Page 71 of Bound in Blood

After I’m finished with training for the day, I sit cross-legged on the ground, absentmindedly plucking blades of grass as I stare up at the mountain of dragon that is Anikêtos. It’s been four days since we arrived here, and he and Elpis have remained with us. I don’t know how long they intend to stay, and I don’t want to ask and tempt fate. I love having them here.

Why are you staring at me, child?

Because you’re a dragon! An actual fire-breathing, cool-as-hell dragon who’s thousands of years old, and I have six billion questions I want to ask you. I don’t say that though. Instead, I ask, “Why can’t dragons harm a son of House Drakos?”

It is an oath my father swore long ago to Alexandros’s great-grandfather, the first of House Drakos.

“And it lasts forever?”

Until we are no longer beholden to it, and only the head of House Drakos can release us from such an oath.

His shiny black scales shimmer in the sun. He is almost too wondrous to believe. He and Elpis, who is half his size butequally mesmerizing. “Can you tell me everything you know about the blue poppy?”

He snorts and does that thing that looks suspiciously like an eye roll, even though I’m certain he would claim such human reactions are beneath him. Then he tucks his head under his wing in his best effort to ignore me. But I’m not budging.

Ani!

Go ask Alexandros, he says.

I did, and he told me everything he knows, but…I lick my lips before I go on.He isn’t Anikêtos, son of Herôs, seer of truths, and keeper of the cradle of magic, is he?

He snorts again and lifts his head, blinking his fiery green eyes at me.What is it you want to know, curious and annoying child?

“I know it takes ten days to leave my system, but is there a way to… you know, hurry the process along?”

He makes a noise like a growl.Ophelia, you are the most powerful creature to have been born in centuries.With that cryptic and less than helpful answer, he huffs once more and returns his head to its previous position underneath his wing.

I stare at him, hoping he will elaborate but knowing he won’t. He’s even more stubborn than Alexandros. Instead, I look to Elpis for some help, but she simply shakes her head and snuggles against him.

I place my hands beside me and press my palms into the plush grass, flattening it down until it tickles my skin. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes. Alexandros said the earth is the most powerful element—with healing properties, right? So if blue poppy is a toxin, then surely it can be removed, or cleansed, like a bacteria.

A thrill of excitement runs down my spine. I have no idea if this will work or if I’ll be able to tell whether it has. But it’s worth a shot. Anything that allows Alexandros to reinstate ourbond is worth trying, and I could kick myself for not considering it sooner.

I press my fingertips into the cool soil. Dirt surges up to collect underneath my fingernails, and I breathe, focusing on the orb of light inside me, dazzling like the sun, as well as the movement of the earth beneath my hands. The soil, warm and ticklish, fizzes under my fingertips. And then I feel it—an ancient, powerful energy flowing through my body, making every hair stand on end. It’s scary and overwhelming, yet intoxicating and addictive at the same time. I feel invincible, like I could make the mountain in the distance crumble to the ground if I simply stared at it long enough. But I focus on the blue poppy, isolating the remnants of the drug that cling to my red blood cells, and then I channel those remnants through my fingertips and release them all back into the earth.

As soon as I feel the last of it leave my system, I pull my fingers from the dirt and let out a triumphant shout. I did it. And more surprisingly, I instinctively knew how to. Like with the silver cage in the mountain cave, I only had to think about what I wanted to make it happen.

I wipe the dirt from my hands and jump up, eager to get back to the house as quickly as possible. Alexandros is leaning against the open doorway, watching me. I should have realized that one of them would have me in sight.

“What were you doing, little one?” he calls.

I press my lips together, unable to contain my glee as I run across the lawn and throw myself at him. He catches me with ease, and I wrap my legs around his waist. “I just got all of the blue poppy out of my system.”

The sound that comes from this man’s throat makes me melt. I’m pretty sure one day I will actually do that, and I’ll wind up as little more than a puddle on the ground. “Ophelia, do not toy with me.”

“I’m not. I did it,” I say, heat curling in my core. “I used earth magic.”

He carries me inside the house, running his nose along the skin of my neck, and I tip my head back for him, willing him to bite me. I need him to bite me.

“Ophelia.” My name is a pained, frustrated groan on his lips.

“What? Is something wrong?”

“You are ovulating.”

Dammit all to hell. Of course I am. I knew it was expected, but now? Can Mother Nature not have given me only one more day? “Nooo,” I whine.

“One day, I will love nothing more than to see you carry my child, agápi mou. But for now, we cannot take such a risk.” I’m way too young to have kids. I’ve never even thought of having my own before, so why does the thought of having his tiny vampire or elementai babies sound so appealing to me? He presses his forehead to mine while he carries me through to the bedroom. “However, I am still going to feed from you. I am as desperate as you are to have our bond back in place, and the mere scent of your blood has my mouth watering and my fangs aching.”

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