Bound in Blood (Broken Bloodlines Book 3)
Bound in Blood: Chapter 18

I make my way through the cave, my free hand feeling along the rock face. The Dragonfyre has the added bonus of lighting my way, but the space I’m currently in is narrow, and there’s little room for the light to shine.

As I edge deeper into the mountain, the air becomes easier to breathe and the space opens out, the tunnel gradually growing wider and wider until I step into a vast open space, easily as big as the main student library building back at Montridge.

In the center of the space is a cage. Not big by any means. Maybe eight feet by eight feet. It’s made of thick, close-set metal bars, which I would bet are made of silver. Inside the cage is a sight that stops my heart.

“I knew you’d come for him.” The voice that echoes off the cavernous chamber walls sends a chill through my bones. Alien to me, yet familiar. It sounds different out here in the real world.

His shadow dancing from the light of the Dragonfyre, he approaches, and with each step he draws nearer, my breathing grows shallower and faster while my heart beats frantically in my ears. I know who this is. Instinctively, I feel his presence, our bloodlines irrevocably intertwined. He lowers the hood of his thick, dark cloak, and I see his face for the first time, at least for the first time through my own eyes rather than Alexandros’s memories.

“Lucian.” I’m impressed by the lack of tremor in my voice when I speak his name aloud.

His tongue darts out quickly, moistening his full bottom lip. He is so much like his father in appearance, I feel like I’m getting a glimpse into Alexandros’s past and seeing him as a younger man. Perhaps that is who this truly is. A past self of his, coming here to warn me. To help me. But he nods, confirming my original suspicion.

“Ophelia Hart,” Lucian replies, his tone gentler than I imagined it would be.

I glance around, so many questions about what he’s doing here—and what he intends to do now that I’m here—galloping around my head.

My eyes are drawn back to the silver cage. To Alexandros’s limp body hanging from chains. “Did you do this to him?”

His lip curls up, showing his fangs. “You think I did this?”

“Why are you here? How did you replace him? I thought you didn’t know where he was.”

“I didn’t. I have been searching for over three weeks, and I found him here only yesterday. I am no threat to him.” He indicates the space behind the cage, and I vaguely make out the shadowy figures of what appear to be four bodies with severed heads by the light of the Dragonfyre in my hand. “In fact, I relieved him of his guards.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. What if there are more here? What if this is a trap? Lucian and Giorgios could be working together. “But you are a threat to me.” I hold up my hand, and the green Dragonfyre glows brighter.

Lucian takes a wary step back. “You have no idea do you, Chosen One?” There’s no mistaking the disdain in his tone, and it causes a fresh wave of anger to engulf me.

I step forward, emboldened by the power I feel running through my veins. As though it ignited at the precise moment I needed it to. “I’m tired of this Chosen One bullshit already. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t burn you to ash right now?”

His lips twitch, but he maintains his composure. So much like his father … Confused, I shake my head.

“Because then neither you, nor he, shall ever know the truth.”

“What truth?” I spit out the words like an accusation, glancing around nervously as I anticipate his next move. Does he have an army of sireds ready to pounce? Will I be bound in a cage too?

His laugh is dark and bitter. “So quick to assume you know me, little girl.”

Goosebumps break out over my skin. Alexandros groans in pain, and it slices a welt across my heart. I have to get him out of here. “I know enough.” I raise my hand once more.

“I have been here protecting him,” Lucian shouts, making me freeze.

I don’t know if I believe him. I no longer have any idea who to trust, who is an enemy and who is an ally. “What?”

“As sure as I was that you would replace him eventually, I didn’t know who or what might come for him in the interim. He has many enemies. And I do not know the full extent of my uncle’s plan.”

My hackles rise at the mention of his uncle.

“Oh, believe me, I hate Giorgios even more than you do, Ophelia.” The amount of rage dripping from his words tells me he means it. But that doesn’t mean he’s to be trusted in any way. It doesn’t discount what he did to his own mother and sisters.

“If you’re here protecting him, why didn’t you free him?” I demand, my hand still raised and ready to douse him in Dragonfyre if he so much as breathes in a way I don’t like.

He snorts and shakes his head. “I thought you were smart.”

And I thought you were a murderous psychopath who cared about nobody by yourself! I rein in that remark and fire off another instead. “I have no time for your games, Lucian.”

“If he, the most powerful vampire alive, is not strong enough to break those silver chains and bars, what makes you think I am? Even at the height of my powers, I could not have withstood the burning of the silver from these sacred mines.”

I swallow the retort I planned—he has a point. I glance at the cage again. It has no door. No apparent entrance. It appears to have been forged with no way in or out. The silver isn’t harmful to me, but I can’t see a way to get to him through the thick bars.

