Page 54 of Bound in Blood

But why? How was our bond severed? The magic that would require such a feat is… Who possesses such a power?

My ire at him is never far from the surface.Is that all you are concerned about? Who might have more power than the great Vasilis Drakos?

Watch your tone, he barks.

I draw a deep breath and close my eyes, forcing myself to channel my usual calm.I am tired, and I do not have the answers you are searching for. I would very much like to know them myself.

Is Lucian truly alive?

There is no sense in denying the truth any longer.Yes.

Then we must root him out and make him pay for his crimes, Alexandros.

I intend to find him and uncover his secrets, but I have no intention of teaming up with my father to do so. Whether he is in league with Giorgios is unknown at this time, but I would put nothing past him. It is possible my brother has told him of Ophelia’s existence and this is their joint ploy to take her. To breed her and spawn a whole army of elementai and vampires.Perhaps you should focus on finding your own son who betrayed his only brother and leave me to deal with mine.

I will deal with him in good time.

As will I. I keep that to myself and close my mind off to him. It is too dangerous to allow him inside for longer than a few moments. His powers are as great as mine.

One day soon, I will face Giorgios, but not today. Or even tomorrow. Not whilst they are warm and soft and as in need of me as I am of them. For now, I will stay cocooned in the warmth of my true family. The only one I need.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

XAVIER

“Ophelia isn’t here.” I glance up from the sketchpad I found earlier in the writing desk. “She and Malachi are talking with Elpis and Ani, and then they’re going to do some training. Axl went to pick up some food.”

The bedroom door closes with a soft click. “I know.” His voice, low and deep, sends a current of something unexpected skittering along my spine.

I scrub a hand through my hair. Annoyance, or perhaps frustration, prickles beneath my skin. “Do you need something, Alexandros?”

His eyes narrow to sharp pinpoints that I swear pierce through to the deepest recesses of my soul. “Our bond was severed, Xavier.”

I shrug, feigning disinterest when I am all too aware of that fact. “Yeah, I know. So?”

He licks his bottom lip. “So I am here to rectify that problem.”

A thick knot of nervous anxiety lodges in my throat, and I swallow it down. When we learned that we don’t need his bondto survive, I wasn’t sure if he’d want to put it back in place. But I hoped he would. “You’re reestablishing our bond?”

He nods.

I don’t ask why. Can’t imagine he’d tell me anyway. “Here? Now?”

He glances around the room. “Do you have somewhere else in mind?”

“No.” I glance at the sketch of Giorgios’s mountain fortress I’ve been working on and rub the back of my neck, finding it clammy with perspiration. My pulse is racing double time. A fact he’s no doubt aware of. “I just assumed…”

“That I would seek out Axl or Malachi first?”

Or that you wouldn’t seek us out at all. I don’t dare voice that thought. “Yeah.”

His only response is a harsh laugh I can’t decipher. He walks toward me, and each step he takes sends another jolt up my spine. “You recall how this works, yes?”

I wipe my hands on my jeans and try to tamp down my excitement. It’s embarrassing, the effect he has on me after all these years. “We share blood.”

He nods, his dark eyes boring into my face.

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