Bound in Blood (Broken Bloodlines Book 3)
Bound in Blood: Chapter 12

I wake with Axl’s arms around me, Malachi’s head on my shoulder, and Xavier’s leg draped over him with his foot resting on my calf. My muscles ache with a reminder of last night and the way the three of them took such good care of me.

I stretch my legs and wiggle my toes, trying to disturb my three sleeping giants as little as possible. Managing to roll onto my back, I smile at Xavier’s sleepy mumblings and wonder whether Cadence will be awake yet and if she has any news for me. Less than twelve hours have passed since I asked her to look into the blue poppy, but if I know her, she’ll have made it her mission to replace out what she could.

Closing my eyes, I search for her and have barely said hi when her voice bursts into my head, as though she’s been desperate to speak with me. Ophelia, girl!

She clearly has something to tell me, and I can only hope it’s good news. Cadence. Did you replace something?

Hell yeah, I did. And I hope you don’t mind, but … She goes quiet, and I hold my breath. But she’s part of the blood oath, and Professor Chowdry wasn’t around, and I needed a little help getting into the library, so I told Enora you contacted me, and then we got to talking, and well, she …

She what?

She’d love to speak to you too, if that’s all right? She has something super important to talk to you about. Can you do that? Speak to her too? Like a three-way thing?

I don’t know. I’ve never tried, I admit. But I’d love to speak to Enora. She’s always been kind to me, and she was really supportive when she found out about my powers. Besides, Alexandros trusts her, and therefore, so do I. But I’m willing to give it a shot.

I focus on Enora now. The smell of jasmine at Silver Vale. Her warm eyes and the gentle, soothing lilt of her voice. Her mind opens like the click of a lock, allowing me inside. Hi, I say quietly.

Ophelia, my sweet child. Her kind voice makes tears spring to my eyes, reminding me of the day we left Montridge and all we left behind.

Wow! Cadence says. I can hear you both. This is incredible.

Tell Ophelia what you learned, Cadence.

Her enthusiasm appropriately tamed, Cadence gives me a summary of everything she learned about the blue poppy, most of which she found in an ancient ledger about herbs and sleeping spells. Apparently, vampires never built up any resistance to the plant due to lack of exposure to it, but it only remains in their bloodstream for forty-eight hours. However—and this is the most depressing part—unlike other opiates, it remains in a human, or in my case, an elementai’s bloodstream for ten days. Ten long days without my boys being able to bite me. However, the best news is it causes no long-lasting damage, and as soon as it’s out of their systems, Axl, Xavier, and Malachi will be perfectly fine again.

That’s all so good to know, Cadence. Thank you so much.

It was nothing, girl. Glad I could help. We feel so helpless while you’re basically being held hostage by Giorgios.

Had I known of his intentions, Ophelia, I never would have permitted you all to leave with him, I swear to you, Enora adds.

That’s part of the problem though, Enora—we don’t know exactly what his intentions are. All we know is that he’s lied to us about Alexandros. But why? What the hell is he up to?

That is where I believe I may have some more answers for you, she says in a sad voice.

Axl shifts, and I snuggle closer to him, seeking his comfort even as he continues to sleep, unaware of this conversation.

What do you know?

When was your last period, child?

Embarrassment washes over me, but she wouldn’t ask if it weren’t relevant, so I answer her. Last week. Why?

So you would have ovulated shortly after your arrival to Giorgio’s fortress, she mumbles like she’s talking to herself. I suppose even he would have thought it was too soon.

My mouth goes dry. Too soon for what?

You have to understand, Ophelia. You are very special, and not only because you are the only elementai to have been born in half a millennium. There are some who believe you are much more.

Much more what? I demand. And what the hell does this have to do with my period?

There is a ritual. One that I am not aware has ever actually been effectively performed before because of its barbarity.

A ritual? My stomach rolls with nausea. Barbarity? That’s what she said, right?

It can only be performed when an elementai is ovulating.

Oh god, what fresh hell is this? Is Giorgios intending to knock me up with his vampire spawn? What ritual, Enora? What does it do? Why is it barbaric?

