Page 115 of Promised in Blood

“You can use the portal to be by her side at a moment’s notice,” he says, reading my mind without actually needing to.

I lean back in my chair, a heavy sigh leaving me. If Lucian is in the old country, then he could have used the portal to get to Montridge. The portals are monitored, but he is gifted enough to have found a way to remain undetected.

“Alexandros?”

“I will go.” There is no other choice. I must find Lucian, although the thought of confronting the son who betrayed me brings me nothing but anguish.

Chapter

Forty-One

OPHELIA

The syrup drips down the tines of the fork, slow and thick and sickly sweet.

“Come on, baby. This is your last bite, and you need to keep your strength up.” I lick my lips and open my mouth, allowing Malachi to feed me the final bite of the waffles he made me. “That’s my good girl,” he says, his face breaking into a wicked grin because he knows what those words do to me.

Xavier’s arms loop around my waist, and he nuzzles my neck. “Yeah, you gotta finish your dinner so we can eat ours, Cupcake.”

I giggle, squirming in his arms.

“Put her down.” Alexandros’s deep, sexy voice fills the room, and I squirm for a different reason. But I look up and see that he isn’t alone, and the energy in the room shifts on a dime.

“Giorgios?” Xavier sounds surprised.

Alexandros’s brother?I ask through our bond.

Alexandros gives me a brief kiss. “Ophelia, meet my brother, Giorgios.”

Alexandros and his brother look alike, except that Giorgios’s eyes are blue, and he’s slightly shorter than his brother, and a lot less… I don’t know. His presence is just a lotless.

Giorgios extends his hand in greeting. “Ophelia, I have heard so much about you.”

I stare at his outstretched hand, unsure how I feel about this stranger, even if he is Alexandros’s brother.

Alexandros presses his lips to my ear and slips an arm around my waist. “He knows who and what you are, little one,” he reminds me. “We can trust him.”

I force a smile. Something feels off. “Hi, Giorgios.”

He takes my hand, his palm swallowing mine whole, and brushes his lips over my knuckles. A possessive growl rumbles from Alexandros, and Giorgios releases me.

Alexandros’s fingers dig into my hip as he holds me closer. “Giorgios and I need to take a trip to Europe.”

My heart sinks. That’s why their energy was giving me anxiety. They’re leaving. He’s leaving. The thought of him being so far away makes my heart skip erratically. Fear, an emotion I’m unused to, curls its icy tendrils around my heart. “Europe? But why?”

He rests his lips against my hair and inhales deeply before replying. “Giorgios knows where Lucian is. I must find him and determine if he poses any threat to you.”

“No.” I shake my head. “You don’t have to go.” My eyes dart between him and his brother. “Why can’t Giorgios go alone?”

Alexandros tucks my hair behind my ears. “I have to go, little one. He is my son.”

I look toward Axl, Xavier, and Malachi in hopes that they’ll back me up, but they remain silent, even though I feel their anxiety too. “But it feels too dangerous. What if something happens to you? What if you don’t come back?” Dread coils deep in my gut. It’s just a quick trip, right? So why does it feel like more?

He dusts his lips over my forehead, his breath warming my skin. “Giorgios and I can take care of ourselves. I assure you.”

A tear rolls down my cheek, and I swat it away. “How long will you be gone?” It’s almost Christmas Eve, and I have been so looking forward to spending it with the four of them.

His strong arms band around my waist, pressing me against his solid chest. “Less than a day, Ophelia. Perhaps only a few hours. There is a portal which will take me there immediately. And I will return as soon as I find him.”

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