Chapter 12 - The Missing BrotherI stared at Lena.
“You killed his brother?”
She didn't deny it.
“He was the one who carried out the ritual.”
My husband sank against the wall.
“My brother wasn't innocent.”
Lena nodded.
“He wasn't.”
I looked at the letter again.
My father's handwriting continued.
Your future husband was chosen because his family needed a bride. But your sister escaped. The family needed a replacement.
My stomach turned.
“Replacement?”
My mother nodded.
“You.”
I looked at my husband.
“So you married me because your family needed me.”
He wiped his face.
“At first…”
“At first?”
“I wanted to protect you.”
“How?”
“By marrying you before they could.”
I stared at him.
“That makes no sense.”
“If I became your husband, I could stop them from using you.”
“Then why did your father sleep between us?”
His silence was answer enough.
“He wanted to complete the transfer.”
My mother stepped forward.
“There is still time.”
“How?”
“The original agreement must be destroyed.”
Lena shook her head.
“Not enough.”
“Why?”
“The mark.”
She pointed at my wrist.
“Once it reaches your heart, the transfer becomes permanent.”
I looked down.
The black line had climbed halfway toward my elbow.
“How long?”
Lena answered:
“Until sunrise.”
I looked at the clock.
2:17 A.M.
Less than four hours.
Then we heard footsteps in the tunnel.
Someone was coming.
My husband grabbed the envelope.
“There's another way.”
“What?”
“We don't need to destroy the agreement.”
He looked at his sister.
“We can rewrite it.”
Lena's eyes widened.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
He opened a hidden compartment in the table.
Inside was an old red book.
“The family never told us this.”
He turned the pages.
At the bottom of the final page was one sentence:
A debt can be transferred only by blood.
May you like
Then my husband looked at me.
“I know whose blood we need.”
