Dark Song

4

Ferro wasn’t a trusting man. He had never been one to trust, not that he could remember. He had his brethren from the monastery, and even with them he was wary. Careful. Now, with Elisabeta to protect, he was even more so. He had thought to bring Isai there first, knowing that Elisabeta would be uncomfortable with visitors, but he needed to get to the bottom of how Sergey had managed to reach out to her in the compound, in the healing grounds, when she should have been protected.

He had that feeling of a threat coming to her from either Tariq or Gary, perhaps both. Now that he’d been in Elisabeta’s mind, he knew she was uneasy at the mere mention of the two Carpathians coming near her. He would have thought her anxiety was due to just being around others, but it was more than that. The healer had tried to examine her mind. He may have been trying to repair some of the damage the vampire had caused, but it would be unusual to do so without consent—and Elisabeta had closed herself off.

Ferro called Isai ekä, brother. Isai’s loyalty would be first to his lifemate, Julija, but he would fight with Ferro if need be, to get Ferro and Elisabeta away from the compound. Ferro also thought that having Julija there would help to calm Elisabeta when the others arrived.

He should have known that when Tariq Asenguard arrived, as the leader appointed to represent the prince in the United States, he would be closely guarded, and that meant more than Gary Daratrazanoff came with him. Chairs formed a loose circle around the large room, Tariq sitting directly across from him. Gary sat to his right. He was a strange man. At one time he had been fully human, but he had been turned and the blood of the Daratrazanoffs ran in his veins, and their knowledge of healing and battle experiences filled his mind. His eyes carried the peculiar, bluish-silver color only their particular line held. Power clung to him and he gave the impression that he saw everyone, including Elisabeta, which didn’t sit well with Ferro. The battle experiences and skills of every warrior that had come before in the Daratrazanoff line lived in every cell of his body and resided in his brain. He would be a difficult opponent and the one to kill first. Ferro didn’t want that to happen. He felt a kinship with Gary, but if his lifemate was put in jeopardy and he had to fight his way out, it was the healer who would have to go first.

Maksim Volkov sat on the other side of Tariq. Maksim had run with Tariq on and off for centuries. They hunted together as loose partners just as Ferro had with the brethren. Maksim was a force to be reckoned with. He could be very still and then explode into action with blurring speed. Maksim was a man never to be discounted under any circumstances, no matter how much he liked to fade into the background.

Valentin Zhestokly had been in the monastery on several occasions but the call of his lifemate had been strong and he had left several times to hunt for her. He had found her when she was still a human child. She had been taken by a vampire and given to a puppet to use as food. When she was rescued, eventually, the Carpathians had to convert her in order to save her. Valentin watched over her now, staying close to the Asenguard compound, where Liv resided. He sat in one of the chairs and it was impossible to know where his loyalties would be, so Ferro didn’t count on him.

Elisabeta huddled into herself, retreating further and further into her mind. She seemed light, almost insubstantial in his arms. He knew immediately it had been a mistake to have her be present for the discussion on how Sergey might have accomplished reaching out to her while she was safeguarded in the healing grounds. There had been an attack on her once, using one of the children. Now, it seemed, there had to be a second breach in security.

Talk with Julija and pay no attention to those coming to discuss this security matter, Ferro advised his lifemate as gently as possible.

He didn’t want to draw any more attention than necessary to his very frightened woman. She had curled up so small in his lap that he doubted she was even visible in the dim lighting of the room, although all Carpathians could easily see in the dark. If her trembling got any worse, he feared she might really shake apart.

He kept his hand curled around the nape of her neck and his gaze fixed on Tariq, as if he wasn’t in the least concerned with his lifemate huddling on his lap. His fingers gently massaged in an attempt to ease the tension out of her. He knew that Elisabeta hadn’t been exposed to so many people in centuries. It had to be a terrifying experience for her. This rising was proving to be far worse than he had expected for her.