“Your powers are not affected by silver, Ophelia. They will work just fine down here.”

“What do you know of my powers?” I growl accusingly.

He takes a step toward the cage, his head tilted as he stares at his father. “I know Nazeel awakened them fully.”

Anger snakes through my veins at the mention of her name. Lucian knew what she had planned? Is she in league with him?

“The only limit to your power exists in here, Ophelia.” He taps his temple once, his eyes glowing in the firelight, making him look like a monster. “You possess the inherent power to break this cage and his chains without breaking a sweat.”

I swallow nervously. “I wish I shared your confidence.”

He snorts and folds his arms across his chest. “Such power is wasted on one who has no idea how to use it.”

Of course he would think that. Arrogant, conceited, megalomaniacal douchebag that he is. I glare at him, my muscles clenched tight, ready to strike if he takes one step toward me. “Or perhaps that is exactly who should have it. But I don’t see how fire or air or any of the elements can help in this situation.”

“You don’t?” he asks, incredulous.

The asshole is baiting me. “Just let me think.”

“There’s no time to think, Ophelia. You are taking your powers far too literally.”

Patronizing too, huh? Nice.

He shakes his head like I’m annoying him when clearly it’s him annoying me. “What is the most powerful force in the world?”

I blink at him and wonder what he’ll think of my answer. I assume he and I have very different views on the matter, but his hazel eyes implore me to reply, so I tell him. “Love.”

He opens his mouth and stares at me for a few beats before closing it again, whatever he was about to say dying in silence. His jaw tics while he appears to wrestle with something in his mind. What feels like an eternity passes before he speaks again. “The elements, Ophelia. What is the most powerful element?”

I rack my brain for the answer. Fire? No. “Water,” I reply confidently.

He nods, and I feel an unexpected—and definitely unwelcome—flush of pride. What do I care if I got his question right? I don’t want or need his approval. “It does not matter which element you choose, for they all could break his chains. What matters is which you believe to be most powerful. Water is a solid choice. It can level entire cities in the blink of an eye. And that’s only one of the elements running through your veins. That power lives inside you. So replace your light, focus, and destroy the fucking cage.”

I stare at the cage and swallow nervously, wishing I shared his optimism. “Just like that?”

“Just like that.” His breath dusts over my cheek, and I flinch at his closeness. He doesn’t back away. “Find. Your. Light,” he commands.

That will take effort and concentration, and I don’t trust Lucian enough to allow myself to go to that place when he’s so near. But Alexandros’s pained murmurs remind me that I have little choice. Lucian may simply be luring me in and waiting for his moment to strike, but I take a little comfort in the Dragonfyre still warm in my hand.

I close my eyes and replace the dazzling orb of light within my core.

“Focus, Ophelia. You have everything you need already inside you.” For reasons I don’t fully understand, the sound of Lucian’s voice soothes me. Perhaps it’s as simple as the fact that he sounds a lot like his father.

I draw in a breath, letting it fill my lungs, before I open my eyes and concentrate my energy on the cage and the chains binding Alexandros’s wrists.

“Believe it can happen, and it will be so,” Lucian says, quietly confident.

So that’s exactly what I do. I will the chains to break and the bars of the cage to shatter. And my veins spark up with lightning while power crackles through my body, and I channel the powerful swell of the ocean. I see it all in my mind’s eye—the bars exploding from the pressure of the water, their pieces scattering across the cave, then the links in the chains breaking open and falling from Alexandros’s arms.

Lucian ducks, pulling his hood over his head, and it happens in one huge blast, just as I imagined it. The broken chains of silver release Alexandros from their hold, and he collapses to his knees as they clatter to the cold ground.

I surge forward and catch him with one arm before he can fall forward onto his face. “Alexandros.” His name is half prayer, half plea. Terror and hope wage a war inside me while I wait to see if he’s okay.

His eyelids flicker, and I place a hand on his shoulder to steady him, my palm resting gently on his blistered skin. A violent swell of emotion threatens to swallow me whole, but I choke it down. Now isn’t the time. I glance back at Lucian, my senses hyperalert to any change in his demeanor. He watches us intently but makes no attempt to move. Still, I don’t trust him, and with a flick of my wrist, I form a protective circle of Dragonfyre on the ground around Alexandros and me. Lucian will burn if he tries to cross it, so it buys me a little time at least. And now that the Dragonfyre around us is burning brightly, I douse the one engulfing my hand and pull Alexandros into my embrace. Gliding both my palms over his charred flesh, I channel my earth line to heal him as best as I can. The thick angry welts striping the length of his back begin to heal beneath my touch, and he shivers in my arms.

