Sergey's eyes widened, spun, his nostrils flaring, black blood pouring from his wounds as he nearly exploded in his anger. He threw his arms out wide and energy surged, blowing out the remaining walls. The heavily laden clouds overhead spun and churned, twisting into a long thick spear of lethal ice.
Sergey ripped the arrows from his chest and dissolved, streaming away from them, leaving behind droplets of acid blood. Everywhere the blood fell, it burned through the wood and flooring of the farmer's house.
Ivory took to the air after him. Across the sky, storm clouds gathered in force, lightning rimming the edges, turning the once clear sky an ominous gray. The clouds boiled with activity, bursting upward like mushrooms exploding. The ice spear moved away from her, lightning sparking from its tip as it traveled across the sky.
Sergey must have sealed off his wounds, because the droplets ceased almost immediately. She could give chase, follow that telling spear. He was wounded, yes, but he wasn't really in such bad shape, and without Razvan to aid her, she wouldn't fare nearly as well. The spell would wear off fast and Sergey would have his fangs back and a burning need for revenge. In the meantime, she would lose Razvan, if she hadn't already.
«Choose who lives and who dies!» Sergey's voice boomed across the sky.
The sound waves burst through her, nearly knocking her backward. Rage poured over her, filling the sky, squeezing hard on her chest. Obviously the spell wore off faster than she'd hoped.
«Give chase. Follow me, little sister, and you may have a chance to save the puny mortals and their disgusting whelps. If not I will kill and feed on them as well as your precious wolf pack. Follow me and your dog of a lifemate dies if he is not already gone from this world. Choose. And live with the choosing.»
Ivory reached out to her wolf pack. They were carrying the two children and the two adults across the miles of rugged terrain on their backs, racing toward Mikhail's home deep in the mountains. The pass was still open, but with the terrible storm brewing, she doubted if it would be for long. If they were forced to take a longer route through the upper mountains, they would be at a disadvantage as Sergey streaked across the sky to intercept them.
The vampire is after you. Call to the prince. Call to the hunters. I cannot aid you. She sent the warning to her beloved brothers and sisters. It was all she could do, she realized with a sinking heart. She could not allow Razvan to die.
There was a stirring in her mind. Weak. Flickering. Save the children.
She refused to argue, to answer. She would not let Razvan die. Ivory turned back, circling the farm once to make certain there was no feel of danger before she dropped down into the remains of what once had been a snug house. There was blood and flesh and bone, splintered walls and mud and debris. There was Razvan lying on the floor in a pool of blood, his arm and hand a distance away.
Ivory returned the pieces to his body. Five spears remained in his body, along with a large hole where the sixth had been. She drew a deep, shuddering breath. His sides heaved as he tried to drag in air. His eyes were closed, and all wound sites were sealed, although there was enough blood on the floor to make her think it was too late to seal anything off.
I need to know that you live. His voice came into her head from far away. Heal your wounds quickly so I can leave you in peace.
«You cannot go. I will not allow it. I mean it, Razvan, you must live.» She bent close to him so that her breath was warm against his cold skin. «I need you. Do you hear me? I need you. You must live for me.»
Remove the spears.
«I know they hurt, Razvan, but you will die if I do. Give me a minute.»
I am already dead.
«No, you cannot think that way.» Ivory knelt beside Razvan, pulling his head into her lap. She bent low over him again. «Listen to me. You cannot go from this life. We have not done what we know is possible together.»
You ask the impossible.
She switched to telepathic communication, as it was easier for him. I asked it of myself first. I know how difficult it is when no one else does. I know what I ask, know what I demand of you, of my lifemate. If you go, we go together. Bind us. Bind us now. It will give me what I need to save you.
Razvan didn't open his eyes. His hand moved in hers, the fingers slippery with blood. You wish me to live through this?
We can defeat Xavier. We must defeat him. Bind us together. I will lead you now and follow you in the years to come. Bind us now, before you are gone from me.
Ivory forced back the burning tears, the terrible weight in her chest and the feel of her own wounds so little in comparison. He had to want her enough to live. Had to want to defeat Xavier enough. His will, so strong, had to match her own. Warriors, after so many centuries of loneliness, often embraced death. They could rest at long last, but she wasn't giving him up without a fight.
Razvan moved in her mind, searching. Whatever he found there, he came to a decision, even knowing the agony he would suffer. I can think of no other I have met in my lifetime who I would rather have. If you accept me . . .
Absolutely I do. Time was running out. He had lost too much blood. He had cauterized the wounds, so many, as Sergey sliced him into pieces, making his body a patchwork imitation of hers. But the blood loss was severe.
You are certain you wish to bind your life to mine with all it entails?
She answered without hesitation. I am.
