When she came back to her body, she was swaying with weariness. «That's the best I can do. Sleep now, Vikirnoff. We have a few hours until sunset.»
Before Natalya could move, he whispered something soft, nearly indistinguishable in her ear. Tired, unprepared for an attack, Natalya felt him grip her mind, hold her in his enthrallment. She knew she was succumbing to sleep, her body stretched out beside his, but there was nothing she could do about it. The last thing she comprehended was his mouth moving over the blisters on her face and neck, healing the raw burns.
«Natalya, you didn't notice I had my hair cut today.»
Natalya laughed. «I noticed. You're just so vain I wasn't going to say anything to make your ego bigger. You're so busy watching the women watch you, it's too funny.»
«Since you give me no encouragement, I have to find it on my own. I fear for any man who falls in love with you.»
Natalya tossed her tawny hair and made a face at her brother. «I don't care if a thousand men fall in love with me, I have no intention of falling in love with them. I see how you are once you know a woman has fallen under your spell. That is not for me.»
Razvan hugged her. «Don't worry, you'll always be my favorite sister.»
«Ha! I'm your only sister. Fat consolation that is.»
Razvan laughed and sprang away from her, a young colt running fast over the slight hill. «I'll race you home! Come on Natalya, don't be such a girl. You have to run faster than that.»
Natalya heard Razvan's voice calling her in the distance. She ran and ran, but she couldn't catch up. He sounded like he was laughing. She loved the sound of his laughter, but she was getting upset that she couldn't catch him. Razvan could rarely outrun Natalya. She had been gifted with incredible athletic skills. And when it came to casting magick, she was often ahead of him in their studies. She knew she had a competitive streak and right now, she was annoyed that she couldn't reach him.
«Stop!» Natalya looked in every direction. «I can't see you.»
«I am dead. You cannot follow me to this place. The hunter murdered me and you have not yet avenged me.»
Her heart pounded in alarm. «I don't know which hunter killed you.»
«It doesn't matter. They are the enemy and they wish us dead. You are my helmed sister, I cannot save you from them, you must save yourself .»
Natalya wrenched herself awake. She had to push through layers of haze and it took every ounce of discipline and control she had. Every muscle in her body felt sore, but her skin was clear, the blisters and the red, angry burn gone as if it had never been. Her neck throbbed, right over her pulse. She covered it with her palm and felt warmth tingling through her body.
Her neck ached. She rolled out of bed and hit the floor running, dashing for the bathroom to stare at the mark on her neck. «Damn, damn, damn it!» She dressed hastily and shoved her things into a pack. «You took my blood again, you demon spawned from the devil. I know you did.»
Hunger hit her. Sharp. Terrible. Biting. It crawled through her body and overwhelmed her mind. The whispers intruded, soft and sensuous, beguiling with temptation. Her mouth ached, teeth wanting to lengthen, saliva collecting. She turned her head and her stomach dropped away. Vikirnoff's black eyes watched her and there was hunger in his dark gaze.
Without hesitating, Natalya yanked flex cuffs from her pack and bound his wrists tight. He made no move to stop her, just watched her with that disconcerting, focused stare.
«I'm sorry. Glare at me all you want, but you're dangerous. Even when you're like this, you scare the hell out of me. I'm going to leave and I'll just make certain I have a good head start before you follow me.»
Vikirnoff attempted to move and discovered the binding spell she'd added to hold him helpless. His features hardened perceptibly and his eyes grew a fierce black, but he didn't speak. You think I will allow you to leave me?
«I'm not willing to give you a choice. I'm not having you take my blood whenever you feel like it.» Her eyes mirrored the gathering storm in her mind. «Do you think I'm so stupid I don't know blood is power?»
I know I will not allow this.
She tossed her hair and shrugged. «Too bad you don't have a say. I'm sorry you're angry, but I'm not lifemate material. Even if we're supposed to be together, and I'm not convinced we are, it wouldn't work out. I annoy you. You irritate the hell out of me. We'd be in counseling all the time.» She patted his head, a gesture meant to add to his annoyance, but it turned into smoothing his hair back. Her fingers lingered, stroking the silky strands. The moment she realized what she was doing, she snatched her hand back as if he'd burned her.
Vikirnoff said nothing, but he looked more dangerous than ever. It was amazing to her how much power he seemed to exude, even wounded and tied up.
Natalya didn't know why she couldn't stop trying to defend herself, but she made one more stab at it. «Look, I could have left you in the forest. And I could have let the shadow warrior get you,» she pointed out. «I'm tying you up for both our protection. I don't trust
you.»
«You are the one who attacked me,» he said.
Natalya blinked rapidly. His voice was low and compelling. Her stomach did a peculiar little flip. «That was unintentional and you know it. You dropped out of the sky between the vampire and me. I was attacking him, not you. In any case, I've made up for it by helping you. Had I left you there, the wolves would have returned along with the vampires and you'd be dead or captured.»