As much as I believe that speaking into his mind would break through to him more easily, I know better than to try. It won’t work down here, so I say his name again. “Alexandros, it’s me.”

His eyelids flicker, and his nostrils flare. “Ophelia,” he growls.

All too quickly, his fangs protract, and with a feral growl, he goes straight for my throat. Despite his weakened state, it takes all my strength to stop him from feeding on me. The pained look he gives me almost breaks my heart all over again. “You can’t. Not yet. My blood flows with blue poppy. If you feed now, while you’re still weak …” My voice catches on a sob. I hate denying him, but it’s too much of a risk.

He blinks, and for a few seconds, I wonder how much of what I said he understands. But then his dark eyes spark with recognition and anger, and he nods his understanding.

“We need to leave here.” I hoist him to his feet. “It’s not safe.”

“How did you replace me, little one?” My knees almost give way at the sound of his voice after too long without him, and my chest heaves with the effort of holding back my tears.

I blink them away. “I’ll explain later. We have to leave.”

“Then douse the …” He clings to me. “Is that Dragonfyre?”

“Yes.”

“Ophelia?”

My brain races, and I glance around the cave, squinting to see in the dim light. When I extinguish the ring of Dragonfyre protecting us, will Lucian choose that moment to strike? I can’t see him or sense him in here. He is no doubt waiting in the shadows, the place he seems most comfortable.

“Ophelia, what are you hiding from me?”

I suck in a deep breath, eyes darting in every direction while I consider our next move. We have to get out of here, and the only way is the way we came, which means leaving the protective circle. Telling him about Lucian now could be a mistake.

“Ophelia!” he barks, snapping me from my racing thoughts. He draws himself up to his full height, forcing himself to stand on his own two feet.

Trepidation floods my chest. As much as I would rather not have this conversation right now, I can’t hide this from him. “I’ll tell you, but we have to start moving.”

His jaw tics, and after only a few seconds’ resistance, he nods his agreement. I gather up the Dragonfyre so it again glows around my right hand and wrap my left arm around his waist, not only for his benefit but because I can’t bear to not be touching him.

I suck in a lungful of air, and we begin to edge through the dark cave. “Lucian was here.”

He stops in his tracks, as I suspected he would. “What?” His voice is a growl, and his eyes roam over my body, possessive and hungry and full of worry.

“He didn’t hurt me.” I nudge him to keep moving. “I think he’s gone. Can you sense him? Hear his heart beating?”

His eyes narrow, and he shakes his head. “But that does not mean he is not here. I would be unable to sense him down here. Was it he who brought the Dragonfyre? What did he want? Was he here for you? For me? Both of us?”

I quicken my steps, anxious to get out of this damn creepy cave and back to Ani’s reassuring presence. “Now who’s the one asking all the questions?”

“Ophelia!” It sounds like a threat and a promise all rolled into one delicious word, and goosebumps prickle out all over my body. I can’t even put into words how much I’ve missed him or how much I need him to be okay.

“Both, maybe? He said he’d been watching out for you and that he knew I’d come. He told me he killed your guards. And then he …” I wince at what I’m about to say, but it’s the truth. “He helped me.”

“He helped you?” His tone is incredulous, unsurprisingly so.

“Yes. Can we please get out of here, and then I’ll tell you everything? We really need to move.”

He huffs out a breath but doesn’t speak again. He’s quiet and contemplative, and I take the opportunity to focus all my energy and attention on navigating our way out of this cave.

“Almost there,” I tell him, although he’s walking much better than I expected he would be after weeks of starvation and silver chains. With each step closer we get to the entrance, he seems to gain strength.

“The silver dulls my power and saps a vampire’s strength,” he says by way of explanation, and I’m not sure if he’s able to read my mind now that we’re close to the entrance or if he simply knows me so well.

“We’ll be out of here soon. Into the brush, and then we can get as far away from here as possible.”

He turns his head and stares at me. “How, Ophelia? How did you get here?”

Motes of dust dance in the rays of midmorning sun streaming in at the cave entrance. I’m almost breathless with anticipation as I imagine Alexandros’s reaction to seeing one of his oldest friends waiting for us. “Wait and see.”

His brow furrows, but there’s no time for him to ask anything more because we step out of the cave and are immediately greeted by the sight of Anikêtos, grand and majestic even as he sits idly on his haunches.

“Ani?” The way his dark eyes light up when he sets them on his old friend has me ready to burst with happiness despite the circumstances that brought us all here.