Seven men had come with Tariq. Ferro knew they had come as guards because he was considered dangerous and he had never sworn his allegiance to the reigning prince. Tomas, Matias and Lojos, triplets who were always together and had been for centuries, had been sent by the prince to help guard Tariq whether the man wanted it or not. They took their job very seriously. Ferro knew they were a force to be reckoned with.

The seventh man who had come to protect Tariq Asenguard was Afanasiv Balan. Most of the Carpathians simply called him Siv. Like the brethren, he was a true ancient and he was considered extremely dangerous. He had thick, long blond hair and strange eyes that by turns could be green or blue. More than once, Siv had sought respite in the monastery when demons had been too close, but he left to hunt vampires and eventually ended up in the United States, guarding Tariq. He had the creed of the ancients inked onto his back, just as the brethren did. If he turned on them, he would be forever branded a traitor among them. Ferro had no idea whether or not he had sworn allegiance to the prince.

“After what you’ve told us,” Tariq said, his voice soft but carrying, “there is very little choice but to have our healer examine Elisabeta for signs Sergey has left behind that would allow him access to her.”

Ferro had known that the moment he revealed to the others that Sergey had tormented Elisabeta even while she was in the protected sacred healing grounds, until Ferro had woven his own safeguards for her, Tariq would insist that she be subjected to their examination. He didn’t blame them. There were children to protect. All along, many had speculated that she could have been used as a spy by the master vampire. Even his own brethren had considered the possibility. He also knew Gary wanted to examine her. He just didn’t know why.

Elisabeta heard Tariq’s soft declaration and her instant rejection was immediate and visceral. She made no sound but he knew if she could have run, she would have. The thought of strangers violating her mind, seeing the cruelties Sergey had subjected her to over the centuries, was humiliating to her. She was Ferro’s lifemate. Already she felt she was embarrassing him by not being a warrior woman, a fitting mate for a man like him. To have the others see what the master vampire had done to her, keeping her in a cage, forcing her to beg him for everything—it was too much for her to bear.

Ferro glanced around the room at his brethren. They had come at his call. Isai, of course. He had his mage lifemate with him and she was powerful in her own right. Sandu, with his black eyes that could burn with red flames, was only a few feet away. Petru, eyes the color of pure mercury, standing as still as a statue in the corner so that one forgot he was even in the room. Dragomir, lifemate to Emeline, one of Tariq’s own, there in the compound, but Dragomir with his golden eyes would always back the brethren if it came down to it.

Andor, lifemate to Lorraine, one he called ekä, brother— Ferro had tied his soul to Andor’s to save him—sat in the circle looking alert. Andor would stand with him. Benedek lounged as if he were barely paying attention, very close to the door, ensuring they could fight their way out if necessary. Nicu, worn and grim, who moved like lightning in a fight, was the last of Ferro’s seven, and he also sat in the circle, but was close to Ferro, close enough to block the others with his body if Ferro took to the air to leave with Elisabeta. They would give him the chance to take his lifemate and flee the compound with her if Tariq pushed his authority beyond what Ferro believed it should be.

“I have searched for anything Sergey may have left behind and found nothing,” Ferro said, keeping his tone mild. He didn’t protest Tariq’s decree, but made it clear that Tariq was going to have to challenge his abilities. That would be difficult in light of the fact that he was an ancient and few could match his skills.

He waited for the leader of the compound to make his next move. There is no need to shake until your body falls apart, piŋe sarnanak. No one is going to harm you. My brethren are here to protect you. Look carefully around the circle. I want you to try to determine which stayed with me in the monastery in the Carpathian Mountains.

Perhaps that would take her mind off the fact that Tariq and his guards were regarding his lifemate with piercing eyes, as if they could see beyond her flesh and bones to what lay beneath. She shivered again. He didn’t want to be like Sergey, hiding her away in a cage from others, but he felt she was going to be sick if this kept up.

Elisabeta, I can shield you from their sight if you prefer, although I do not wish to do so. You are no longer a prisoner in a cage to be hidden from the world.

