Chapter 9 – Axl
Chapter
Nine
AXL
A fter getting Xavier’s and Malachi’s approval on the wording, I send the email to Eugene Jackson under the watchful eyes of Giorgios. Apart from the few people who know where we are, the rest of the faculty and students at Montridge believe we’re all taking a sabbatical, Professor Drakos included. While Alexandros’s father, the head of House Drakos, has learned of his youngest son’s fate, the news does not appear to have filtered down to the Ruby Dragons yet. And aside from us not being there, it very much appears to be business as usual.
“All done?” Giorgios asks.
I lean back in the chair, hands locked behind my head. “Yeah.”
“Good.” Under the heat of my furious gaze, he quickly closes the laptop in front of me and unplugs it from the router. It’s an old dial-up kind that I haven’t seen since the nineties and had no idea still existed—no Wi-Fi here in Tibet—but right now, it’s our only link to the outside world.
Xavier winks at me. Relax, we don’t need it.
Why the fuck not? The look on his face tells me I’m going to like the answer, and while I’m confused, I know better than to ask why in front of Giorgios. So I simply smile at our host as he bids us farewell and leaves the den with the laptop in his hand.
Xavier stretches and yawns before declaring loudly, “I’m so fucking tired. Let’s get the cupcake and go for an afternoon nap.”
That was clearly said for Giorgios’s benefit. There’s something going on that I am unaware of. Before we can go look for our girl, her chirpy voice fills our heads. I have something really, really important and really, really good to tell you all.
What is it, princess?
I need to see you to tell you. Like look at your faces and tell you.
What the hell has been going on this morning? I sure as fuck pray her news is as exciting as she’s making it sound, because I am fresh out of rays of hope. Xavier and Malachi look as confused as I feel.
Where are you guys?
Xavier shakes his head at me like he has no idea what her news could be. We’re in the den, but we’re headed to our room. Want to meet us there?
Yes!
Despite us growing weaker, our bond with Ophelia seems to have grown stronger here, and she was definitely feeling all kinds of perky.
“What do you think all that’s about?” I ask Xavier and Malachi as we make our way upstairs.
“No idea, but it has to be some good news,” Malachi answers.
Xavier nods. “Yeah, she was way too happy for it not to be.”
Like a toddler must feel on Christmas morning, I’m unable to dampen the flurrying flakes of excitement building up in my stomach. I’m trying my hardest not to get too carried away with myself, but… “She did say it was really good.”
Malachi bumps his shoulder against mine. “Really, really good.”
We feel Ophelia’s nervous energy way before she arrives at our room, almost like it’s bubbling out of her. She bursts in like a tornado and closes the door behind her.
“What the hell is it, sweet girl?” Malachi asks.
She jumps onto the bed and sits cross-legged between the three of us, her lips pressed tightly together. Alexandros is alive. She speaks through our bond, but it doesn’t make her squeal of pure joy any less pronounced.
I must have misheard. That news is much too good to be true. I take her hand in mine and stroke a fingertip over her racing pulse point. What did you say, princess?
Alexandros. Is. Alive. She says each word slowly, her blue eyes sparkling.
There’s no way. I blink at her, too scared to believe it’s real in case she’s wrong.
Xavier turns her head toward him. How do you know this, Cupcake?
The dragons , she announces proudly.
Huh? The dragons?
She nods, bouncing up and down on the bed.
Malachi takes her free hand and laces her fingers through his. Take a breath, sweet girl, and tell us everything.
She explains to me how she managed to speak with Cadence earlier, and then she tells us all about her conversation with the dragons. By the end of it, the three of us are staring at her with our mouths open, wanting desperately to believe he’s still alive but unable to bring ourselves to.
I knew you wouldn’t believe me. A tear rolls down her cheek.
I brush it away before pulling her into my arms. I fucking hate seeing her cry, but this is all way too much to take in. My inner cynic reminds me she could be mistaken. Before we get our hopes up and cruelly dashed again, we need to make sure she’s absolutely sure. First of all, princess, I believe every single thing you just told us.
What’s hard to wrap our heads around is that he’s still alive, and not because we don’t want to believe. But if we do and he’s not… Xavier’s throat works as he swallows. Then we lose him all over again.
But I swear to you he is. If he’s not in the netherworld, he cannot be dead. That is an irrefutable truth. She looks to Malachi. Please, Kai, tell them it’s true.
Wincing, Malachi nods. Every single thing we know about the netherworld says it’s true.
A spark of hope flickers to life inside me. What if these dragons are lying, princess?
She gasps and gives me a look that could turn me to stone. Dragons do not lie!
Also true , Malachi adds.
That spark turns to an ember.
Xavier holds up his hand, halting the current direction of our conversation. Okay, so if he’s not dead, where is he? Why did we feel him die? And why did Giorgios tell us Lucian killed him?
Ophelia holds up three fingers. I don’t know. We didn’t feel him die; we felt the severing of the bond, like Alexandros felt with Lucian. She puts a finger down with each answer. And I don’t know. But I do know who might have some answers.
Giorgios has already lied to our faces , I remind her.
I’m not talking about Giorgios. I’m talking about Lucian. He shares Alexandros’s bloodline, now our bloodline. I think I could at least try.
Is she fucking serious? She wants to willingly connect her mind to that murderous psychopath’s? No fucking way, princess.
Both Xavier and Malachi echo my sentiment.
But don’t you want to know where Alexandros is? And what Giorgios’s game plan is?
I shake my head. Not at the expense of your safety, Ophelia.
She crosses her arms over her chest. Like it or not, we’re all in more danger here than we realized. If Alexandros is alive, which I know he is, then you’re all not going to die. You are not sick with the deterioration, and you are being deliberately poisoned. Giorgios brought us here to weaken us all, knowing my powers wouldn’t work properly. He lied about his own brother being murdered.
She has a fucking point. Xavier sighs with frustration, and I feel it in my own bones. Of course she’s right, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it.
She untangles herself from my arms and sits up straight, her shoulders rolled back and her eyes darting between us. So if I reach out to him, you’ll stay with me. Like hold my hand? Her voice sounds small despite her courage.
I take her hand and press her knuckles to my lips. Alexandros couldn’t reach his own son. Their bond was effectively severed, so it’s highly unlikely Ophelia will be able to make contact. Regardless, I’ll be here for her anyway. Every single step of the way, princess.
We’ve got you, sweet girl.
Always, Cupcake.
I pull her back against my chest and rest my lips on top of her hair, inhaling her ginger-scented shampoo, the one that was already in the bathroom here. I much prefer her candy one from home. And how about we discuss the fact that you can contact the netherworld and talk to fucking dragons? I’m so fucking proud of her I could burst.
She giggles. I know. Cool, right?
It’s better than cool. It’s fucking incredible. She is incredible. Astounding. Amazing. There aren’t enough adjectives in the English language to describe her. And if anyone can find Lucian Drakos—and even more importantly, his father—then it’s our girl.