If Alexandros is truly alive⁠—

He is!

Then the only way to permanently sever a fated mate bond is for the elementai to be impregnated by a different vampire.

What the hell? If that were true, then why wouldn’t it have been performed before? Why wouldn’t more vampires try it? I mean, they’re not known for their chivalrous behavior. If such a ritual exists, I can’t believe some of the unscrupulous types didn’t give this a whirl back when there were plenty of elementai to choose from.

Because it requires more than simply an elementai and a vampire. It requires dark magic and immense power. And you, my sweet child, have more power than any living creature in several millennia.

My heart rate spikes alarmingly, so much so, the boys wake. Xavier sits up, his fangs protracted, and Axl and Malachi cocoon me between them.

“It’s okay, I’m not in any danger,” I whisper. “I’m just talking with Cadence and Enora. I’ll explain everything in a minute.”

His concerned eyes remain on me, but Xavier lies down, and the guys stay silent while I continue my conversation. It’s probably possible for me to pull them in too, but I have a sickening feeling that the things Enora’s telling me will only get worse, and I have no idea how they’ll react. For the immediate time being, it’s probably best they remain unaware, and then I can explain in my own way without any other distractions.

But the dark magic? My magic is good, right? Elementai are inherently good.

Yes, dear, you are correct. But any magic can be used for dark purposes. Even if it is weakened by the act, magic such as yours would still be powerful enough to cast such a spell.

But who can use dark magic like that? I can’t. I won’t.

I have reason to believe Giorgios is capable of using dark magic.

That doesn’t make sense. How? Vampires can’t cast spells.

You mentioned something to Cadence about him leaving the grounds when he transported. Has he ever transported from within the fortress grounds as far as you are aware?

He transported into the dining room when we first got here.

I am not talking about entering, but leaving, Ophelia. When he left Axl and Malachi and returned for you, did he teleport from within the grounds or outside of them?

I ask the boys the question.

“He left us right outside the fortress gates,” Malachi says, a puzzled look on his face that I’m sure mirrors my own. “But then his guards brought us inside. And when he came back with you and Xavier⁠—”

“He brought us straight into the house,” Xavier finishes for him.

I relay this information to Enora.

Then it is as I suspected, I am sure. He can transport into the house, but not out of it. He cannot use the power on sacred ground because it is not his latent vampire power.

I screw my eyes closed. My head is hurting, and I’m unsure if it’s due to the prolonged connection with two people or the worry of this new development—or both. What do you mean, not his latent power? So how can he transport?

Powers can be stolen. A shiver runs down my spine at the terror that has crept into her voice. It is not common, but it is possible. I have been plagued by doubt as to how he was able to fool Alexandros, whose mind powers were unparalleled, and I can only come to one conclusion. Giorgios is a lot more powerful than he has led everyone to believe.

My brain works overtime to process all of this new information. Has he been able to read our minds the whole time we’ve been here? Can he hear me speaking to my friends right now? Did he hear me speak to Ani and Elpis? Surely not, or he would have made it known. So in order to mask his vampire powers, he stole another power from someone else?

I believe that is a likely scenario comes her anxious reply.

And he’s been lying to Alexandros and their father for all these years? Since they were children?

Alexandros has told me little about his family, but if my memory is correct, Giorgios’s transportation powers emerged when he was already a grown man.

My head pounds, blood throbbing against the pulse points in my temples. I don’t know if they’re able to feel it, but Cadence jumps in. Tell her about the ritual.

Of course, I almost forgot about the ritual.

If Giorgios were to bond with you and impregnate you, Ophelia, then he would be able to use the magic of the sacred creation of life and the dark magic of the ritual to break your bond with Alexandros and the boys forever. If he is powerful enough to incant the spell, your power is enough to make it work.

Her words are like a knife to my heart, and I clutch my chest as pain rips through me like wildfire. The guys all say my name and utter curses. Their hands soothe me, brushing my hair back and gliding over my skin while they utter assurances that everything will be okay. But it will not be okay. If this is Giorgios’s plan⁠—

Giorgios with his army of guards⁠—

How will we stop him?