He glanced down at the flex cuffs. «It appears that I am your prisoner.» His voice was sensual, a deliberate implication.
She felt faint color stealing into her neck and face. Her temper went up a notch. «You'll be able to get out of the cuffs once the binding spell wears off. I'm leaving now and that will give me a good head start. You should be fine.»
«I will not allow this. Ask me for anything else and it is yours, but not this, Natalya. I am warning you. I will not let you walk out on your responsibilities.»
Natalya tossed her head, eyes flashing at him. «Who would have guessed the hunter is a sore loser? Talk is cheap, little slip of a boy!»
He still hadn't blinked and his predatory stare kept her heart pounding. She knew he could hear it and it only increased her resolve to get away from him. If it were possible, his eyes deepened into a black that made her shudder with sudden anxiety. He had formed a barrier in his mind, most likely to prevent her from feeling his pain, but it also shielded other emotions, such as anger. Or rage. His eyes were turbulent and as black as the stormiest night.
«Te avio palafertiilam. Entolam kuulua, avio palafertiilam.» He whispered the words in his ancient language, his eyes never leaving her face. «Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed. Elidamet andam. Pesamet andam. Uskolfertiilamet andam. Sivamet andam. Sielamet andam.»
«Stop!» She pressed her palm hard against her heart. Whatever he was saying was affecting her. She knew spells. She knew almost all spells, but she didn't recognize the words. She knew Hungarian, but she didn't know his language. It was more ancient even than Hungarian. It didn't seem to matter. She felt every word in her heart and soul.
Vikirnoff's expression never changed and he didn't take his gaze from hers, holding her captive with his eyes and his voice, in spite of the flex cuffs on his wrists. «Ainamet andam. Sivamet kuuluak kaik etta a ted. Ainaak olenszal sivambin.»
As he spoke, each word he uttered in that soft, mesmerizing whisper of sound seemed to penetrate deep into her body and mind, wrap around her heart and go deeper still, finding something inside of her that rushed to meet him. «Stop,» she pleaded again.
«Te elidet ainaak pide minan. Te avio palafertiilam. Ainaak'sivamet jutta oleny. Ainaak terad vigyazak.'»
A spell. It had to be a spell. She pressed her hands over her ears, but nothing stopped that insidious whisper. Worse, she was beginning to think she was catching some of the words, although she was certain she'd never spoken the language. «What have you done?» She pressed against the wall,
tried to make herself smaller as if by doing so she could escape his magic.
She was so certain she'd held him prisoner with physical and otherworldly bonds, but his words had done something irrevocable to her. She felt everything in her reaching for something in him. Needing him. Wanting him. Somehow those ancient words had bound her soul to his for all eternity, as if they really were two halves of the same whole and his words had somehow put them back together.
«What have you done?» she demanded again when he only watched her through his too-black eyes. «Something about giving me your body and soul and heart. You said that, didn't you? Answer me, Von Shrieder. What have you done? What did you say?»
«I claimed what was rightfully mine.»
«Translate it.»
Vikirnoff studied her pale face. Her eyes were enormous, her lips trembling. «Do not be so afraid. It is a ritual as old as time and no one has ever been harmed by it.»
Natalya gnashed her teeth together and opted for a blatant lie. «I am not afraid. I'm angry. Whatever you did is some kind of binding spell, isn't it?»
«You mean like the one you used on me?» His tone was mild.
She felt color flooding her face. «Maybe I went too far,» she conceded. «I'll take mine off if you'll remove yours.»
«It cannot be done.»
He didn't sound remorseful. There was no inflection at all. Her breath hissed out. «I would very much like you to translate what you said into a language I can understand. All spells are reversible if you know what you're doing. And I know what I'm doing.»
Vikirnoff studied her face. She was lying through her teeth. He could smell her fear. She might not know, but she felt he had said something that was irrevocable, that her life had been changed for all time. «I cannot translate exactly but this is close. The words are said in our language first and then translated aloud for the woman in a language she can understand, although it is binding without doing so. It is roughly this. I claim you as my lifemate.»
Natalya gasped. His voice was sensual, mesmerizing, just as powerful as when he spoke the words in a language she didn't understand.
Vikirnoff continued. «I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give to you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time. You are bound to me and always in my care. That is the closest of translations. Males of my species are imprinted with the ritual binding words before they are born. They are given the ability to bind their lifemate for just the very reasons you have shown this evening.» He lifted his bound hands to her eye level. «You should have more respect for your lifemate.»
«Okay.» She paced across the room. «Okay, hands down. You win this round. Now take it off. Undo it.»
Chapter 6
Vikirnoff couldn't pull his gaze away from the angry confusion on Natalya's face. With every step she took, her entire appearance underwent a change. Her skin began to glow and her tawny hair took on a strange banded quality, almost as if there were stripes he couldn't quite make out. Her hair moved with energy and light, even in the darkness. Her eyes were also peculiar, the color ever changing. One moment sea-green and vibrant, the next going opalescent and stormy. She actually looked feral, eyes focused on his face, her body all flowing muscles, her steps utterly silent.
