Page 82 of Promised in Blood

She tries to speak but can’t. Her eyes bug out, and her face turns a deep shade of crimson. I tug on his hand. “Please let her go so she can explain.”

For a few heavy seconds, I’m worried he’s going to snap her neck. But he finally releases her and wraps me in his arms. His hands run over my body as if checking for injury. “Are you okay?”

No, I am not okay. I’m confused and scared, and I have three billion questions I need answers to, but I know that’s not what he means. “I’m fine. I promise.”

He keeps one arm around me and turns back to Enora. “How could you? The Order… Nazeel?” He seems unable to string together a complete sentence, and I’m left wondering why he’s so angry, not to mention seemingly afraid of the woman with the red hair. She was incredibly powerful, but I didn’t sense any danger from her.

“I’m okay,” I assure him.

He ignores me and keeps his glare trained on Enora.

“She asked to meet our most gifted witches, and also to meet Ophelia. You know she would not cause her any harm. What was I supposed to do?”

His breath dusts over my forehead as he grips me tighter. “You should have told me immediately.”

“She swore me to secrecy, and you know that my family’s oath to the Danraath witches prevents me from going against her wishes. You also know that she is no threat to Ophelia.”

“Wait. Is she the one who asked you to look out for me?” I ask.

Enora nods.

“She said that she saved me when I was born. She said she was there.”

Alexandros turns to me, his eyes narrowed. “She told you that?”

I nod.She also said I am more than an elementai, Alexandros. What does she mean?I ask him through our bond because I’m not sure I fully trust Enora after she left me alone with Nazeel. Plus, there are some things I’d rather keep between us, at least until I know what they mean. Not that I can discount the question of whether Enora knows what I am, given her connection to Nazeel.

He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he retrains his glare on Enora. “You have broken my trust, and for that, I will never forgive you.”

The pain on Enora’s face is so acute that it winds me. “Alexandros, I never meant to?—”

“I trusted you with the most precious thing in the world to me.” His body vibrates with the strength of his rage.

“But Nazeel would never hurt her,” Enora insists.

He lunges, his fangs bared, and Enora flinches back against the door. “That is not the point, Enora. You have set in motion a chain of events that cannot be undone!”

She hardens her gaze. “No, Alexandros. Whatever is meant to be will be. There is nothing either of us can do to change evenour own fates, let alone the fate of another. If Nazeel has an interest in Ophelia, there must be a good reason.”

My stomach churns. Why do I always feel like I’m out of the loop in my own life?

Alexandros grabs my wrist. “You are not to come to this house again.”

I struggle to keep up with him as he marches me toward the door. “What? No, you can’t?—”

He stops in his tracks and grips my jaw between his thumb and forefinger. We’re standing in the hallway now, surrounded by a dozen scared-looking witches. “You will not come here again, Ophelia.”

“You can’t stop her. She’s my friend,” Cadence yells from the peripheral of the circle surrounding us, and my heart warms at her sticking up for our friendship.

With a vicious roar, he bares his teeth, and a couple of the nearby witches yelp and scurry back.

“Girls, that will be enough for now.” Enora’s calm voice coasts down the hallway. “Alexandros, must you discipline the girl in front of her friends?”

There’s a single snigger from somewhere behind us, and he releases his grip on me.I have barely even started, he warns me through our bond.

I bite down on my lip and close my eyes. My cheeks burn with shame, but the spot between my thighs is also inexplicably warm. He’s enraged and dangerous, and this is definitely not the time or the place. Yet I can’t seem to help myself.

“Say goodbye to your friends, Ophelia,” he commands. “You will not be coming back here.”

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