Silver Blood (Series of Blood Book 1) by Emma Hamm (bill gates book recommendations .TXT) 📕

“Ah, such a tempting deal.” He twisted his lips for a moment as he stared at her. The story was not one that he readily shared, but one that he was willing to bargain with. “Alright then. Where would you like me to start?”

“From the beginning.”

“The beginning is that I used to be an Agent of M.O.M. I was part of an elite task force that hunted down those who opposed the government. There were eight of us, five men and three women who did what we were told. They made us into machines.”

“That’s very sad,” she whispered.

“It was. But it was a job, and none of us realized how sad it truly was. I had three sisters, two who were married and one engaged. The two married had three daughters and two sons between the two of them. They were beautiful children.”

He paused then, becoming lost in his own thoughts for a few moments. She watched the expressions dance across his face. He truly was a beautiful man. Not handsome, but beautiful in the way only statues could be.

“What did they look like?”

“Blonde.” His hand raised to brush over his own curls. “Little dandelion puffs that danced around me whenever I visited.”

“Five children must have been a lot to handle.”

“They kept themselves entertained. There was barely any room in their homes to walk without stepping on toys.”

“You had such a large family. That sounds wonderful.”

Burke nodded. “It was. They were good kids and my sisters good women.”

They allowed silence to fill the space between them. He appeared to no longer wish to speak, but Wren had never been able to let stories drift away without an end.

“So what happened then?” she asked slowly.

“They were discovered to be part of a group that were attempting to overthrow the government. They called themselves the Liberators. They believed that M.O.M. was trying to control things that a government had no right to be controlling. They met every Sunday and Wednesday for four hours and helped to provide intelligence and support to those who were actively rebelling.”

Wren’s nose wrinkled as she watched him. “You didn’t have to…”

“Yes.”

He waited for her gasp before reassuring her. “We were ordered to make the necessary steps to extinguish the problem. I declined. I stepped down from my position, but I was too late to protect them. They were publicly executed for their rebellion.”

“I’m so sorry, Burke,” she whispered. His expression was so hard, so dark, that she refused to see him in such pain. Wren scooted forward until she could reach out to touch the hand that rested on his knee.

“The children were not given the chance to choose me as their next of kin. They were sent away to live with their grandparents. I haven’t seen them since. As you can imagine, the family had no reason to speak to me again.”

“But it wasn’t your fault.” Indignant anger made her words sound sharp and jagged.

“No, but I was part of it. I was part of the problem that my sisters were smart enough to see. And then I didn’t try to prevent their execution.” He released the delicate arches of her feet. “That’s my sad story. Now what is yours?”

She didn’t want to tell him her story. She didn’t want to tell anyone her story. But Wren realized she owed him.

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. The movement did little more than rustle the blankets around her. “There’s not a lot to say really. It’s always been E and I.”

“Even when you were little?”

Obviously he wasn’t going to let her get away with not saying much. Wren hated telling people how she grew up, because the reality was that they would pity her.

“I grew up in an orphanage,” she began. “I don’t know who my parents are and never will. People think growing up like that adds a little bit of magic to the story. But it doesn’t. It’s not a romantic story of being found on the orphanage steps with a ribbon tied to my bassinet. I was found wandering the streets when I was three, covered in mud and God knows what.”

Burke remained silent, his eyes watching her face with a severity she did not like.

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out between her teeth. “It’s wasn’t an easy life. E used to take over a lot more. It would give me a break from the other kids, from schooling, from everything that made me upset.”

“So E became your crutch,” he said.

“Not really.” She didn’t like to think of E like that. “It just gave me an opportunity to not grow up as a bitter child and into an angry woman. Instead of having to prove myself constantly, E made it so that I always had someone.”

And she had. No matter how many times she had screwed up, E had always been there for her. She had a best friend inside her head that never let her down. That kind of support was rare to find in this world.

“How long were you at the orphanage?”

“You mean was I ever adopted?”

Burke nodded slowly, but she could see he didn’t know if it was rude to ask.

“No.” She shook her head firmly. “I wasn’t. I left when I was sixteen and lived on the streets for a while. E kept me safe while I was asleep on the nights when things were… dangerous. It took control over my body while my mind rested.”

“But your body needs sleep.”

“You’d be surprised how long a human body laced with magic can stay awake.”

Two weeks was the answer. Two long weeks of groggy existence and fear that made her see shapes within shadows.

“E’s always watched over you.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.

She nodded. “Of course. It was mother, father, sister, and brother for so many years.”

“And it taught you Juice making?”

“Yes.” A broad smile spread across her face. “I was terrible at it on my own. Herbs are involved, chanting, symbols, magic in its