Her fingers pressed into his arm. So many eyes staring at me. I feel their scrutiny, as if I could be their enemy.

No one thinks this of you.

Yes. I can feel that they do. They think I harbor . . . him. She couldn’t even say his name. Sergey. The master vampire. Her captor. The one who had stolen her life.

Ferro lifted his head, his gaze sliding around the circle of men facing his woman. A low, feral sound slid from his throat, and when it did, the brethren immediately went on visible alert.

“I suggest you shield your thoughts from my woman,” he said, his tone even softer than normal. “If you have doubts about her, that is your prerogative, but she does not need to feel them, hear them or know of them. Just staying aboveground is difficult enough.” There wasn’t a single hint of a threat, and yet the air vibrated with it.

Tariq looked around at those seated. “I’m certain all of us in this room know that Elisabeta was taken against her will, held and subjected to untold cruelties by a master vampire. She is not responsible for anything that hideous monster visited upon her, nor would I hope any here would think that she would be. If you do, I would ask you to leave immediately. This is a delicate matter and she is very brave for allowing us into her home on her first official rising.”

Honesty rang in his voice. Tariq was not a man to mince words, and there was an underlying tone of anger. He continued to look around at those guarding him. No one moved.

“Forgive us, Ferro,” Lojos said. “We should have been guarding our thoughts more carefully. Your lifemate is Carpathian and very sensitive. We do not think your lifemate is in league with our enemy or in any way wishes to aid him. We have seen the way the Malinov brothers can use innocents to wreak havoc here in the compound. They plan far in advance for every situation.”

Matias nodded. “It is so. We did not mean disrespect. Your lifemate has been through enough without any of us making it worse for her.”

Tomas steepled his fingers and regarded Ferro over the top of them. “Your woman deserves only admiration, Ferro. If Sergey was able to speak to her while she lay protected in our healing grounds with safeguards woven around her, there is a major problem in our fortress. We continue to have security breaches, over and over. We need them addressed. Our worries were never about considering that your lifemate might be a spy sent here by the master vampire to aid him, but rather concern that he has found a way to keep his eyes on her as well as on us.”

She is your lifemate, Ferro, Siv said, using the pathway only the brethren shared. Without emotion, using only the logic of the hunter, what they say holds merit. I see and feel her distress. Only you can determine how this is going to play out.

Siv was pragmatic about issues, and he hadn’t given any indication of whose side he would come down on. Ferro couldn’t very well take exception to the triplets’ apology. Their logic made far too much sense. He would have looked at every angle without emotion as well.

“Sometimes, Ferro,” Gary said, “as you well know, the smallest irregularity can be overlooked. We are tied together. I ask that you allow me to examine your lifemate just to ensure that Sergey cannot get to her. Once you know for a certainty that she is safe, I offer freely to aid you in safeguarding her until we find the security breach.”

Ferro had tied his soul to Gary’s, along with Sandu and Lorraine, in order to save Andor. It was impossible not to know another when entwined at that level. Gary had laid it on the line for him—and yet Ferro still felt that vague uneasiness and knew the threat came from the healer. He just didn’t know why. Very gently he ran his hand down the back of Elisabeta’s head, over the thick silky hair.

Minan piŋe sarnanak, Gary can see things that perhaps I cannot. I do not want to take the chance that the vampire has left some part of himself behind that allows him access to you. I will be with the healer while my brethren guard us.

No. No. No. She shook her head and tried to pull out of his arms, a wild, terrified bird trying to escape. He will see me. He is searching for something damning . . .

Ferro wrapped her up easily, feeling as if his arms were like the thick bars of the cage she had been prisoner in for so many centuries rather than something that gave her comfort and peace. He despised that.

“I will take my lifemate and leave this compound. Thank you for the offer, Gary. It is appreciated.” Sas, Elisabeta, you will make yourself sick. We will leave this place.

“Sergey’s spies have surrounded the compound,” Tariq objected. “They will know the moment you leave and they will pursue you, Ferro. You cannot hope to outrun them with her.”

