Page 52 of Fractured Constellations
“So would you if they just took several pints of blood to save your pretty stepsister’s life.”
My heart skips a beat, my dry mouth going even dryer. “What?”
“Our blood is inside these pretty little veins now,” Thorn tells me from my other side, and I turn to look at him as his finger traces down my arm to the IV line that is attached to a blood bag on a stand. He looks as rough as Blade, but there is a pleased smile on his plush lips as he watches the blood drip into me. “That means we will be a part of you for the rest of your life, Moonbeam. Deeper inside you than anyone else has ever been.”
“Or ever will be,” Blade adds, the possession in his tone making me shiver.
My blood tells my story in numbers. White count: too low. Red count: barely holding. Platelets: struggling. But now, as their blood flows into my veins, the story changes. Our narratives merge, cell by cell, heartbeat by heartbeat.
There is no going back from this, and I find a warm comfort in having them inside of me like this. Having them now a part of me that I never thought anyone could be.
“Rest now, Goldie,” Thorn instructs, pressing a soft kiss on my temple as my eyes close, darkness encasing me once more.
“I WON’T” BY RICHARD WALTERS
CHASE
I head back into Luna’s private room, one that isn’t dissimilar to the room we all stayed in last week. I hate that we’re back here at Mount Vernon. That it felt like we almost lost Luna to sepsis and that I didn’t spot the signs sooner.
Taking a deep inhale, I enter the room to find my brothers watching her as our blood is pumped into her veins. A warmth spreads throughout my exhausted body at knowing that our blood is now hers, that we are now intrinsic to her being and will be even more so once she has the bone marrow transplant.
“Has she woken up at all?” I ask, placing the drinks and bag of food on the table at the end of her bed. I had Bernard make up and send lunch, not wanting Luna to eat food that is out of my control. I also called Dad and told him of the situation, because of course he’s on another business trip with Lorelei. He didn’t seem too worried, just told me to keep him updated.
“A little bit ago,” Thorn replies, not taking his eyes off her. “But then went back to sleep.”
My brothers look as alive as I feel, which isn’t very if I’m being honest. We told them to take as much as they needed, which turns out was quite a lot, and having that much blood taken in one go is not a walk in the park, but I’d do it every single day if it helps her.
“I’ve been looking into the new medication, the one it seems Father recommended,” I tell them, handing Blade a coffee and a sub, Thorn a cup of green tea and a sandwich.
“And?” Blade asks, drinking his coffee straight away as if it’s not scalding.
“And I’ve found some concerning emails about rushed clinical trials,” I say, taking a sip of my mocha. I don’t like straight coffee, it’s too bitter, but I do enjoy it mixed with my favorite hot chocolate and I need the caffeine right now to stay awake after the night we’ve had. “I also found emails from ourdad that refer to a ‘liability,’ which I think might be referencing Luna.”
“He said what? Oh, hell no. That’s not happening on my watch,” Thorn hisses, Luna stirring but not opening her eyes.
“I don’t know for sure, but suffice to say, we need to investigate the situation further.”
“I’ve been looking up the medication too,” Blade says after a beat of silence, and I turn to look at him. “They’re withholding information about the side effects. I found the original research papers.”
“We have to get her off it,” Thorn insists, his tone urgent as he looks at our sleeping stepsister, still so pale and looking all too frail against the bedsheets.
“I’ll have a discussion with Dr. Harrison, revise our treatment plan, and tell him we need to change our approach.” I sigh, sinking into the chair at the end of the bed, knowing I need to eat but having no appetite. “We may need to find another doctor if he’s under Father’s thumb.”
I’ve never doubted our father before, never questioned his business practices, but if what Blade and I have discovered is true, perhaps Richard Banks is not the man I thought he was.
And that begs the question that I dare not voice to my brothers, not yet. Did he marry Lorelei to gain access to Luna to trail this new drug on?
“ASTRONOMICAL” BY SVRCINA
LUNA
The room is dark when I next open my eyes, the soft breathing of three men sleeping lets me know that the triplets are still here. I cast my gaze around, spotting Blade and Thorn in chairs at my bedside while Chase is in one at the end of the bed. Poor things, it can’t be comfortable given how large they are to sleep in a chair.
Sighing, I rest my head back, and the hospital ceiling disappears as I trace familiar patterns with my eyes.Cassiopeia. Ursa Major. Orion.I’ve spent so many nights mapping the heavens, finding comfort in their constancy.Stars die too,I remind myself, but it takes millions of years, not eighteen.
“You’re thinking too hard again, Goldie,” Thorn’s voice whispers over my skin, and I turn to look at him. The room is dark, just a sliver of moonlight highlighting the guys. It falls across his face, and I spend a moment staring at his beauty, counting my lucky stars that I get to see it again. It felt like I was dying earlier, my mind a jumbled mess of images and sounds.
“What happened, Thorn?” I ask, my voice as quiet as his but a little raspy still on account of my dry throat.
