Page 74 of Forged in Blood

ALEXANDROS

“Why is your office so much bigger than mine?” Osiris Brackenwolf runs his fingertip along a shelf lined with books that I lack the time to read these days. He plucks one from the row and blows off a layer of dust. Then he holds it up and sinks his sharp teeth into his lip. “I remember this book well, Professor.”

I scan the title.Gods and Monsters: the origins of ancient Greek mythology. “You were a good student.”

He crosses the room in two strides, his large frame making my spacious office seem much smaller than it is, and places the book on my desk. “Oh, I was averygood student. Wouldn’t you say?”

I take the book and run my hand over the soft leather. “If your mind resided someplace other than the gutter, you would know that I meant academically. You were particularly gifted, especially when it came to ancient Greece.”

He perches on the edge of my desk. “Perhaps because I was trying to impress my ancient Greek professor.”

Despite myself, my lips twitch. “Well, it was your mind that impressed me,” I tell him truthfully. It was why I chose to mentor him and teach him some of the ancient texts.

He narrows his eyes and tilts his head. “You sure it wasn’t my abs? I was pretty hot back then.” He lifts his shirt, revealing he still has a perfect set of abs nestled beneath his golden skin.

I shake my head. “Did you have something for me? Or are you here to reminisce about your society days?”

“I have something interesting for you.”

I lean forward in my seat. Now that I know what Ophelia is, I am even more interested inwhoshe is and how she found herself here at Montridge. “Tell me.”

“You were right about the trust fund. All of the official paperwork makes it look like it was set up by her parents, and I’ll be damned if I can find any evidence to the contrary, but it’s not possible.”

“Why?”

“Because they died nineteen years ago, and they were broke. How could they have put away over a hundred and twenty k, which would have been worth what, double what it’s worth now?”

I shake my head. “That is still speculation.”

“Okay, but this trust also miraculously appeared when your girl was eighteen.”Your girl.I know it is only a phrase, but his use of those words to describe her leaves me breathless. If he notices my discomfort, he neglects to acknowledge it. “Why didn’t anyone know about it before then?”

I frown. “You tell me.”

“Her social worker said it was an oversight, that these things happen,” Osiris says. “She was just relieved to have found out about it before Ophelia was due to go to college.”

“But how did the social worker find out about it?”

“The bank contacted her out of the blue. And when she checked, the trust had always been there. One hundred and twenty thousand dollars just sitting there for seventeen years and it doesn’t earn a single cent of interest? What kind of jackass puts that kind of money into an account that doesn’t earn interest? That seems a whole fuckload of strange to me.”

I rub my temples. “That still does not explain how Ophelia ended up here at Montridge. With that kind of money, she could have chosen another college.”

“Well, this part you’re gonna love.” His brown eyes twinkle. “The trust was very specific about her attending Montridge. It was here or nowhere. Now, why the fuck would someone do that to their kid before they were even born? And this girl has no powers, right?”

“Right.” I lie with ease.

“So why the fuck? Someone wanted her here, but I’d bet my 550 Spyder that it wasn’t her parents.”

Knowing how much he loves that car, and also what I know about her powers being bound as a child, I completely agree. “So who else? Did you find anything more?”

“No. But that trust definitely looks legit, which tells me that someone with a lot of power set it up to look that way.”

Someone powerful enough to bind an elementai’s powers.

He runs a hand over his thick beard. “Looks like you were right to show an interest in this one, Alexandros. There is definitely something not quite right going on.”

I hum my agreement, my mind racing with more questions than answers.

“Also made me think of that prophecy you told me about,” he says with a casual shrug, like speaking of ancient prophecies is merely an afterthought and not something that could get us both in a whole lot of trouble.

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