So be it. His voice strengthened. You are my lifemate. I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give you my protection. I give you my allegiance. I give you my heart. I give you my soul. I give you my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life will be cherished by me for all my time. Your life will be placed above my own for all time. You are my lifemate. You are bound to me for all eternity. You are always in my care. He opened his eyes and looked into hers. Te avio palafertiilam.
Ivory felt the threads binding them together. The two halves of their souls merged as one. She pressed a kiss to his forehead, her voice a soft whisper. «I accept with my heart and soul your offer. I take your soul. I take your body. I take your heart. You are one with me. I take you into my keeping and bind you for all eternity with my strength and will and our combined determination. Te avio palafertiilam-you are my lifemate and I refuse to allow you to leave this world. Let your soul dwell within mine.»
Razvan closed his eyes with his impossibly long lashes. A small satisfied smile curved his mouth. I have given myself to you, lifemate. Do what you must.
Long ago, when Xavier and Draven had sentenced her to die a horrendous death, it was not only her Carpathian blood and body, driven to repair itself and heal in the soil, that had saved her. It was a combination of those things, along with her will and Xavier's teachings. Xavier would have torn out his hair had he known how she had taken so many of his hexes and made them her own, putting her faith of a higher power into the weaving of each spell, twisting the curse into something for good.
This will hurt as much or more than the worst torture Xavier thought to put you through. Let yourself drift away, your soul and spirit in my safekeeping. She tried to warn him, choking back a sob. She knew from experience what she was asking to put him through.
She wept when she felt the flickering of warmth move through her mind, his life spirit a flickering dim light she now held in her soul. She began the work of removing all parasites from his body before closing off each wound and cauterizing it. All the while she worked, she switched between the Carpathian healing chant, and the healing spell she had used on herself when asking Mother Earth to aid her.
I call upon the power of earth, she who creates us all. Hear my call, Mother.
I ask for clear sight-the ability to see that which seeks not to be seen.
Guide me, Mother. Take my hands make them your own.
Use them to mend that which has been broken, torn.
Guide me, Mother. Provide rest and healing to a tortured soul.
Embrace him, Mother. Heal hi
m of all injuries. Guide him, Mother.
I call upon the higher power. Use me as your vessel. See through my eyes.
Look into my soul. Use me as a tool. Guard us great one. Take us into your care. Nurture us as you would a child. Guide us with your knowledge.
So that we may arise once again to fight.
Her voice rose and fell as she called to the powers who had aided her centuries earlier in her need, rocking back and forth, heedless of her own wounds, caring only that Razvan, her lifemate, was spared.
Mikhail Dubrinsky, prince of the Carpathian people, heard the call of wolves long before they reached his house deep in the forest. Gregori. He summoned his second-in-command and best friend. I have urgent need of you. Hunters, heed my call. I have urgent need of you. He sent the command out on the common Carpathian telepathic pathway, summoning all who were close.
Safeguarding his home, Mikhail took to the air to intercept the wolf pack. They were still miles away, but the distress in their calls was profound. He sped through the thick canopy of trees, sending his senses out before him, trying to discern the danger following the wolf pack.
There was blood on the wind, and a foul stench that could only be attributed to the undead. Rotting flesh and poison. Humans.
Wait for me, Gregori demanded. I am but a few minutes behind you. It could be a trap.
I feel children. Blood. Terror. The wolves are calling. Which meant he wasn't waiting.
As Mikhail flew, another owl came up on his right, a second on his left. He identified both. Natalya, sister to Razvan, and her lifemate, Vikirnoff. Neither asked questions as they raced across the night sky with him toward the calling wolf pack. Overhead the storm clouds thickened, rolling and churning-boiling with anger. Flecks of white-hot energy lit up the edges of the cloud formations. Ice rained down, sharp spears meant to slow the fleeing pack.
Vampire, Mikhail identified. He pursues the wolf pack and whatever they guard. He was already moving with blurring speed, and he pushed himself, forging ahead of the other two ancient warriors.
Mikhail. Gregori hissed a warning. We do not know what we face.
I believe it is clear enough. Mikhail ignored the rumblings of his bodyguard and slipped lower in the trees as the ice began to penetrate even the thick canopy.
A wolf howled, a child cried out. A woman screamed. Mikhail could hear them clearly now.
«Go, take the children. Leave us. You will travel faster,» a man's voice rang out. «We'll try to slow him down.»
The pack gave voice again, whether in protest or agreement, Mikhail couldn't guess. The wind rose to a howling shriek, blasting through the trees with hurricane force, uprooting several trees. As the large trunks struck other trees, they fell in a domino effect, pointing like an arrow in the direction the wolf pack had gone.
The force of the biting cold wind flung the three Carpathians back through the sky and into the path of the falling ice. Mikhail felt a sharp point pierce his arm and he dissolved instantly, although the wind pushed him farther from the pack. The storm increased in strength, dumping huge amounts of snow from the sky until the ice was so thick and dangerous they could not continue forward in the air.
Drop down, we will have to run to meet them from the ground.