Ferro knew he was right. He had to take control of Elisabeta. She responded to firm control. He didn’t want to resemble Sergey in any way, but it wasn’t in his nature to allow his woman to hurt herself, throwing her thin, fragile body against his strength like a broken bird because she was so panic stricken she couldn’t think straight. He had to think for her.

Stop this immediately, Elisabeta. Get a hold of yourself. You will do as I tell you to do. He poured absolute authority into his voice. Absolute steel. Elisabeta froze. He caught her chin and tilted her face up to his. She had her eyes tightly shut. Look at me now.

Her long lashes fluttered and then lifted. He looked into that well of dark despair. He could see absolute terror.

You were told that I would take care of you. I have done so. I have not allowed anything to hurt you. Is that not so? Answer me now.

Elisabeta swallowed hard but she nodded her head. Yes.

There is no reason for all of this fear. You are in my care. I want the healer to search for anything the master vampire has left behind, and so you will allow him to do so without objection. Do you understand me? I will not allow him to find anything else. I will be right there with him the entire time.

Her heart beat so fast and loud, Ferro knew the others in the room couldn’t fail to hear. They were used to hunting. Carpathian males were predators and his little songbird sounded like cornered prey.

I am isäntä—master of the house. Your master. You will answer me.

Holding her gaze captive, Ferro could see that the firmness of his commands did have an effect on her fears. Her eyes stared into his, clinging as if he were her lifeline. The tip of her tongue touched her lips to moisten them, but she was far calmer, stilling in his arms. Although the shivering was continuous, she had ceased struggling.

Yes.

I will hold you here in my lap and my brethren will remain close to guard my body. I will enter with the healer. You will not fight either of us, do you understand?

He did not release her gaze. Liquid filled her mind but not her eyes. She didn’t weep tears. He tightened his arms around her.

Elisabeta, do you think I am less than the others in this room because I have shown you kindness? You are my lifemate and capable of going into my mind and looking into my past. I was careful to keep you from seeing what I thought might frighten you, but if you persist in thinking your lifemate cannot protect you, then look quickly. These warriors have other things to do this rising than wait on us.

Deliberately, he allowed his voice to grow colder.

Her lashes fluttered again and then she capitulated completely. I will not fight.

He would have liked it better had she referred to him by name, but at least he managed to get her cooperation, and her fear level had dropped tremendously. She was governed by rules—the stricter they were, the more she understood. It wasn’t right, but he was going too fast with her, trying to force her into a world she didn’t yet understand because he didn’t want to appear anything like Sergey. He was her lifemate and he had to be what she needed. Right then she needed someone to tell her what to do and to allow her to lean completely on his strength.

“She will submit to your examination, Gary, but only yours. I will be with you.” He kept his voice as neutral as possible, knowing no matter how he worded it, the threat was there.

The healer didn’t hesitate, moving out around the others and coming closer to crouch beside Ferro. The moment he did, Sandu came up behind Ferro’s chair and Siv followed the healer to stand behind him. Ferro and Gary both shed their bodies at the same time, becoming pure healing light. Gary’s light was blazing, a strong beacon that was hot and powerful, moving through Elisabeta’s body slowly, meticulously, starting with her brain.

The high mage had left tiny slivers of himself in others in order to spy on his enemies before he realized that by doing so, it diminished him. It was known that Sergey had at least two slivers of Xavier, the high mage, in him, giving him access to the knowledge of dark spells and trickery the mage had practiced for centuries before he died. Gary methodically began the inspection of Elisabeta’s brain to try to find the tiny dark splinter that would signal Sergey had left a little piece of himself behind in her.

Ferro stayed very quiet, keeping back as Gary inspected her systematically and carefully. As the healer finished each section, Ferro went over it a second time just to be certain. Gary was thorough, never considering that Tariq or anyone else might be waiting. He moved slowly, sometimes going over and over the same place.

