Chapter 57

ALEXANDROS T hunder rolls and lightning cracks the sky in two before the rain begins hammering on the glass with such force that the old frame rattles. Dark clouds roll in fast, obscuring the vibrant blue of the sky. Something is happening to Ophelia. I tune into Malachi and Xavier to figure out what is going on, and as soon as I do, her pain sears my chest as strongly as if it were my own, making me stumble back a step. Her bond with my boys grows stronger every day, and I can feel her more keenly through that than I have felt anyone else before, even those I actually bit. Baby, what’s happened? Malachi calls out to her. Are you okay? She sobs her reply, and my own sorrow clouds my thoughts, obscuring the words. But I hear the words elementai and did you know, and my chest grows tight. She knows what happened to her kind. But how? Come home, baby, Malachi says. You’re not supposed to be talking about that with anyone. I’m not. Not about me. I’m in the library with Cadence, and I asked