Avow by Chelsea Fine Read Free Book Online Page B

“are filled with immortal blood.”
    Gabriel’s brow furrowed. “That is impossible.”
    “On the contrary,” Nathaniel pointed to the bright red spot of blood. “Immortal blood has a darker hue than that of mortals and brightens when mixed with this blue solution. I have immortal blood—which is why I can heal—and it seems Tristan does as well.”
    “But how?”
    Nathaniel shook the small vial. “Water from the Fountain of Youth.”
    “Magic blue water,” Tristan said, remembering the story that Scarlet’s mother had told him about magic blue water being brought back from the New World by Scarlet’s uncle. “It gives eternal youth, but it is highly addictive.”
    “Yes. And as it turns out, water from the Fountain of Youth also negates immortal blood, making it just the same as mortal blood.” Nathaniel pointed to the bright red blood on the glass.
    “How do you know—bloody hell!” Gabriel turned furious eyes on Nathaniel, who had just sliced his hand with the same knife he’d used to cut Tristan. “You could have asked first.”
    “You said I only needed to ask Tristan for permission—because he is grumpy.”
    Gabriel stared at Nathaniel. “Just because I am not drunk and angry with the universe like my brother—“
    “I’m not drunk,” Tristan said. “Not yet, anyway.”
    “Is your wound healing?” Nathaniel asked Gabriel.
    Gabriel examined his hand, his sour face morphing into one of awe as he watched his wound begin to heal. “Incredible.”
    Nathaniel added a drop of the blue water to Gabriel’s dark blood and it brightened just as Tristan’s had.
    “It seems all three of us carry immortal blood,” Nathaniel said. “Which means we cannot be killed. Ever.” He grinned. “Isn’t that wonderful?”
    Tristan frowned, not sure if he wanted to live forever.
    He hadn’t even wanted to wake up that morning.
    Forever seemed a bit ambitious.
    Gabriel continued watching his healing hand. “How can you be sure our ability to self-heal means we are immortal?”
    Nathaniel shrugged. “Because that is the magic of the Fountain of Youth. A magic so rare I know of no other immortals in existence. We are not created, you see. We are born—to mothers addicted to the fountain’s blue water. Very rare indeed. The fact that our mothers survived their addiction long enough to have us is astonishing.”  
    “Are you saying our mothers were poisoned with this water?”
    “Not intentionally,” Nathaniel said. “Our mothers were pregnant with us during the time of the plague and both became quite ill. My uncle Eli traveled to Spain and purchased three vials of the legendary fountain water from a Spaniard named Francis. He then gave one vial to my mother—his sister—and sold the second to your father, Cornelius. Eli and Cornelius were good friends at the time and your mother’s illness was breaking your father’s heart. Eli wished to alleviate this pain from Cornelius. Sadly, the water only brought more.
    “Upon drinking the water, our mothers were instantly cured of their sickness, yet began craving the water. They drained each of their vials just weeks after we were born and, without more to sustain them, they soon grew mad and, eventually, perished.”
    “But what of the third vial? Why not give them that to extend their lives?”
    “The third vile,” Nathaniel shook the vial in his hand, “was my uncle’s last resort. He did not want to poison his sister further so instead he attempted to make a spell to cure her, using water from the third vile. But he was not successful. After my mother’s death, Uncle Eli hid this potion away in the walls and spoke of its wickedness, forbidding us all of touching it.
    “The day I realized I could heal, I began to wonder if the blue water had somehow changed me in my mother’s womb. After years of research, I learned of the fountain’s ability to grant immortal life to the unborn and it was then that I realized I my blood was composed