Page 34 of Bound in Blood

Giorgios nods once. “They have never had cause to. Until now. They believe you are the child of the prophecy, Ophelia.”

I want to scream down the entire house, but I manage to keep my emotions in check. “What prophecy?” I recall Nazeel speaking to me of being “more” and Enora’s caution.

“The Order believes you will be the one to bring balance to the world; however, as you are so young and your powers so new, there are also some who believe you could be swayed just as easily to the dark as to the light.”

My head is swaying, I know that much. This is all insane. “But elementai are inherently good.”

“If we choose to believe you are truly the child of the prophecy, then you are more than an elementai, Ophelia.”

The same words Nazeel spoke to me. I shudder. “Do you believe that?”

“I do not know, and it is of no consequence. There are those who do, and that is what put Alexandros at risk. Nazeel believed your powers must be fully unlocked to prevent you from turning toward the dark.”

“Then bring him back here to us, Giorgios. He can stay safe here in this fortress with us. Bring him back to us, or I will use this power and I will scorch this earth to goddamn ash.”

He frowns. “Ophelia.”

“Please, Giorgios!” I beg, my heart cracking into splinters. I hate this power. I hate being an elementai. I hate that they hurt him because of me.

Before Giorgios can reply, Xavier speaks up. “Nah, I don’t buy it.”

“You do not buy what, Xavier?” Giorgios asks, his tone simmering with annoyance.

“This bullshit about the Order and what had to be done. You chose to lie to us. You made us sick instead of telling us the truth. You could have told us all of this.”

“I had to keep you in the dark to ensure Ophelia’s powers would be unlocked, to ensure you would come here with me?—”

“Where you could keep us prisoner?” Xavier growls. “Weaken us all and leave us fucking defenseless?”

“I already told you—I did not consider the impact on Ophelia. I built this fortress one thousand years ago, for the very purpose of preventing witches from being able to use their magic against me. How was I to know I would one day harbor an elementai here? You are here for your own protection. At Alexandros’s request. He may not have killed his father, but if Lucian finds Ophelia, then he will kill her. Make no mistake about it.”

“Then bring Alexandros back to us. Surely he is the best person to protect me from his own son.”

Sighing, Giorgios closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Or he is the worst. He and Lucian share an unbreakable bond. It can be masked, but not destroyed. He would take you from this place and then he would lead Lucian straight to you, and who knows what choice he would make when faced with such an impossible decision.”

But Lucian already knows where I am. Is he simply biding his time, or is Giorgios lying about him? Is his fortress truly as impenetrable as he claims? I have no idea who to believe about what anymore.

“He would choose Ophelia every single fucking time,” Axl says, snarling.

Giorgios’s right eye twitches. “You are so sure of your sire’s noble heart, yet you know nothing of his true nature.” He focuses his attention on me. “You are so confident he has your best interests at heart, Ophelia. So sure his intentions are honorable. What if he is on the wrong side of history? How many times has he told you he is not a good man? What if he is the dark and you, my sweet Ophelia, are destined for the light?”

Rage and injustice, guilt and anguish—all are fighting a war inside me, and all of them are winning. “I know what kind of man he is. He would never do anything to harm me. Never.”

Giorgios’s nostrils flare. “And I am sure Elena and Alyria and Imogen believed the same to be true when he allowed his son to tear out their hearts. When he was too weak to prevent such a despicable act and too weak to take revenge.” He stands, planting his hands on the table. “So tell me, little Ophelia, are you still so sure that he would choose you when faced with such a choice? Because nobody else believes him capable of it, and that is why he has been removed from the equation. He is my brother, and I love him. But he cannot be trusted.”

My lip trembles, but my voice is clear. “I trust him.”

“Then you are a fool.”

We glare at each other, and the moment seems to stretch into eternity before Xavier speaks again. “What about the bond?”

Giorgios scowls at him. “The bond?”

“You offered to bond with Ophelia to save us? But we didn’t need saving from the blue poppy, did we? So why the fuck did you offer to bond with our girl?”

Giorgios scoffs like he considers the question beneath him, but he holds Xavier’s stare when he answers. “Because, Xavier, I am a benevolent man. I knew Ophelia would not agree to bond with me, which is why I did not push her on the matter. But I also know there is one thing sure to crush a spirit more than anything else, and that is the absence of hope. So I told you there was a cure knowing you would never need to use it. Because I could not bear to let you believe there was no hope. Perhaps I was mistaken.” With that, he shoves his chair back so hard it crashes to the floor, then stalks out of the room, leaving us staring after him.

There are so many questions, so much emotion, I feel dizzy with it all. But there’s one prevailing thought that rises above thenoise. One focus for us all, and it’s Axl who voices it. “If he won’t tell us where Alexandros is, we need to find him ourselves.”

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