Page 64 of Bound in Blood

ALEXANDROS

Ophelia’s smile is so bright I swear it could light up the entire night sky. Happiness radiates from her and from all my boys too as we sit around the dining table about to devour the feast Malachi prepared. Such an ordinary scene, and one so at odds with the turmoil that surrounds us. While we eat, we keep the conversation light and pleasant. Xavier’s joy that the TV here has a sports channel, the surprising array of American foods at the grocery store, how the middle-aged store clerk watched Axl steal three bags full of groceries, staring at him like a lovestruck teenager thanks to the pleasurable bite he gave him. Whom out of Elpis and Anikêtos would be more likely to throw you off mid-flight and actually let you hit the ground if you had sex on their back.

But despite the pleasant food and atmosphere and the feelings of contentment that have settled over us all, there is only so long that we can indulge in this fantasy that our lives are in any way normal. Only so long we can avoid the very obvious topics of Giorgios, Lucian, and Ophelia’s fate.

“What happened to you? That day?” I am surprised it is Ophelia who broaches the subject first. “What did Giorgios do to you to sever our bond like that?”

I set down my fork, having little desire to sample the mashed potatoes Malachi made, as delicious as he and Ophelia seem to find them. I fight back the despair conjured by reliving that day. “Giorgios lured me to a cave, a place where my powers would no longer work, and thus I had no way to detect any danger.”

She leans forward and rests her chin on her hands. “Like the cave in Peru?”

I shake my head. “No, this was done with powerful magic. A coven of witches cast a spell that prevented my powers from working. They chained me with silver and then an even more powerful witch cast an ancient spell which severed our bond.” I grind my jaw.

“Giorgios told us it was Nazeel. He said she saved his life and because he owed her a debt, she forced him to betray you.”

“Nazeel Danraath.” My hands ball into fists, and I bare my fangs.

Ophelia gasps. “So it’s true?”

My memories are clouded, cloaked in the pain of the silver and their betrayal, and I am not sure I fully trust them where Nazeel and Giorgios are concerned. I cannot be sure what is truth and what is falsehood. “It is true she once saved his life, and yes, she was certainly there. What else did he say of it?”

Ophelia’s brow furrows like she is recalling the details, and Axl answers in the interim. “He said she wanted you dead. That the Order wanted you dead, but that he saved you.”

“Saved me by chaining me with silver and leaving me to rot in a cage?” I lash out, unable to contain all of my rage. But it serves no purpose here, and I manage to rein in my temper once more.

Axl nods. “That’s what he told us.”

Malachi blinks at me, his mouth hanging open for a few seconds before he finds his voice. “Did she want you dead though? Or did the Order? Because they’re not supposed to interfere, right?”

“They are not. But Nazeel has been involved in Ophelia’s fate since the day she was born, and whilst I once believed her intentions were honorable, now I am not so sure.”

“Not sure?” Xavier scoffs. “She severed our bond with you at best, tried to kill you at worst. Plus made us all think we were going to die, broke Ophelia’s heart wide fucking open… And you’re not sure her intentions are honorable? I’d say they are most definitely fucking not.”

Do not think the recent change in our relationship allows you liberties regarding the tone you take with me, pup.

His throat works as he swallows, the thick vein pulsing with his blood, and he sits back in his chair, his chin dropping a little, but I do not miss the spike in his heart rate that has nothing to do with my chastisement.Yes sir.

I brush aside thoughts of disciplining him for his insolence. As pleasant as it is to imagine how hard I will fuck him whilst feeding from the vein at the nape of his neck, I could do without the distraction for the moment.

I clear my throat and refocus on the after-dinner conversation. “Nazeel left immediately after the ritual. It was Giorgios who transported me to my prison in Peru.” I recall how I fought and struggled against him. But still chained in silver and weakened by the ritual, I was no match for him. Coward. “I recall now how he also told me that he was sparing my life and that the Order wanted me dead, but given the many lies he has told and the Order’s history, I doubt either of those things were true. There were guards stationed outside my cage, but they refused to speak, and I believe I was in and out of consciousness formany days before Ophelia freed me. Certainly I did not witness Lucian dispense with the guards.”

“Lucian got rid of the guards?” Axl asks, surprised.

I look to Ophelia, for this is her part of the story, and she nods. “That’s what he told me, and there were four headless vampire corpses in the cave. At least I assume they were vampires. So if he didn’t kill them, who did?”

Malachi’s green eyes narrow on her face. “Did he say why he was there? Why he killed the guards?”

She glances at me, and a tear runs down her cheek. “He said he was protecting you.”

There is a place on a vampire’s throat, directly below the Adam’s apple, where if one receives a blow, it causes considerable pain and an inability to breathe for at least a few seconds. I have endured such an assault only twice in my long life, by vampires who were much stronger than I at the time, and it both hurt and affected my breathing less than Ophelia’s words did.

He was protecting me?

In order to breathe again, I push all thoughts of him from my head and focus on her sadness instead, for it is much easier to deal with.

Another tear runs down her face. “I hate that you were there all alone. In the dark with no idea of… of anything.” She wipes her eyes.

I beckon her to me, and she pushes back her chair and walks around the table. As soon as she is close enough, I pull her onto my lap and wrap my arms around her. Whilst my time there was spent in more agony than I have experienced in my incredibly long life, I will never let her know that, for it would only cause her more pain. “Do not feel sad for me, little one. What I endured was nothing compared to your heartache. I knew I would see you all again.”

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