Ani snorts, and a thick cloud of smoke plumes from his nostrils. It is about time, Dragon Whisperer.

Alexandros cracks his neck, and all the childlike wonder on his face disappears behind his mask of cool certainty. “Well, I was a little tied up.”

I suppress a snicker as I douse the Dragonfyre in my hand. Did Alexandros just make a joke? Ani blinks rapidly, and I’m one hundred percent certain it’s the dragon equivalent of an eye roll. He jerks his head to the side. If I had waited for your arrival any longer, your dinner would have woken and ran away.

Alexandros growls, and I follow his gaze to four men slumped under a tree a few feet away from us. They appear to be asleep. “Who are they?” I ask.

Farmers, I suspect, Ani replies.

Alexandros is scanning the perimeter, his eyes narrowed. “Where are the boys? Are they not here with you?”

“No, but they’re safe. They’re still at Giorgio’s fortress. They had to stay and make sure he didn’t transport here before we got to you. But Elpis is with them, and they’re going to leave as soon as it’s safe.”

Alexandros blinks. “Elpis is here too?”

She would not allow me to leave the netherworld without her. Anikêtos snorts, and smoke unfurls from his nostrils.

Alexandros reaches out, and Anikêtos drops his head low, allowing him to rest a hand on his nose. The tenderness between the two of them has tears burning behind my eyes. Thank you, old friend.

I told you that whenever you truly needed me, I would be here. This seemed like such an occasion, Dragon Whisperer.

Is it safe for the boys to leave now? I ask, eager for them to get away from Giorgios and be with us. Safe for them to leave Giorgios behind?

Alexandros growls at the mention of his brother’s name. It is a pity Elpis cannot burn him to ash.

You know she cannot. And he is not fool enough to give her any cause to, Anikêtos replies.

It is for the best, Alexandros concedes. That would deny me the pleasure of looking him in the eye whilst I take his head.

I have no idea how much Alexandros knows about what his brother has done these past few weeks, and there’s no time to discuss it right now. “The boys? Is it safe for them to leave?” I ask again.

Alexandros nods. “Giorgios would not be fool enough to transport here and risk meeting me when I am at full strength, and especially not with Anikêtos at our sides. Tell them to leave immediately with Elpis.”

“And head where? We’re not staying here, are we?”

He shakes his head. “That would be too dangerous.”

“Montridge?” I suggest, wanting nothing more than to go back home.

“Even more so, little one. We have no idea who our enemies are, but all of them will anticipate a return to Montridge. Anikêtos will direct Elpis to where we are going as soon as I figure out where that will be. Tell them to trust her, and we will give them further information as soon as we have it. In the meantime, I will feed.”

I glance at the four unconscious men. “Will they be okay? Are you …?” I stop speaking because the answer is obvious. Alexandros needs to feed, and human blood is the quickest and surest way to nourish him and renew his strength.

He brushes his knuckles over my cheek. “I will feed and leave them sleeping when I am done, little one. They will not come to any lasting harm.”

I press my cheek into his touch, craving more contact. “I know. I’ll speak to the guys and let them know you’re okay and it’s safe to leave.” I reluctantly step away from him so he can feed.

I easily replace all three of the boys. I have him. He’s safe. You can leave now. Ani will tell Elpis where to go.

Their combined exclamations of joy and relief fill up my head and make me smile. We’re on our way, Cupcake.

Be there as soon as we can, princess.

How rough is it riding a dragon, sweet girl?

I glance at Anikêtos, who’s staring at me with his dazzling emerald eyes. Unblinking.

Terrifying if he weren’t such a sweetie deep down. Like deep, deep down. It’s actually very comfortable. I’m not sure I want to travel any other way now.

After telling them to be careful and that I can’t wait to see them, I sit on a rock beside Anikêtos and take a deep breath. It feels like the first one I’ve consciously taken since we left Tibet. The fresh summer air fills my lungs, and I listen to the sound of the wind rustling the leaves of the trees.

Lucian was here, Ani. Did you see him leave the cave?

I have not seen anyone but the two of you.

A shiver runs down my spine. All my interactions with Lucian thus far have been surprising. While I can sense the darkness in him, I can’t deny that he’s done nothing but help me. First with the blue poppy, then with figuring out how to use my power to free his father. Perhaps his motives are less than pure, but until we replace out for sure, I can’t help but feel grateful to him. I didn’t see him when we left.

There are many caves and tunnels within the mountain. Many layers which have to be explored before we can see the fullness of the picture before us.

I nod my agreement but can’t help thinking Ani is no longer talking about the mountain. Lucian Drakos may have been a monster in the past, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the villain of my story.