Promised in Blood: Chapter 39

“Thank you for meeting me here, Giorgios,” I say in a quiet voice, glancing up and down the empty street. Whilst my magic is powerful enough to deceive most beings, Kameen will not be fooled about my absence for very long. He is already suspicious after my trip to Havenwood last week. But my visit to the girl was a necessary one. She is not yet ready for the war that comes, and she must be.

Giorgios dips his head in the usual mark of respect for a grand lieutenant of the Order. “It has been too long since I visited my birthplace.” He smiles, his eyes flitting to the old stone church a few meters behind us. The figure of Pegasus sits atop one pillar of the original gateway, the other having fallen a long time ago and become a part of the earth.

“Corinth was always such a beautiful place,” he says with a wistful sigh, his eyes brimming with tears.

“Neither you nor your brother has been back here since your mother died.” I pose it as a question despite knowing it to be fact.

He shakes his head. “It has been too painful. Even five hundred years later, her death still haunts me.”

I bow my own head in respect of Magdala Drakos. One of the most powerful elementai who lived, she was the one being capable of keeping Vasilis, the head of House Drakos, in check. Since her passing, his cruelty and rage have known no bounds.

Giorgios clears his throat, and I am reminded that I have little time. Unlike the vampire standing before me, I can only teleport a couple hundred feet if I expend a great deal of energy, which means I will need to make my way the two miles back to the mountain fortress of the Order on foot.

“I must ask something of you.”

“I owe you a great debt, Nazeel.” He rubs at the scar on his neck. The one he got when he fought against the elementai genocide when he almost lost his head. The one I healed despite Kameen’s orders not to interfere. And at the time, I had no idea why I was so drawn to the save the life of a vampire I knew only as an acquaintance, but now I understand. Viewing that moment through the eyes of history, he was saved for a greater purpose. This purpose.

“And what I must ask of you will repay that debt one hundredfold, Giorgios. Know that I ask it of you only to serve the greater good.”

His Adam’s apple bobs. “What is it?”

“A scholar such as you must be aware of the Prophecies of Fiere, yes?”

He nods.

“There is one in particular that speaks of a child.”

“Who shall be our ruin or our redemption,” he says quietly, as though he is afraid the words may grow wings and fly into the night, thus alerting others to this most clandestine of conversations.

I have read the prophecy so many times, the words that come next flow effortlessly from my tongue. “Bringing balance to the new world order.”

“Be it through peace or total annihilation.”

“I refuse to believe that such great power can be gifted to one who would choose to use it for evil, Giorgios.”

He runs his tongue over his bottom lip, revealing a glimpse of his fangs, and his eyes seem to sparkle. “Does the prophecy not allude to the child being a …” Pausing, he frowns. “A blank canvas?”

“It refers to her powers being neutral until she is forced to make a choice.”

“She?” His frown deepens. “I do not recall the child’s gender ever being specified.”

My haste has made me reveal too much too soon, but I will scold myself later. “I believe the chosen one will be a female,” I reveal. “An elementai.”

His right eye twitches. “Elementai no longer exist. They were⁠—”

“Giorgios!” Time moves rapidly, and there is no more of it to waste talking in riddles or fearing the inevitable. Ophelia’s powers are not fully awakened, and that is a danger to us all. “I know about the girl. I know about her and your brother. You have met with him four times these last months, Giorgios, so I know that you know too.”

He shakes his head, his eyes darkening and his fangs protracting farther. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

He makes to walk away, but I grab his forearm, gripping him tightly through his thick coat. “The Skotádi grow in power. If they find her and have the opportunity to corrupt her before her powers are fully developed, then all hope will be lost. She must claim her power. All of it. And she must do it now.”

“If you speak the truth, Nazeel, then know that my brother would never allow that to happen. They have a bond. She will not fall prey to the Skotádi so easily.”

My fingertips dig deeper into the taut muscle of his forearm. “You know they are master manipulators, Giorgios. You know they are capable of breaking bonds. If they should find her before she reaches her full potential …” I let that thought hang in the air.

He wrenches his arm from my grip, but I know I have gotten through to him by the way his shoulders slump. “What is your favor?”

“I need you to help unlock the full potential of her powers.”

“Me? Why?” He scowls. “How?”

I wet my lips and tip my chin, prepared for him to try to tear out my throat when I tell him what must be done.