«I would not do so, Natalya, even if I had the power.» He could feel very real power building and crackling in the room. She was furious, and maybe, he conceded, she had reason to be. He was not about to allow her to walk out on him, but he'd forgotten she had the nature of a tiger. She was wild and impossible to tame. He should have kept that knowledge close to him and acted more carefully. She was dangerous, he could see and even feel it in her. He waited, expecting anything, breathing away his own rising emotions in an effort to be calm for both of them.
She stalked him across the room. The tension rose between them until it was nearly electric. «I don't think you're in any position to say no to me. I could cut your throat right now and there isn't much you could do about. I've killed vampires. To me, you aren't much different.»
«If that is your wish.»
«You're such a bastard.» She swung away from him, angrier than she'd ever been in her life. Deep inside her, the tigress fought for freedom, demanding the freedom to rend and
tear and remove Natalya's enemy for all time. «Take it back.»
He sighed softly. «I cannot.»
«I should have left you in the forest to bleed to death or fry in the sun.»
«You could not. You did not want to take me with you, but you could not leave me. That is the truth.» He said it with a mild tone, yet she felt the lash of a reprimand.
«I owe you nothing. I didn't ask you to interfere and I would never have been injured in the first place if you hadn't been whining so loud the entire world could hear you.» Her heart was pounding so hard she was afraid it would burst through her chest. She'd fought vampires, yet this man, tied and lying so still on the bed, terrified her in ways she couldn't hope to comprehend. Her lungs burned for air and her throat felt raw.
Understanding dawned. She wasn't afraid of him, she was afraid for him. She was terrified of the power and anger rising up together deep inside of her in a furious meld. The tiger unleashed could do things she could never undo. She would not be caged by this man. By anyone. If-if she ever chose a mate, it would be one of her choosing. She forced air through her lungs. Forced her heart rate back to normal. The dark mage blood in her ran deep and strong. She could undo what he'd wrought. In all her years of study, no other had accomplished the things she had. Still, she would not stoop to murdering a helpless man.
«What you did was wrong, Vikirnoff. Whatever reasons you have, they are not good enough to try to take away my freedom.» Looking at him, seeing his dark eyes so filled with pain, she realized the tremendous pull between them had allowed her emotions to become so intense she honestly couldn't tell his from hers. Almost as if they fed one another everything from anger to passion in one long chaotic roller-coaster ride. He seemed calm, yet when she touched his mind, he was feeling everything just as strongly as she was. And his confusion ran just as deep as hers.
She tilted her chin. «I am not going to discuss this any further with you right now. There is no point.» And there wasn't. She had faith in herself. He didn't know how strong she was, but she did. She was certain, with time, she could come up with a reversal spell, once she knew the exact words. He had given her a rough translation, but she would figure it out from what he had said.
«Natalya,» Vikirnoff began. He had no idea if he was attempting an apology, or even why he would want to say he was sorry. He'd upset her, but it was natural for him to stop her from leaving him. «I am not human, nor mage. My species has instincts that must be met.»
«You had a choice, Vikirnoff. Don't let yourself off the hook by claiming instincts. You're a thinking person. I was doing something you thought was wrong and you stopped me. That's imposing your will on me whether you want to think so or not.»
He frowned. «Tying me up and putting a binding spell on me was not imposing your will? I would not have bound you to me without your consent had you not decided you were leaving me.»
There was a sudden silence between them as they both felt the earth shudder. Natalya's eyes met Vikirnoff's in understanding. «The sun has set.»
«Yes, it has and the earth is protesting as the vampires rise. I feel the presence of more than one of them.» Wincing, Vikirnoff sat up gingerly.
As if there had never been a binding spell. «As if I spent ten minutes weaving air.» She watched the flex cuffs fall away to lie useless on the floor. She shook her head. What was the point in summoning up anger? She should have known he couldn't be trapped that easily. She was smarter than that. He was an ancient hunter and far more powerful than she'd given him credit for. Let him underestimate her. She wouldn't make the same mistake with him a
gain. «Why didn't the binding spell work on you?» Better to find out. Knowledge was power and she could see, with Vikirnoff, she would need every edge she could get.
His eyebrow rose at her mild tone. «I was in your mind. As fast as you wove it, I unraveled it,» he admitted. Both hands went to the hole in his chest and pressed tightly. The blood drained out of his face, leaving him pale and sweating tiny beads of blood.
She put her hands on her hips. «Maybe you should lie back down. Do you have the least idea how truly irritating you can be when you're acting all heroic?»
«I'm beginning to. The vampires have risen and at least one is heading our way. We cannot allow them to come to the inn. You know I will draw them here, just as you will. I am much stronger than I was last evening.»
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