Ferro watched every movement as the healer pushed close to Elisabeta’s memories. Each time, prickles of unease slid through Ferro’s mind. He couldn’t tell if it was his own warning system or Elisabeta’s going off, but he was uncomfortable with Gary’s inspection. Still, he observed no wrongdoing, nor did either of them find anything suspect no matter how hard or how long they looked.

In the end, when they both emerged, they hadn’t found any evidence of the master vampire in Elisabeta’s brain. Both men were weak and needed blood. Siv and Sandu offered their wrists immediately. Gary looked at Tariq and shook his head as he took what Siv offered. He sat on the floor beside Elisabeta and Ferro’s chair while he consumed the nourishing ancient blood.

“Did you access her memories?” Tariq asked.

Ferro shot him a fierce glare. Elisabeta’s entire body went rigid at the inquiry. Gary glanced up at Ferro. He had been in Elisabeta’s mind so recently that it was impossible not to feel her emotions. Her feelings were chaotic, all over the place, and her terror filled the room, impossible to contain. Tariq’s question added to her growing panic and his growing distrust. She was cooperating because Ferro had commanded her to do so, but he feared she was going to pass out soon just from lack of air.

Gary might tell them all that he was searching for evidence of the master vampire, but Ferro was certain that Tariq and the healer were looking for something else—something they might be willing to kill his lifemate for. He glanced around the room, a quick assessment once more, just to assure himself he was in a position where he could fight his way to the door if there was need.

Breathe with me, piŋe sarnanak, Ferro ordered. Let your lungs follow mine. You are beginning to hyperventilate. There is no evidence of the vampire hidden in your brain. That should make you happy, not more upset. We are clearing the possibilities one by one.

As he directed her lungs to follow the rhythm of his so her breathing would slow to a more normal pace, he continued to ease the tension from her, massaging her scalp, the nape of her neck and her shoulders. His touch was gentle but firm. She needed to know that he was in charge.

“You may access only her memory of the risings when she is in the healing grounds,” Ferro said aloud. “There is no need to see anything else.”

Tomas, Lojos and Matias stirred as if all were in the same body. Clearly, they were of the same mind. Ferro’s gaze jumped to them. He wasn’t the only one. Sandu, Benedek, Petru and Nicu all turned their heads, their eyes going red and feral. At once the tension in the room mounted again.

“You have an objection you would care to voice?” Ferro asked softly— making it a clear challenge. He moved then, gently shifting Elisabeta as if to set her to one side.

She shook her head almost wildly, her arms sliding up around his neck tentatively as if she could hold him there. Ferro. Please. I cannot stop myself. I know I am making things worse for you. You do not have to defend me. Let me go into the ground. Send me away. Do not fight them because I cannot control myself.

“I think that is more than reasonable,” Tariq said, his voice mild, as if there were no tension whatsoever in the room. “Does your lifemate agree, Ferro? I know this must be extremely difficult for her.”

Ferro framed her face with his hands, tilting her chin so she was forced to look into his eyes. You do not have to subject yourself to anything more. You did what I told you to do. We can go. The brethren will go with us.

He is out there waiting beyond the safeguards of the compound.

Ferro knew Sergey was there, or at least his spies. They all felt him. They’d been feeling him since Elisabeta had been brought there. That is so.

A delicate shudder ran through her body, but her gaze never left his, clinging there, as if he were her safe anchor in a terrible storm. Then have the healer access my memories.

“Gary,” Ferro said, still holding Elisabeta’s gaze. “But you will be merged with me at all times, healer.” He decreed it. If Tariq and Gary were looking for anything but what they were telling the others, or they planned on hurting his lifemate, he would be there to stop them. He glanced at Sandu, then to Andor. Both men were tied soul to soul with him.

Ferro felt Elisabeta’s unshed tears, but there were none in her eyes as she stared directly into his. He saw her make a tremendous effort to pull herself together. To still her mind. To let her heart calm along with her breathing. She took her direction from him, choosing to follow his lead. He was very proud of her, knowing how difficult it had to be and knowing she was doing it for him to avoid him having to fight their way out of the compound.

