He withdrew his arm and gave me a peevish glance. When Viktor returned with a chalice in his hand, I turned to look. Christian tried to be discreet about sniffing his armpit, but I caught it out of the corner of my eye.
“This cup has been in my family for centuries,” Viktor began. “And with this empty cup, we look to each other to fill it up with justice, friendship, brotherhood, and blood.”
He handed the cup to Wyatt, who used the tip of a knife to prick his finger. Wyatt squeezed a couple of drops into the cup and then stuck his finger into his mouth.
“Really?” Shepherd said with derision. “You’re the biggest wuss I know. Give me that.”
Shepherd took the cup and knife from him, then sliced into his hand, sending a steady trickle of blood into the cup. “That’s how it’s done.”
Wyatt pulled his finger out his mouth. “I’m hurting.”
Shepherd glared at him. “Bullshit. You see this cup? You touched it, and that means I can feel what you’re feeling.”
“At least I won’t need stitches.”
Viktor snapped his fingers and pointed at Gem. Shepherd passed her the cup and knife, and they each took turns adding to the cup. When it reached Christian, his fangs punched out and he simply bit into his wrist, allowing the blood to trickle into the chalice.
When he set it in front of me, my stomach lurched. “I don’t have to drink this, do I?”
Niko sputtered with laughter.
Viktor set a clean knife in front of me. “It’s just symbolic.”
“She can use her fangs,” Christian suggested.
I picked up the knife and cut my hand, grimacing from the wound that would heal without a scar. Once I added my contribution, Viktor made a cut across his palm and squeezed his hand into a tight fist, releasing fat drops of blood to mix with our own. When he finished, he lifted the cup with his other hand.
“We are all different,” he said, “but we are all the same when it comes to our purpose in life. Keystone was just an idea, but has become a beating heart because of each one of you. We are different Breeds, genders, and personalities, but as you can see, our blood is the same. Let us drink together and celebrate our victory… and our future. Now, enough with the formalities. Pour the wine!”
A few cheers sounded, and Viktor placed the glass in the center of the table as a symbol of our union. No one touched it, and I wondered what he was going to do with it.
I bent close to Christian. “Thirsty? I bet that’s torture.”
He circled his finger around the rim of his glass, creating a bright note that hung in the air. “Not as torturous as having to partner with a scavenger. Come to think of it, I might need that drink after all.”
Hours later, I was gloriously inebriated. I quietly sat back and listened to everyone tell stories about their previous jobs, although some I had trouble following because of the uncontrollable laughter and inside jokes. Shepherd abandoning Christian with the cop was just one of many antics they played on each other. Their sense of humor delighted and frightened me all at once.
Gem skated out of the room when Wyatt turned in his chair and started talking to no one. Talking wasn’t the appropriate word so much as arguing with thin air. When we had a moment alone, I asked him why—as a Gravewalker—he hadn’t detected Christian at the cemetery. After all, that was his primary skill. Wyatt just gave me an impish grin and said he wanted to give the discovery a push in my favor. Maybe he was embarrassed to admit that he’d switched off his senses after assuming Christian was dead, but it was a nice thing to say.
I grabbed a bottle of wine with a few good swigs left in it and journeyed upstairs to my room.
My room.
I finally had a nest—a place to call home. A retreat where I could have privacy, feel safe, and not have to worry about where I was going to sleep on a rainy or wintry evening. But tonight wasn’t for sleeping, so I crawled out my window and onto the roof, balancing along the peak and nearly tripping when I spotted Gem in the courtyard pool, floating in the water. Not in her skates, of course, but she’d changed into a white gown. She looked like Ophelia down there—not swimming, just floating peacefully with the soft glow of green lights below her.
I crossed to the other side of the roof where it wasn’t so steep and sat down next to a window facing east. The stars burned through the night like pinholes in the curtain of darkness. Somehow the air felt cleaner, cooler, and the world opened up to a vast universe. Had it always been so beautiful?
My heart quickened when the window suddenly opened and Niko poked his head out.
He squinted at me and then smiled. “Mind if I join you? I thought I heard someone walking up here.”
“Sure. Just be careful. It’s slippery, and the roof is slanted,” I said, my words slurring.
Niko stepped behind me and sat to my left, a pleasant breeze blowing his hair behind his shoulders.
I took another swig of wine and handed it to him. Niko held the bottle and drank a mouthful before handing it back to me.