Page 31 of Bound in Blood

“He left us right outside the fortress gates,” Malachi says, a puzzled look on his face that I’m sure mirrors my own. “But then his guards brought us inside. And when he came back with you and Xavier?—”

“He brought us straight into the house,” Xavier finishes for him.

I relay this information to Enora.

Then it is as I suspected, I am sure. He can transport into the house, but not out of it. He cannot use the power on sacred ground because it is not his latent vampire power.

I screw my eyes closed. My head is hurting, and I’m unsure if it’s due to the prolonged connection with two people or the worry of this new development—or both.What do you mean, not his latent power? So how can he transport?

Powers can be stolen.A shiver runs down my spine at the terror that has crept into her voice.It is not common, but it is possible. I have been plagued by doubt as to how he was able to fool Alexandros, whose mind powers were unparalleled, and I can only come to one conclusion. Giorgios is a lot more powerful than he has led everyone to believe.

My brain works overtime to process all of this new information. Has he been able to read our minds the whole timewe’ve been here? Can he hear me speaking to my friends right now? Did he hear me speak to Ani and Elpis? Surely not, or he would have made it known.So in order to mask his vampire powers, he stole another power from someone else?

I believe that is a likely scenariocomes her anxious reply.

And he’s been lying to Alexandros and their father for all these years? Since they were children?

Alexandros has told me little about his family, but if my memory is correct, Giorgios’s transportation powers emerged when he was already a grown man.

My head pounds, blood throbbing against the pulse points in my temples. I don’t know if they’re able to feel it, but Cadence jumps in.Tell her about the ritual.

Of course, I almost forgot about the ritual.

If Giorgios were to bond with you and impregnate you, Ophelia, then he would be able to use the magic of the sacred creation of life and the dark magic of the ritual to break your bond with Alexandros and the boys forever. If he is powerful enough to incant the spell, your power is enough to make it work.

Her words are like a knife to my heart, and I clutch my chest as pain rips through me like wildfire. The guys all say my name and utter curses. Their hands soothe me, brushing my hair back and gliding over my skin while they utter assurances that everything will be okay. But it will not be okay. If this is Giorgios’s plan?—

Giorgios with his army of guards?—

How will we stop him?

I am sorry, Ophelia.Enora’s concerned voice cuts through the turmoil in my head.What can we do?

My body trembles with fear and deep-seated grief. Not only for me, but for all of my mates. How can Giorgios be so eager to tear apart what the universe has sought to bring together?

Ophelia?Cadence stops the spiral I’m caught in.

For now, please find out all you can about the ritual. About how we might stop it. Is there a way to stop me from ovulating, maybe?I’m grasping at straws, but I’m desperate.

We will do all we can. Please keep in contact with us, sweet child. We can find a way to get to you. Osiris and Sienna, and I am certain the Ruby Dragon vampires would help.

I’m not sure there’s time, and Giorgios has an army, Enora. An actual vampire army that consists of at least a hundred soldiers, and who knows if there are more. I take a deep breath and force myself to add,But I will stay in contact and let you know if there’s anything else you can do. Thank you, friends.

Be safe, Ophelia, Cadence says around a sob.

After saying goodbye to both of them, I focus on the boys, who are all staring at me with concern. As much as I would love to tell them there’s no need for them to worry, this time I can’t.

When I’m finished relaying my conversation with Enora and Cadence, I fall silent and allow them space to react with unsurprising rage and thirst for revenge. It takes some time to calm them, especially as I’m feeling those things myself, but I remind them that Giorgios’s mind powers are probably a lot stronger than we thought and we need to shield our thoughts and emotions from him as best we can. Speaking via our bond is the safest option when we are discussing anything we’d rather he didn’t hear. During one of our long, brain-melting training sessions, Alexandros explained the mate bond to me. My heart clenches at the memory, but his assurance that the sanctity of such a bond prevents it from being breached by others allows me to be confident the boys and I can continue to safely communicate.

Axl sits beside Malachi and in front of me as I sit cross-legged on Xavier’s lap on the bed.How long do we have, princess?

Doing some math in my head, I count back to the first day of my last period. Seven days…We have about a week until I ovulate, I think. But it could be sooner. I’ve never tracked this kind of thing, but if I go by the days Alexandros has told me I was ovulating during the last few months, I think it happens pretty much right in the middle of my cycle.

Fear and anger and sadness pour from all of us. But we can’t let this happen. We can’t wallow in our despair because we don’t have time.At least the blue poppy news is good. One more day, and it will be out of your system and you’ll feel normal again. That’s something.

But we still can’t feed from you because we have no idea what you’re consuming that contains blue poppy, Cupcake. And while it doesn’t harm you, you must eat and keep up your strength. We can live without your blood for months if we truly needed to, but you cannot survive without food and water.

I lean back against him, letting him wrap his huge arms around me.That will be the least of our worries if we don’t stop Giorgios from performing the ritual.

---