Gary was already shedding his body, once more becoming healing light. Ferro didn’t want to leave her alone, but he didn’t like the idea of anyone entering her without giving her his protection. Piŋe sarnanak, I must watch over you. Sandu and the others will guard my physical body and yours.

Her nod was barely perceptible. He didn’t wait. He shed his body and followed the healer, not trusting Gary with his lifemate. The healer knew him well enough that he waited, and the two of them flowed together to her brain once again.

She is very afraid of Sergey. I think looking in the amygdala is our best choice to access any memory she might have of his calling to her.

That made sense to Ferro. The amygdala was the part of the brain that regulated emotions like fear, which Sergey had trained Elisabeta to have in abundance. Again, Ferro stayed back, allowing Gary to take the lead, but he merged with that hot spirit in order to know any piece of information the healer discovered. He had no idea what he was doing and didn’t want to disturb the healer while he sorted quickly through Elisabeta’s memories, but he was determined to see each memory as it came to light.

Here, Gary said. I have found her memories of his communication to her.

The recall of the vampire’s voice whispered to them, filling her mind, filling theirs. He sounded commanding. Menacing. A snarling, ugly broadcast that hurt the ear.

You will return to me or I will skin those children alive in front of you and allow my puppets to tear the flesh from their bones.

Every man, woman and child will be burned alive when we are finished torturing them.

Come to me now. You cannot exist without me. You do not know how to exist without me.

Come to me now or when I get you back you will be punished for a thousand years.

Each different refrain from rising to rising was repeated in a grating voice that was much like nails on a chalkboard. Ferro could imagine that someone as sensitive as Elisabeta would suffer endlessly just hearing his voice, let alone from the vampire’s actual punishments. Sergey’s threats weren’t empty ones, either. He had shown time and again that he would carry those intimidations out. Ferro had seen glimpses of her memories and knew that Gary had as well. They had gone through her brain, hunting for evidence that Sergey may have left a sliver of himself behind, and had to examine her so closely that they could see many of the terrible things the vampire had done to her and to others in order to force her to comply with his wishes.

Elisabeta had been in the healing grounds for several weeks before her moans and cries had been overheard by Ferro and he had realized she was his lifemate. At that time, he had taken over feeding her, sleeping in the ground with her and weaving his own safeguards around her when he was hunting vampires. Each time he was with her, Sergey was unable to get through, or at least he had gone quiet. There was no evidence of him speaking to Elisabeta. On the occasions Ferro was gone, Sergey whispered more viciously than ever. Each threat became worse than the next, and with it, a memory of something horrendous he had done to her or someone else. Once, it had been the annihilation of an entire village.

Ferro wanted to wrap Elisabeta in a silken cocoon, and at the same time he wanted to become what he was born to be, the fierce predator, hunting the master vampire until he found him and destroyed him. Such a vile monster couldn’t remain on earth where, eventually, as his power grew, his insatiable cruelty would demand more and more victims.

Without Elisabeta, the decomposition of his body would begin to accelerate quickly. The memories of emotions would already be fading. If he didn’t have access to her, not even short visits to threaten her, he would unravel and become desperate to reacquire her. It was no wonder that he was stepping up his terrorization tactics. It was Sergey who was becoming frantic, but how could Ferro get Elisabeta to see that she was the one with the power?

Sergey had beaten her down for centuries, making her so dependent on him, taking all power away from her. She was Carpathian and yet she didn’t know how to do what even a young human child could do, let alone a full-grown Carpathian woman. Ferro had been told that as a young girl, Elisabeta had the reputation for bringing peace to the Carpathian males. Ancient hunters would often visit the Trigovise household just to be in the same room with her to get a respite from the terrible emptiness of their lives. She had no idea of the gifts she held because Sergey had made her feel as if she were nothing, and yet he had targeted her, kidnapped and imprisoned her for those gifts.

How is it possible he is getting to her? Can you see in her memories where he is getting in? This does not answer the question of how he is getting around the safeguards.

