The Blood We Crave: Part Two (The Hollow Boys, #4)

by Monty Jay

“Lyra, baby,” I purr, voice soft like honey. “Look at me.”

My fingers graze her cheek, and it’s like flipping on a light switch. She blinks, her bleary eyes moving until they find my own. I let her stare, let her see that I’m here and this is real.

“There she is,” I praise, a small smile tugging at the edge of my lips. “Welcome back to the land of the living, darling.” My hand tucks into the crook of her neck, letting...

Her worries about me forgetting who I am with her are void. Not when I know that I’ll always come back to her. That the me I was always meant to become is who I am with her. We are two halves of a broken hole. Two mangled people trying to find solace in all the darkness we’d been given.

But now, all that matters is the girl inside the closet and the woman who came out of it alive.

I wish I would’ve stopped my father, if only so I could tell Phoebe Abbott that her daughter would never be alone again. That no matter what end we meet, she will always have me. In life and in death.

“Would you stab me if I said Lyra freaks me out?” “No.” A sigh leaves me as I look at Rook. “But she might.”

Four bastard sons who found comfort in each other’s chaos.

“I—” He stops, his throat working as he finds the words. “I feel things sometimes, I think. They’re these physical reactions to certain situations, but I can never identify them.” He’d been conditioned so long he can’t even tell what his emotions are. Thatcher lived most of his life killing and shutting out feelings—of course he doesn’t know what they feel like.

I’ve never needed to make myself digestible for Thatcher. Never had to curb who I am or be less. I’ve never had to make myself easier to love. He has always swallowed me whole and savored every bite.

“Thank you for loving me with what remained.” “Thank you for letting me be your ghost. For seeing me,” I tell him. “I can’t wait to haunt you for the rest of our lives and the ones after that.”

“I’m sure. Just think about how cool it’ll be when we’re old and everyone is freaked by the couple that haunts Pierson Point.”

“You are a strange, peculiar little thing, Lyra Abbott.” “Thank you.”

“Death is trivial. He can’t keep you from me. I’ll follow you to the grave every time and find you in each life after.”