swallowed thickly, fidgeting with my fingernails to buy myself time. It wasn’t something I hadn’t given any thought to, but things had started to change. I was less miserable, less afraid... but still, the thought of a life like that didn’t sit well with me. Not after they killed my mom. “No,” I whispered. “Tell him I’m sorry... but no.”

Renzo and Kellian shared a look and a silent conversation I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear, then he plopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh. “He said okay.”

If only I could’ve adequately explained to them — tohim— why that decision wasn’t as blasé as it sounded, but I wasn’t quite sure I believed that myself yet. “So what now?” I asked instead. “I just go back to my room and hope no one eats me until it’s time?”

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