I am well aware of that.

Ferro could see that Gary was moving backward through Elisabeta’s memories, trying to find where Sergey could have planted something of himself in her to allow him to penetrate the defenses of the ancients inside the compound.

No matter how hard either of them tried not to see the ugliness of Elisabeta’s life in order to spare her the humiliation of having others see things she didn’t want seen, there was no getting around it when shuffling through the years of her life. Ferro found he couldn’t be as detached as he thought he could be. He’d had centuries of no emotion. He could switch emotion off to hunt, and yet he found when it came to his lifemate, it was nearly impossible not to feel.

His gut churned, knotted, an unfamiliar sensation that made him very aware the woman was getting inside him, a dangerous thing for him when he might have to leave her and go to the monastery after she gained her independence. The ties between lifemates couldn’t be broken. He knew that. He understood what they were, but he also knew he wasn’t the same man born to be Elisabeta’s lifemate any more than she was the same woman. They had both changed over the centuries. He had to provide her with what she needed because everything in him demanded he do so. Once that was accomplished, he would not be what she needed.

He stayed merged with Gary as they moved through her memories, and while Ferro was wrapped up in emotion, unable to distance himself as he should have, the healer remained completely without feeling as he searched to find where Sergey was able to break through the safeguards. He was positive Tariq’s second-in-command was searching for more than that, but if he found anything, it wasn’t anything Ferro could identify.

At once he found himself back in his own physique, weak, disoriented, a little shocked that he had all but been thrown out of Elisabeta’s body. He had gone from pure spirit back to his own ego, thinking of himself in that moment and the consequences of his actions. That had been enough to send him back to his own physical form. At once, Sandu was there again, giving him blood, as traveling as spirit depleted him.

Gary hadn’t returned, and immediately Andor shed his body and entered Elisabeta to guard her while the healer continued to sift through her memories.

Ferro? I can feel your sorrow.

Elisabeta’s voice was like a breath of fresh air, a cool breeze moving through his mind, clearing away all doubt and the deep sadness that always took him when he thought about losing her after centuries of searching for her. He felt her fingers on his face, brushing along the lines carved deep there from centuries of wear, soothing him as nothing else ever could.

I am here with you. I may be afraid of everything, kont o sívanak, but for you I will always find the courage needed to walk by your side, if that is what you decree, for as long as you want me.

She sounded humble. A gentle woman, turning him inside out because all she thought of was him. There was no thought in her mind for herself at all. He knew that was a major part of her gift. She had to have been that way as a child, to be able to bring such peace to the ancient warriors.

She called him “strong heart” and yet, after looking at what she had endured for centuries, often the worst of her punishments on his behalf, guarding his soul, he thought his little songbird should be the one called kont o sívanak, strong heart, not him. She filled his soul with light, sweeping the darkness in him aside just with the brightness in her.

I will always want you with me, he assured her. That was the strict truth. Lifemates didn’t lie to each other.

What did they see in my memories? Is he there? Inside me? Her voice trembled, but she continued stroking caresses on his face and in his mind.

How did one answer that? He closed the wounds in Sandu’s wrist, politely murmuring his thanks, and shifted Elisabeta in his arms, holding her much more firmly to him. Sergey had been her entire world. The vampire had made it that way, ensuring there was no one else for her to talk to or interact with. Julija was really the first person she had ever connected with, and Sergey had held Elisabeta captive for centuries before that happened.

He is there in your memories, but I saw no evidence that he left anything of himself behind. Do you recall him casting spells? He has slivers of the high mage, Xavier, in him. He would have access to Xavier’s spells.

A little shudder ran through her body, but she had calmed. He realized it was because she was no longer thinking about the others in the room, or the healer examining her memories. She was focused on Ferro and the sadness that had swept through him. She was still trying to find a way to alleviate the dark melody that played repetitively through his mind. Ferro was still connected to Gary, a presence in his mind, staying very still but watching closely, just as Andor was.