I am sorry, Ophelia. Enora’s concerned voice cuts through the turmoil in my head. What can we do?

My body trembles with fear and deep-seated grief. Not only for me, but for all of my mates. How can Giorgios be so eager to tear apart what the universe has sought to bring together?

Ophelia? Cadence stops the spiral I’m caught in.

For now, please replace out all you can about the ritual. About how we might stop it. Is there a way to stop me from ovulating, maybe? I’m grasping at straws, but I’m desperate.

We will do all we can. Please keep in contact with us, sweet child. We can replace a way to get to you. Osiris and Sienna, and I am certain the Ruby Dragon vampires would help.

I’m not sure there’s time, and Giorgios has an army, Enora. An actual vampire army that consists of at least a hundred soldiers, and who knows if there are more. I take a deep breath and force myself to add, But I will stay in contact and let you know if there’s anything else you can do. Thank you, friends.

Be safe, Ophelia, Cadence says around a sob.

After saying goodbye to both of them, I focus on the boys, who are all staring at me with concern. As much as I would love to tell them there’s no need for them to worry, this time I can’t.

When I’m finished relaying my conversation with Enora and Cadence, I fall silent and allow them space to react with unsurprising rage and thirst for revenge. It takes some time to calm them, especially as I’m feeling those things myself, but I remind them that Giorgios’s mind powers are probably a lot stronger than we thought and we need to shield our thoughts and emotions from him as best we can. Speaking via our bond is the safest option when we are discussing anything we’d rather he didn’t hear. During one of our long, brain-melting training sessions, Alexandros explained the mate bond to me. My heart clenches at the memory, but his assurance that the sanctity of such a bond prevents it from being breached by others allows me to be confident the boys and I can continue to safely communicate.

Axl sits beside Malachi and in front of me as I sit cross-legged on Xavier’s lap on the bed. How long do we have, princess?

Doing some math in my head, I count back to the first day of my last period. Seven days … We have about a week until I ovulate, I think. But it could be sooner. I’ve never tracked this kind of thing, but if I go by the days Alexandros has told me I was ovulating during the last few months, I think it happens pretty much right in the middle of my cycle.

Fear and anger and sadness pour from all of us. But we can’t let this happen. We can’t wallow in our despair because we don’t have time. At least the blue poppy news is good. One more day, and it will be out of your system and you’ll feel normal again. That’s something.

But we still can’t feed from you because we have no idea what you’re consuming that contains blue poppy, Cupcake. And while it doesn’t harm you, you must eat and keep up your strength. We can live without your blood for months if we truly needed to, but you cannot survive without food and water.

I lean back against him, letting him wrap his huge arms around me. That will be the least of our worries if we don’t stop Giorgios from performing the ritual.

A fresh wave of white-hot rage rolls over all three of them, and they growl their frustration.

I will fucking kill him before I let him lay a finger on you, sweet girl.

Me too, princess.

He’ll be dead before he gets the chance, Cupcake.

I force a smile, grateful for their protection. They mean every word of it, but the reality none of us wants to face is that, even with their full strength, they are no match for a two-thousand-year-old vampire and his army. Not with my powers dulled to almost nothing. If Giorgios plans to force me to …

I balk, unable to even consider such a heinous outcome. But short of escaping this place, there’s not a lot we can do to stop him. We need to get out of here.

But how? Xavier says. Every exit is constantly guarded by at least six guards.

And they’re all sired by Giorgios, which means they can all communicate with each other. It would take them less than a second to summon the rest of their army, Axl adds.

They’re right. We’ve tested the exits. We even discussed scaling the walls, but there are guards surrounding the entire perimeter.

Malachi runs a hand over his face. We’re fucking screwed.

No. I shake my head. I refuse to believe all these powers I have are useless just because we’re on the grounds of some ancient monastery. We’re smart. We’re strong. We’ll think of something. We’ve talked about escaping, but we’ve never been this determined. It’s imperative we consider every angle. There must be a weak spot somewhere. A blind spot we can take advantage of. If only I could get past the gate … I gather my resolve. There must be a way. I refuse to believe otherwise.