The same man who’d held the branding iron to my arm came back. I tried to flinch away from him but this time he was only holding a little pot of white cream. He dabbed some onto the design that had been burned into my skin and at once some of the pain faded. I whimpered softly as I watched him spread it on the hurt place.
But though he spread the cream on thick, the moon and star mark wasn’t obscured. It seemed to glow right through the layer of white cream, showing pinkish-red like a live coal.
“Daddy, why is it still doing that?” I asked, sniffing some more. “Why is it still glowing?”
“Because, baby—the brand will always glow when you’re near your new family,” Daddy said.
I rubbed at my wet eyes with my other arm.
“But I don’t need any other family—I have you and Mamma.”
“I’m afraid we’ll all be needing some more family soon.” Daddy’s voice sounded grim. “Now go get to know your new brother while I talk to Drew, all right?”
He nodded to the tall boy named Nick, who had been holding my other hand while I was branded. Now I realized that he had been branded at the same time. He had the same glowing mark on his inner forearm, though it wasn’t covered in a layer of cream like mine.
“Hey,” Nick said, grinning at me. “Don’t cry—we’re blood-sibs now. Do you know what that means?”
I shook my head, not sure what to say to him. He had a kind of easy self-confidence I admired and wished I had myself. I was always so shy, so unwilling to put myself forward. But with Nick, everything was open and easy. He talked to everyone, looked adults in the eye with confidence, and seemed to instinctively understand the world and his place in it.
Of course, I didn’t really process all this until later. I only knew that Nick had a friendly face and nice eyes and he was offering to be my friend—which didn’t happen often to a girl like me. I was too different—too bashful and awkward for anyone to seek me out for friendship.
“I said, do you know what it means to be blood-sibs?” he repeated, raising his dark brows.
I shook my head.
“What…what does it mean?” I asked.
“Why, it means you’ve got a big brother and I’ve got a little sister!” He slung his arm around my neck in a friendly way and grinned down at me. “I always wanted a little sister to protect. Have you ever wanted a big brother?”
I had often wished for siblings—I hated being an only child but Mamma always said she couldn’t manage more than one and keep her sanity. Looking up at Nick, I nodded eagerly.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Great!” Nick’s face broke into a blinding grin—even back when we were kids he had the makings of a truly gorgeous man. “Then we’re gonna get along just fine.” He lowered his voice and looked into my eyes. “And do you know what it means that I’m your big brother now?”
Hesitantly, I shook my head.
“N-no,” I managed to get out.
“Means I’m always gonna be there for you,” Nick told me gravely. “Means I’ll protect you and keep you safe.”
“Really?” I asked, looking up at him with wide eyes. “For Always?
“For Always,” Nick vowed solemnly, nodding. “And we’ll always know when the other one is near because our marks will start glowing. Like mine is now.” He turned over his forearm, showing me the glowing crescent moon and star pattern which had been burned into his tan skin, a few shades lighter than my own light brown. “See?”
I nodded in awe. He was right, both our marks were glowing as we compared them.
“When I see that glow I’ll know you’re close,” Nick told me. “And when you see yours glowing, you’ll know I’m near—ready to protect my little sister and keep her safe from anything bad or anyone mean.”
“I’m…your little sister now? Really?” I still had a hard time believing it.
“Same as I’m your big brother.” Nick nodded proudly. “And I’ll never let anyone hurt you, Kira—I promise!”
It turned out to be a promise he couldn’t keep, but I didn’t know that then. All I knew was that I had a new big brother—a tall, strong, brave one who had promised to stick with me through thick and thin. And since I’d always wanted a sibling, that seemed like a pretty wonderful thing—a fair trade for the burning pain of the brand that still glowed on my forearm.
Mamma certainly didn’t think so, though.
“You let them brand our baby? Are you out of your damn mind?” I remember hearing her shout when she got home from book club and saw my arm.
“It was necessary, Zahra!” Daddy protested. “There was no other way to tie our two families together. Drew’s my Blood-Brother now—he’ll protect Kira as though she was his own if trouble comes. It’s like she’s got two dads now—two Alpha protectors.”