Bound in Blood (Broken Bloodlines Book 3) -
Bound in Blood: Chapter 19
I lick the last drop of blood from my lips and let the fourth man fall from my arms to lie next to his companions. Such was the strength of my thirst, I could have drunk the four of them dry without a second thought. Whilst I am sated enough and my strength is fully returned, it was only Ophelia’s concern for their wellbeing that prevented me from doing so. I almost forgot how powerful an influence an elementai could hold over their vampire mate. Although our bond has been severed, she is still my fated mate, and in such close proximity, I feel every one of her emotions as if they were my own.
The irony of the elementai being slaughtered in an attempt to control the vampire race is so obvious, I wonder how our enemies did not see it. Their loss only made us crueler, stripping away what little humanity we inherently possessed. Ophelia’s kindness and compassion radiates from her still—despite what she must have endured the past several weeks at Giorgios’s hands. I cannot bring myself to think about that at this moment, although I will discover all she has experienced as soon as we are somewhere safe. For now, I am eternally thankful that I do not detect his scent on her and therefore know he has not taken her in any way.
I make my way back to her and Anikêtos and replace her sitting on a jagged rock staring out at the trees. “Are you searching for Lucian?”
She shakes her head. “I think he’s still inside the mountain. Ani didn’t see him leave, and I don’t feel him out here like I did in there.”
My heart constricts in my chest. “You felt him before? Inside the mountain?” My tone is sharper than I intended.
She chews on her bottom lip and nods, her eyes wide. “Is that bad?”
I take a seat beside her and lace my fingers through hers. “It is merely surprising to me when I have not been able to detect his presence in over five hundred years. And for you to have felt his presence inside the mountain, where even bonds cannot be felt …” It is perplexing and concerning that she shares such a connection with my son. A man she has never met before.
“I felt him the way I felt you in there. Not a bond, but like …” She chews harder on her lip as she searches for the words. “I could feel your presence, and I felt his too. Like your …” Her fear spikes, and she looks away from me.
“You have nothing to fear when I am with you, Ophelia. And certainly never from being honest with me. I am concerned he has a connection with you, but if you feel anything akin to anger in me, it is never aimed at you, I assure you, agápi mou.”
“It’s like he’s a part of me too. Is it because he shares your blood, maybe? Maybe because I spoke with him while we were at Giorgios’s house and—”
“You spoke with him? With Lucian?” How? Why? All manner of scenarios, none of them pleasant, run through my head. How has she been able to achieve something even I could not? It is not surprising to learn that her power is far greater than mine, but establishing a connection with him is dangerous and unnatural, as she has never connected with him before. Why is she able to do so now? I give her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Tell me what happened, Ophelia. Did he reach you, or did you replace him?”
“I found him. I searched for him, using the way you described being able to connect with people. I tried it, and I just … found him. He said he cannot replace me in the same way.”
Just found him? A man who has managed to conceal himself from his own father? I cannot believe he would simply allow that to happen. It seems more likely he orchestrated it himself. “And he spoke with you?”
She nods. “He helped us then too. He warned me about the blue poppy.”
Anger simmers beneath my skin, along with guilt for trusting Giorgios and, in doing so, putting them all in so much danger. “Revealing your location to him was incredibly dangerous, Ophelia.”
“But I didn’t. He already knew where we were, I swear.”
So many more questions need to be asked, but Anikêtos is growing restless, and we need to leave this place as soon as possible and replace somewhere safe. “Come, let us go.” I pull her up, and she obediently follows.
Where are we going, Dragon Whisperer?
Head for Venezuela. I have an idea, but I need to speak to a friend.
Ophelia nods toward a tightly wrapped bundle of fur on the ground. “We brought you a coat and hat to keep you warm.” She glances down at my bare feet. “No shoes though. I’m sorry, I didn’t think.”
I have never been particularly affected by the cold, and although it has been over a millennium since I have had cause or opportunity to sit on Anikêtos’s back, I can easily recall his warmth. I press a kiss on her lips. “That was very thoughtful, agápi mou. Thank you.”
After slipping on the coat and discarding the hat I have no need of, I help Ophelia climb onto Anikêtos’s back. Not that she appears to need my assistance, but it gives me a reason to have my hands on her. Having endured so many torturous days without her, I am loath to let a moment pass without touching her.
As soon as we are seated, I rest my mouth against her ear. “How long has it been since we have last seen each other, agápi mou?”
“Twenty-seven days,” she whispers.
I will make Giorgios pay for every single one of them as soon as I am able. “Have you been in contact with anyone from Montridge during that time? How much of Giorgios’s betrayal are they aware of?” I wrap my arms around her waist and hold onto her tightly as Anikêtos rises to his full height.
“There was no cell signal at the fortress, but I was able to speak with Enora and Cadence. They know Giorgios betrayed you, and they helped us figure some stuff out.”
Anikêtos takes flight, and the wind rushing past us makes it impossible to be heard talking aloud. I must not have heard her correctly, so I switch to speaking through our thoughts. You spoke to them both without a cell phone?
Yes.
But how? You do not share a bond with them.
I know, but you do, don’t you? The blood oath? I’m pretty sure that’s how. Like with Ani and Elpis.
None of this should be possible. Those powers of the mind are usually built over hundreds of years. She breached the veil without my help. Contacted Lucian. Reached out to people I have never even established a mind connection with myself, like Cadence. While the young witch did swear me a blood oath, that does not explain Ophelia’s ability to connect with her.