Gregori growled at him, this time much closer. Vikirnoff said nothing at all as his prince hit the ground running, but he moved into a better position to protect the man. Natalya paced just behind him, watching their back-trail.
This wolf pack is unusual, Vikirnoff ventured. They are using the ancient path of telepathic communication to call for aid. And they call us, not other wolves.
These have to be the wolves that travel with Ivory Malinov, Mikhail explained.
He had, of course, given the news to Natalya that her twin brother was alive and had escaped at long last from Xavier. He, along with Gregori, had informed her of everything that had happened, and of Gregori's firm belief that Razvan's crimes had been committed when Xavier either possessed his body or his mind. The news of both Ivory and Razvan's appearance, and that they were lifemates, had spread through the entire Carpathian community.
He knew they were all suspicious of Razvan, particularly Vikirnoff, who had shielded Natalya so many times from her brother in the past. She had suffered emotionally, finally accepting the loss of her brother, and now both were distressed. He could only give his opinion that Razvan had been wronged these years, and was not the criminal and traitor the Carpathian world believed him to be-but he knew they would all have to make up their own minds about the man.
I do not sense a Carpathian traveling with them, man or woman. Vikirnoff kept exact pace with the prince, shielding him as they moved in and out among the snow-laden trees. How can the wolves understand and call to us? How is it they can carry such heavy burdens on their backs and run with such speed?
It appears they are Carpathian. Mikhail had no explanation for how that had come to be, but he knew Ivory had one. If she had converted the wolves, it had been a dangerous venture. Intelligent wolves craving human blood could be the biggest nightmare of all-especially if they bred. He would have to weigh the fate of that pack.
The ice rained down, but the group was at least afforded some shelter from the vicious wind and the stabbing icicles by the twisted branches overhead. Vikirnoff added a protective buffer, weaving the branches tighter so they formed a tunnel.
They carry humans on their backs, Natalya said.
Her heart pounded hard. A part of her was desperate to see her brother, desperate to believe he wasn't the monster she'd come to believe him to be, but the sane half of her whispered that none of the rumors could be true. As she ran with her lifemate and the prince, she found herself praying.
Beneath their feet the ground rolled. The weight of the heavy snow toppled a large tree, the roots springing up from the ground, forming a tangled barrier.
The vampire delays us, Mikhail said. Gregori, swing around to the north. Come in from the other side with Falcon. His goal seems to be to reach the wolf pack before us. He must mean to slay the humans, but for what purpose I have no idea.
I am put on this earth to guard my prince, not save the lives of mortals we do not know.
Mikhail sighed. You grow more stubborn with each passing year, old friend. Vikirnoff is guarding your helpless chick. Come in from the north. Direct the others to come in from the other side. And stop giving me trouble.
Gregori gave the equivalent of a telepathic snort. I would not count on that happening anytime soon. The vampire races to close the pass. You cannot be caught on the ground if that should happen.
It will not happen, because you will be stopping him. There was every confidence in Mikhail's voice.
You do not ask for much.
No. A chance to practice and hone your fading skills.
Gregori's amusement burst over Mikhail as the prince increased his speed. It felt good to be a warrior instead of a ruler, rushing through the forest in answer to a call of distress. His muscles stretched and contracted, and his body rejoiced in the exercise, running tirelessly, weaving in and out of the trees.
Overhead, a thick ice spear burst across the sky, shattering clouds of ice and snow, raining glittering sparks of gold and silver down on the trees as it arced above them and then fell toward earth out of sight. Everywhere the sparks touched, the trees froze, turning a ghastly white, the color spreading like a disease along branches and needles, down the trunks to the ground itself, where the forest floor buckled under the icy pressure.
The heaving ground cracked, jagged fissures opening, so they were forced to leap over the widening cracks as they ran. Sharp ice towers erupted from the ground. Trees cracked and splintered as the spreading cold snapped brittle branches.
Where's it coming from? Mikhail demanded. We have to find the source.
He is trying to slow down the wolf pack, Gregori hissed. I have heard, but never seen, an ice spear that freezes everything in its immediate vicinity. You must be clo
se to it. Break off and deal with it, and I will find the pack.
We're too close to the pack, Gregori, closer than you are. You're better equipped to work your magic against an ice spear capable of freezing a forest. Break off and go after it.
Not on your life. Send Falcon. Nothing is going to stop me from fighting at your side.
For one, I am supposed to command. You do not listen to my orders.
Was that an order? I didn't hear an order in there anywhere. I've sent Falcon to deal with the ice spear.
Mikhail found himself laughing again. It was impossible to be frustrated with Gregori; he'd known him too many years, and Gregori's primary job would always be to see to the safety of the prince. He was still smarting from Razvan shoving a knife to Mikhail's throat. There hadn't been nearly as much danger as it appeared, but Gregori still didn't like that Razvan had gotten close to the prince.
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