Page 33 of Bound in Blood

I place a hand on Xavier’s and Malachi’s thighs and squeeze.Please let me handle this. We need answers, and he’s not going to give us any if we’re fighting. As much as I’d love to claw his eyes out, we must stay calm.

They voice their agreement in my head, and I focus all my attention back on Alexandros’s traitorous brother. “Why did you lie about Alexandros’s death, and why are you poisoning us?” I ask again, amazed at the calm command in my voice.

“I did not poison you, Ophelia, for I would never do such a thing. Blue poppy is harmless to humans. In fact, it releases a mild euphoria in the correct dosage.”

“Not harmless to vampires though, is it?” Axl growls.

Giorgios tilts his head and regards Axl with curiosity. “Relatively so. It weakens a vampire somewhat, makes them feel a lot less…” He purses his lips. “Perky,” he finally offers. “It is the opioid, you see. An evolutionary flaw. As the blue poppy only grows here in Tibet and so few of our kind have ever ventured to these mountains, a vampire’s DNA has never adapted to tolerate that particular strain of opiate. But it causes no lasting damage. You will all be as you were as soon as the blue poppy has left your system.”

The way he speaks so coldly about making my boys so weak and sick is astonishing. “And you think that makes it okay?”

“It makes it necessary, sweet Ophelia.” Shaking his head, he releases a heavy sigh. “You all know so little of this world. Of the ancient ways and the things that must be done to ensurethe survival of our species. You have so little knowledge about humankind, our only viable food source. As much as we can enjoy these tidbits,” he says, indicating the rare cut of lamb on his plate, “they cannot sustain us the way humans do.”

Conceited, pompous douchebag. This isn’t the first time he’s tried to use our apparent lack of knowledge against us to make us feel inferior. But it stops now. “So enlighten us, dearest Giorgios,” I say, injecting as much snark into my tone as I can muster. “Why was it necessary to poison my mates?”

He drops his gaze for a few beats, appearing contrite. It’s so at odds with all of his usual pomp and arrogance that I simply stare. When he looks up again, his eyes are glistening with tears. “So you would all believe he was dead.”

He’s not dead.

That means my boys are not going to die. I’m not going to lose them. We didn’t lose him.

A current of sheer relief runs through the boys and me, lighting us up from the inside. No matter the evidence we already had to prove he was still alive, Giorgios’s confirmation was what we needed to fully believe—not that we’d ever admit it to him.

A tear rolls down my cheek. “But why? Why did you tell us he was dead? Why did you—” A sob steals the rest of the sentence from my mouth, and the comforting arms of Xavier and Malachi slide around my shoulders.

He screws his eyes closed and inhales deeply through his nose. “I hoped it would not come to this. I hoped you would simply stop pushing and accept he was gone. Nazeel Danraath asked for my help, and I could not refuse her. She saved my life a long time ago, and I was in her debt.”

“Inherdebt?” I screech at him, the injustice of it all burning a hole in my chest. “What about your brother? What about the man who has done nothing but love you for your whole life?”

He snorts. “You know very little of my brother, Ophelia. Do not sully our history by imbibing it with such human emotions as love.”

I’m momentarily too stunned to speak. Too many thoughts are racing around my head for me to pin down any one of them. Thankfully, Malachi speaks in my stead. “Why did Nazeel Danraath want us to think Alexandros was dead?”

“There are far greater powers at work here than any of you can begin to comprehend. Nazeel believes Ophelia is the key to an ancient prophecy, and she believed his death was the only way to unlock her full potential. The only way to determine who you truly are. And she would have had him killed. I—” He jabs his thumb into his chest. “I saved him and hid him away from the clutches of Lucian and the Order.”

“So this was about me being the key to some prophecy? Me and these stupid goddamn powers? The ones I can’t even use here? You tore us apart to unlock my potential? For a stupid. Fucking. Prophecy?!” Anger fizzes in my veins, and the tips of my fingers crackle with electricity. The ground vibrates, and I see something in Giorgios’s eyes that I haven’t seen there before. Fear.

But he has nothing to be afraid of while my powers remain suppressed. They’re still there, simmering inside me, swirling within the core of white light, but they’re smothered, and try as I might, I cannot free them.

“I could not deny Nazeel’s request, Ophelia. It would have ensured our certain deaths. I did what I could to protect us all. Alexandros too.Heunderstood what had to be done. He undertook the sacrifice willingly.”

No. I refuse to believe that. No way would Alexandros willingly cause us this much pain. “What sacrifice? To be parted from us? To have us all believe he was dead? To tear out our souls? To let us think we were all going to die—because thatwould surely be my fate if all my mates were dead. I would refuse to live in a world without them, and he knows that.”

Giorgios remains silent, his shoulders rolled back and his eyes full of tears that don’t fall.

In my anger and hurt, I forgot the most important questions, but Axl has enough presence of mind to ask them. “Is he okay? When can we see him?”

“He is alive and he is safe. I cannot tell you where he is for fear Nazeel will discover his whereabouts. She is connected to you, Ophelia. She met with you at Montridge, did she not?”

I blink at him, recalling the enigmatic lady with the emerald eyes and fiery hair, and nod.

His expression softens a little. “She has a connection with you. I am unaware of the power behind that connection, and I cannot risk her finding my brother. You must believe I am doing everything I can to keep him alive. Safe from Lucian and the Order.”

I recall my conversation with Lucian a few days ago and how he warned me not to trust his uncle. But of course he would, wouldn’t he? “The Order? Lucian? Are they working together? Do they know we’re here?” Every new revelation makes less sense and only creates more questions.

“They both know of my fortress, yes, but they do not work together. Despite their misguided efforts, Nazeel and the Order do not wish for the world to fall into darkness. Lucian, on the other hand, would prefer the world to fall into an eternal night. I did not wish to alarm you all with that knowledge. It is why I have such an extensive army. For our mutual protection. Lucian will not get past these gates, I assure you. And neither Nazeel nor the Order mean you any harm. Besides, her powers will be as useless here as Ophelia’s are.”

“But the Order only observes,” Malachi says. “They don’t interfere.”

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