Page 31 of Promised in Blood

But biting Ophelia?—

Pure fire. A raging inferno of passion that burns within my blood still. I will be any kind of man, better or worse, to keep her at my side until the end of my days. I will bring the entire universe to ruination if it means I get to keep her. My feelings for her are dangerous and addictive, and they are born from a place so deep inside my soul that I know I could never lose her without losing myself. “I cannot compare the two, brother. It would be like comparing night and day.”

“But you loved Elena, did you not? You told me you loved her, Alexandros.”

His voice cracks on her name, as though he is reliving the heartbreak he experienced when our father and Elena’s chose me rather than him as her suitor. Despite the magic blocking our bond within the library walls, his pain assaults me anew, the ache every bit as excruciating as it was a thousand years ago. A testament to our mother and the example of integrity she provided us, Giorgios made the choice to put his feelings aside for the good of our family name. But before he took that honorable step back, he made me promise that I would love heralways. It is a promise I have kept. “I did love her, Giorgios. I do still.”

My words ring with the strength of their truth, although I now know it was not Elena who was meant for me. She is not the other half of my soul. She was never supposed to be mine.

The bond I had with Elena, whilst not destined, still carried all the markings of a vampire–elementai bond and therefore gave me the privilege of knowing her feelings as if they were my own. That is how I know how deeply she cared for my brother. But she never felt for him the love he so desired. Never looked at him with the heat of a lover’s embrace. She thought of Giorgios as if he were as much her brother as he was mine.

And yet.

Perhaps she was always destined to belong to Giorgios. If I am to believe the legends, every creature alive has a fated mate. Elena was not mine. Was she his? There is no way to know, which means I will forever live with the question of whether I prevented him from living his own destiny. The idea that I may have taken from him that which I have found with Ophelia cuts me with a million guilt-poisoned blades. “I am sorry, brother.”

He dismisses me with a wave of his hand, his shoulders stiff and his countenance impassive; however, his pain still lingers close to the surface. “It was our father’s will. Neither of us were prepared to disappoint him back then. And it made our family all the stronger.” He rubs a hand over his beard. “For a time, at least.”

Bone-crushing despair threatens to drown me, but I remain unfaltering in the face of my brother’s outward stoicism. “Until the elementai bloodlines were no more.”

“Except they have returned now. Perhaps the girl is only the first of many.”

Unable to dash his hopes, I nod. “Perhaps.”

“If our father learns of her existence, she will surely be the first of many. He will breed her like a common broodmare.”

The thought of my kindhearted, trusting elementai being used in such a way has bile burning my esophagus. “He can never discover her identity, Giorgios. Never.”

The lines of his face soften into a reassuring expression. “I have no idea how we will keep her a secret forever, brother, but we shall certainly try.”

I press my lips together and lean back in my chair. I have no idea either, but keeping her from him is imperative. Even after she learns how to control her powers, she will be a target. But someone knows about her. Someone who is responsible for her being here at Montridge.

“We need to find out about her past,” I tell him. “Perhaps then we can better understand how to protect her. If someone else even suspects what she is, they are a danger to her whether they mean her harm or not.”

He nods solemnly. “How much information do you have thus far?”

I recount the information Osiris obtained for me at the beginning of the semester. “That was as much as he could find, and I do not wish to have him continue digging into Ophelia’s past. I would rather we keep her identity between us for a long as possible.”

He absentmindedly hums his agreement. “So the only people who know about her are you, me, and your boys?”

“As far as I am aware. But there is clearly someone else out there who is aware that she is something special. Perhaps not elementai, but something.” The puzzle of Ophelia Hart extends farther than the eye can see, and there are still far too many pieces missing. “There was also an incident a few weeks ago.” I rub my temples, annoyed at myself for not following up on it sooner.

He raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“A girl who used to bully Ophelia transferred here after the semester started. She toyed with her for a few weeks and then lured her off campus, planning to kill her. At the time, I thought it extreme for a human to go to such lengths, but not unheard of. At some point, the girl received an anonymous note with the name of a vampire who could help her be rid of her Ophelia problem.”

He tips his chin. “Which vampire?”

Ronan King. While I am satisfied that he has no knowledge of Ophelia’s true identity, that he put his dirty hands on her will not go unpunished, but that is for another day. “A commander of Onyx. He was merely a pawn.”

“And the girl? Where is she? Perhaps she knows more.”

“She was disposed of accordingly. Axl, Xavier, and Malachi swore she knew nothing more than what she told them about the anonymous note. However, they sensed there was something not right about her.” I comb my memories. “Rotten, I believe is the word they used to describe her scent and her blood.”

He recoils, his nose wrinkling.

“Perhaps she was under the influence of some dark magic?” I offer.

“It is entirely possible. But if that is the case, then it is surely a certainty that someone knows of Ophelia’s true identity. For why else would someone who possesses dark magic take an interest in a teenage girl who appears, for all intents and purposes, to be human?”

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