That’s okay, isn’t it? Me speaking with Cadence and Enora? We were stuck and didn’t know what else to do. They really helped us.
I pull her closer and rest my lips against her neck. It should come as no surprise that Ophelia can achieve the extraordinary when she is herself extraordinary in every conceivable way. And now that my own abilities have grown so exponentially, I am sure I can communicate with many beings whom I could not before. Now is the perfect time to try. Of course it is okay, Ophelia. I am merely surprised … and impressed by the strength of your abilities. I am going to speak to Osiris, and you may listen in. It would take too much effort to keep her out, and there is nothing I need to say which I would not wish her to hear.
I focus on Osiris, the amber flecks in his eyes and the deep timbre of his voice, and it takes but a moment to establish a connection.
Alexandros! comes his rapid reply, his relief apparent from thousands of miles away. I considered for a moment whether anyone at Montridge could be trusted, especially given Nazeel’s involvement in my recent imprisonment and the fact that my own brother was able to mask his intentions from me. But the wolves have nothing to gain from betraying Ophelia and me. His reaction only reassures me further. I don’t know if you can hear me, friend, but I hope you can. I am so fucking glad you’re alive.
I can hear you, old friend.
Are you safe? Are Ophelia and the boys with you?
Yes, I am safe. Ophelia rescued me, and we are both well. The boys will join us shortly. But we are in need of some assistance.
Of course. Anything. What can I do?
I need some time, a few days or maybe more, to try to make sense of Giorgios’s actions and determine what his endgame is. Time to figure out what other forces are at work in all of this. To do that, we need someplace safe.
How can I help?
Does your family still have the house in Venezuela? The one on the private stretch of beach? He and I visited there once a long time ago, in much less uncertain times.
Yes. My sister and her kids stayed there for a few weeks before Christmas, but there’ll be nobody there until the spring now. It’s yours until then if you need it.
Relief washes over me. This will give us time to reconnect and regroup, to formulate a plan. Thank you, Osiris. I owe you a debt.
It is my pleasure, old friend. The spare key is underneath the elephant flowerpot. You will replace the pantry fairly well-stocked and some clothes in the closets should you need any. Feel free to use whatever you replace there—the Brackenwolves have collectively left all manner of things in that house over the decades. It’s something of a free-for-all.
Ophelia gives the fur coat she is wearing a sniff and wrinkles her nose. I could use a change of clothes. The thing does indeed smell offensive, as does the one she kindly provided for me, but the scent is largely masked by her natural aroma, and that is all I am able to focus on.
Ophelia? Wha—I mean … How?
It is a long story, one we will bring you up to speed on as soon as we are able. I thank him again and bid him goodbye before directing Anikêtos on where to take us.
With nothing left to do but sit patiently on the back of the dragon, I endeavor to enjoy the remainder of our flight. And I enjoy it immensely with Ophelia’s warm body curled into mine. The scent of her hair, her skin, and the reassuring, steady thump of her heart beating has need coursing through me like it is my lifeblood. She shifts on Ani’s back, no doubt seeking a more comfortable position, but the motion has her perfect backside sliding against my rapidly hardening cock.
The surest sign my strength has fully returned is that I can think of nothing but burying myself inside her tight heat. My eyes rake over the vast expanse of Ani’s back, noting the large swaths of dark, weathered skin between his horns. Like the apex of his neck where we currently sit, a space large enough for me to lie Ophelia down and—
Anikêtos’s vicious growl reverberates around my head. Do not even think about it, Dragon Whisperer.
I cannot help but smile at his ire, so strong it makes his scales shudder from nose to tail. And how would you know what I am thinking, Anikêtos? Have you mastered the ability of mind reading during your time in the netherworld?
One does not need to be a mind reader to feel the lust spiking in you. I will throw you both off without a second thought if you so much as try.
Ophelia giggles, shifting her hips and rubbing against my now-aching cock again. You made Ani mad.
I would never disrespect you in such a way, old friend. No matter how much I desire to. Tuning him out, I rest my lips against her neck and nip gently, careful not to break the skin. It is all your fault, little one. Stop squirming, or I will be forced to do something about it and risk our certain death. Anikêtos does not make idle threats.
Sorry. I was just getting comfortable.
I band my arms tighter around her waist and pull her flush to my chest. Comfortable now?
Yes sir.
Sweet demons of hell. How long until we get to Venezuela? I ask Anikêtos, frustration and desire making me irritable.
Not soon enough, he huffs. A few hours at most.
A few hours of beautiful torture during which I will hold Ophelia in my arms and think about all of the ways I am going to claim her when we get to where we are headed. Because I am already bordering on feral with need for her. To taste and smell. To kiss, touch, and fuck. If we did not need to get to where we are going as fast as possible, I would have Anikêtos stop so I could fuck her en route. And then I would still do it all over again upon arrival.
The pain of silver searing my flesh was nothing compared to the pain of not being with her. Of knowing she was out there without me. Without my protection.
And my boys. I miss them too, much more than I could have imagined.
The spell used to sever the bond between sire and sired has been used only a handful of times in recorded history and requires such ancient powerful magic that very little is known about it. But one thing that has been written about and is known by a select few is that the spell allows sired vampires to survive without the bond in place. My boys could survive, and indeed thrive, if I were to not put it back.
But would I survive without them? That is a different question altogether—one which I cannot be certain of the answer.
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