Siv reached out to wrap his arm around Vasilisa. At first, she stiffened and attempted to step away from him.
“Lifemate. We take this journey together. Whatever comes our way. We both know it will be a difficult one, and we face danger. Many battles. Adalasia read the cards for me. I asked her if you existed inthis century. She told me we would face many battles, and we would have to surround ourselves with those we trusted in order to survive.”
“I trust my brothers.”
“Then we free him from whatever has a hold on him, but we do it together, Vasilisa. That is how we must go forward from now on.” He looked straight into her eyes, needing her to understand that point. He meant it. It mattered little that his voice was low. Soft. He meant every word. He was an ancient doing his best to fit into a modern world, but this was a command. She didn’t yet realize that with his claim, they were woven together. One couldn’t do without the other.
Vasilisa lifted her chin. For a moment, a blue flame burned in warning in the depths of her eyes as she regarded him steadily. They stared at each other. He could feel the turmoil raging in her. This was her beloved brother Petru had accused. The ancients didn’t know him. They knew nothing of her family, of the pact that existed in the house of royalty there. Her mind raced so fast, she didn’t believe he could follow her stream of thought.
“I have an oath to you scarred on my back. It has been there for centuries, Vasilisa. It has been there to remind me when I lived in a gray void of nothing for centuries to stay strong for you. Only you. I am not your enemy. I live with honor to serve you.”
That halted the tumultuous rioting going on in her head. Siv was honestly amazed at how fast her brain worked. She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I suddenly wanted to take my fear and anger out on you. Even on your friend for giving us such bad news. He isn’t the one responsible. But I’m telling you, this cannot be true. Our family cannot betray our people. It is an impossibility. The way our DNA is programmed, we cannot possibly betray the ones we serve.”
Afanasiv considered what she was telling him. How could that be countered? What measures could a vampire take to overcome what had been built in to protect Vasilisa’s people? The answer was, it would beextremely difficult. It would take centuries, and the vampire would have to be wholly focused on that task alone. No vampire would be able to keep his mind on that single chore for the time it would take. Who, then? Vasilisa was following his thought process.
“You are assuming your friend...”
“Petru,” he supplied.
“Yes, Petru is correct and my brother is helping this vampire.”
“And the demons from the underworld.” Afanasiv was thoughtful. “I have had some dealings with demons, Vasilisa. I will admit, part of my memories are gone from the time I spent in their company. I have not tried very hard to resurrect them, as I know that torture was involved. Demons are malicious and vengeful creatures. I carry scars from the time they had me in the underworld with them. I do know that I thought it would be impossible to trick one as ancient and as knowledgeable as me, but I have been there.”
Her blue eyes still held those blue flames, but the fire had calmed a bit, burning low. “Did they manage to use you in some way? Enslave you so that you did their bidding?”
There was a challenge in her voice, in the tilt of her chin. She wanted to see if he would put himself above her family. Did he believe himself better than the Lycans? Was there truly a prejudice in him against her and her brothers because they were wolf and he was Carpathian, and that made him superior?
“I have told you, my lady, I do not remember all of what transpired. I chose to forget most of my time spent with demons. Before you decide the convenience of such a thing, the memories are still there, waiting to be accessed. We can retrieve those memories after we ensure my other friends are well and advise them of what is happening. I do not care for the fact that Vitus was most likely after your brother Garald. There was a traitor waiting for him. The puppet was a particular friend of his, was he not?”
She again looked anxious. “My older brother Andros has been seeing a woman, Lada. He’s been seeing her quite a bit recently. Hegoes to her home and stays for a week or two at a time. She has a little girl, and he wants the child to really get to know him. Lada has a little place on the outskirts of the village up in the eastern slopes, close to where Dimitri’s sanctuary starts.”
Afanasiv immediately got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. “When was the last time you heard from him?”
“I feel sick. Andros is the one closest to Dimitri. He would have spoken with him. If for any reason he couldn’t get to him, he would have checked in right away to tell us. That was why I wasn’t very concerned about Dimitri.” Vasilisa pressed her hand over her stomach. “What do these vampires want with my brothers?”
“The vampires seek to control you through your brothers. They believe you will turn over my soul to them. As for the demons, they want something else altogether from your family. I do not know what that is. The answer may be in my memories.”
“I feel as though my world is suddenly falling apart.” She took the hat from her head and swept a hand over her hair. She had it up in order to accommodate her hat, so he couldn’t see the silky mass other than that it was sable in color and very thick.
“Let me reach out to Nicu. He sought out Dimitri. Nicu always runs with the wolves. He’s the most feral of all of us, and the wild ones respond to him. Dimitri and Nicu have been fast friends for centuries. He knows Zev, your Lycan elite hunter. Zev is lifemate to Branislava Dragonseeker. Like you, she comes from one of our most revered families and is related to Skyler. They have come to visit her just to see that she is settling in after all the chaos that happened to her. Skyler had died and was brought back up the tree of life by her lifemate, Dimitri. He had never fully relinquished her spirit, and somehow, she hung on, even with all her wounds, waiting for him. Theirs is an amazing story that all Carpathians talk about. Gabriel and Francesca, the Carpathian couple who adopted her when she was human, were devastated when they thought she had been killed. She is a very special woman to our people.”
Afanasiv was trying to comfort her. If several of his people and those she knew to be hunters of rogue Lycans were converging on her lands, she would be able to build an army to fight whatever or whoever was threatening her people. He was connected to her, mind to mind, without intruding too far, and he saw immediately that she recognized the name Zev Hunter. He would have been astonished had she not.
Zev was considered an elite rogue Lycan hunter, sent out after any Lycan who refused to follow the rules of Lycan society. Zev didn’t return until he had finished his mission. Those on his team were considered elite, just as he was. Zev had now come under suspicion by the Lycan council since he had chosen to become the lifemate to Branislava of the Dragonseekers. The mixed bloods were not tolerated in the Lycan world. They were considered killers, and the Lycans thought they should all be exterminated. The Carpathians considered them guardians.
Afanasiv knew there were arguments for both sides, depending on one’s experience with them. He knew many of the Lycans on the council had tried to bring more understanding among their people. The resurgence of the popularity of the Sacred Circle among the villagers had made the acceptance more difficult.
Just knowing Zev was close had Vasilisa settling even more. “We have to hurry, Siv. Find out about Grigor.”
Nicu, have you encountered a master vampire in league with demons from the underworld? Is there a member of the royal house with them?
Yes. Fighting them off as we speak.The voice was clipped.
Do you need aid?
Dimitri and Skyler have come to my aid. With them are Fen and Tatijana.
Do not allow anything to happen to the royal if you can help it. He is under some kind of influence.