He is not very good at casting spells, but he practices. It scares him because there are severe repercussions when mistakes are made, and he makes many mistakes.

Ferro considered that. If Sergey had access to Xavier’s spells but didn’t have the ability to actually cast them properly and was afraid of the consequences if he reproduced them incorrectly, then it was doubtful he used a spell on his favorite toy. Elisabeta had become necessary to Sergey. He had developed a need for her. Although Elisabeta had been his prisoner, in more ways, he had been hers.

Her breath hitched in her throat and her head tilted toward his. He looked down into her dark eyes. What do you mean, Ferro?

He liked that she wanted to enter into a discussion with him. She had a good mind. Sergey had convinced her she couldn’t use it.

He was totally dependent on you all those centuries. He may have had his brothers around him, but remember, they had turned vampire. They no longer had emotions. He felt emotions only through you and he didn’t share you with anyone. He was afraid to and for good reason. The others felt he was less than they were. Only you had the knowledge that he was more. Only you could see that he was the strategist capable of biding his time to take the ultimate prize. He became dependent on the way you brought him peace. On the way you made him feel. He will be losing his mind now, unable to function without you.

She was silent, turning his opinion over and over in her mind. How could you know that?

If I lost you, even now, having you for such a short period of time, the loss would be . . . difficult beyond measure. Ferro told her the truth so it would sink in how valuable she was.

I am your lifemate.

He framed her face with both hands and stared down into her eyes, feeling as if he could get lost there. You are more than my lifemate, Elisabeta, which should tell you something, because a lifemate is everything to an ancient hunter. Everything. And you are so much more.

It humbles me that you think that of me, Ferro. I will try to be worthy of your opinion.

He could feel her resolve and wished the others were gone so he could kiss her. Instead, he brushed kisses in her mind, telling her without words what she meant to him, trying to give her courage to face whatever the healer was going to say when he returned from his examination. He knew there was a part of her that she held back, wary that his kindness was an act and at some point he would turn on her. He didn’t blame her for that worry. She had lived with treachery for too long. She had seen Sergey deceive others over and over. It would take time for her to trust Ferro fully.

You are already worthy. Sergey needs you and knew that he would when he decided to follow along with his brothers down this path they chose. You were the one he depended on for the strength to get him through. His brothers beat him down, made fun of him and used him. They never acknowledged that he had the Malinov brilliance, that he was every bit as intelligent as they were. He feared them, not because they were any smarter but because he knew how vicious they were, and all his life, being the youngest, he had been the one they teased and made fun of.

That is so. I was often stashed in a corner, part of the wall when one came in, and they would be quite cruel to him. He would talk to me and feel very smug and superior because his brothers never had a clue that I was there right in front of them. They could never detect me, although they often wondered how the master stayed so young and composed.

He is not your master. Ferro couldn’t keep the clipped, fierce note from his voice. He went directly to dominant in seconds, without thinking. Just the idea that his woman would think of Sergey that way set his teeth on edge. He was never your master. He was a cruel Carpathian who kidnapped an innocent young girl. He will pay for what he did to you.

At once that soothing breeze swept through his mind, clearing out his need to find the vampire and rip out his heart. There was only Elisabeta and her sweetness, that gentle soul with her light and the courage to guard his soul for centuries.

You are right, she agreed. He is not my master. The point is, I can look a little closer at him with you here holding me and see things I could not before. I would not have the courage if you were not with me. I would fear he would find me the way he did when I was in the healing grounds. He always told me he could find me anywhere.

Gary’s spirit emerged from her body, his light much dimmer than when he had entered, and his body jerked with weariness as he reentered. Siv immediately offered him his wrist and the others waited in silence for the healer’s verdict while he fed.

Andor followed Gary out and fed as well, slipping into the background with Benedek. Ferro met his eyes and Andor shook his head, indicating he didn’t think Gary had found anything Sergey had left behind in Elisabeta. Ferro frowned. If the breakdown of safeguards wasn’t in Elisabeta, where was it coming from?