Vasilisa was excited to meet Skyler, Dimitri’s wife, but she wished she could do so under different circumstances. Skyler looked so young it was shocking. She had pale, almost flawless skin other than a small crescent-shaped scar above her temple. She had dove-gray eyes that were sometimes shockingly blue or green if one studied her long enough. Vasilisa recognized the same strange phenomenon in her that appeared in Afanasiv. Their eyes changed color depending on their mood or the circumstances. She realized it was a Dragonseeker trait.
Skyler seemed far too young to be the heroine in the stories whispered about her. How she saved Dimitri’s life by sneaking into Lycan territory with two of her young friends. They pretended to be studying wolves in the wild while they were really mounting a rescue operation. Her laughter was contagious, and the soft look of love that came over her face every time she looked at Dimitri was enough to convince Vasilisa that she was genuinely in love with him.
Dimitri’s house was built into the mountainside, very difficult to find. One could walk up on it and never even see it. The interior was well lit despite being inside the mountain. It was also cool without being cold. He had managed to regulate the temperature to be perfect for each visitor.
Dimitri and Skyler were comfortable with their houseguests—Ivory and Razvan, Fen and Tatijana, and Zev and Branislava. The four couples clearly enjoyed one another’s company often. Once again, Vasilisa put together who was Dragonseeker. Skyler, Razvan, Branislava and Tatijana all were Dragonseeker. She was there with Afanasiv, who was also Dragonseeker. That made five Dragonseekers all in one place. It was impossible to believe that was a coincidence.
What was it, aside from having Dragonseeker blood, that all of these people had in common? Vasilisa let the conversation flow around her while she tried to puzzle it out. They had similar characteristics. Loyalty. Endurance. Perseverance.
She glanced up at Afanasiv. He was very quiet, seemingly not paying any attention to anyone, yet she knew that wasn’t the case at all. He was very aware of everyone and everything. He held her hand, fingers loosely threaded through hers, but he wasn’t looking at her. She knew he was in her mind, reading her thoughts, but even that wasn’t enough to pull him from whatever dark place he’d gone to.
They had been summoned to the house of Dimitri and she had been so excited to go, but Afanasiv had been reluctant. He had turned to her, shaking his head. “We shouldn’t go, Vasi. We need to talk. My forgotten memories are coming back, and none of them are good. In fact, there was every reason to forget them. If we go, there might be need to disclose them, and you should hear them before anyone else.”
She should have listened to him, but the call continued, and she had wanted to meet Ivory and Razvan and especially Skyler. She had been wrong to ignore Afanasiv’s reluctance. Now he sat quietly, turning inward, going somewhere dark she couldn’t follow, but it scared her.
The man Afanasiv had introduced as Petru flicked his gaze a few times toward her lifemate. Every now and then, he would glance at the one called Benedek or Nicu as if they were having a private conversation. If they were, she knew they were talking about Afanasiv and were as concerned as she was.
Ivory and Razvan noticed that Afanasiv didn’t join in the conversation, not even when it turned to the slivers of Xaviero and how he had chased them out of Vasilisa’s two brothers and their women. At first, Lada had objected to being examined again, but when Andros explained about the mage being able to spy on everyone, she allowed Afanasiv to shove Xaviero’s sliver out of her. Afterward, she wanted to be alone, refusing even to talk to Vasilisa.
Andros had looked so tired and discouraged that she had wanted to go shake some sense into Lada. It wasn’t Andros’ fault that Olga had targeted her. Andros had practically sacrificed his honor for her. There was nothing she could do, so she’d left with Afanasiv to go to Dimitri’s to see if they had any ideas on why Lilith or the mages were being so persistent or who was behind the Sacred Circle making a comeback that was undermining the royals.
Afanasiv said little to her as they made the approach to Dimitri’s home. She knew he liked Dimitri, so it made little sense to her that he distanced himself from her and from a man he both respected and liked. Before she could question him, his brethren had joined them, and then they were at Dimitri’s home, and she was caught up in the spell and myth of Skyler and Dimitri.
Now, she slid closer to him protectively, feeling guilty that she hadn’t listened to him. Ivory and Razvan studied him with the eyes of warriors. Shrewd. Assessing. Both seemed to see things beyond skin and bone, and Vasilisa didn’t want anything exposed that Afanasiv didn’t wish to reveal. It was no one’s business but his that he had spent time in captivity in the underworld.
The room was suddenly too small, and she found it difficult to breathe. She glanced once more at her lifemate. She was feeling his emotions, not her own. She ran her thumb over the side of his hand, wishing she knew how to comfort him. He was always the one to surround her with his warmth when she needed it the most.
We can leave this place, Siv. I am with you no matter what happens around us.
She needed to be less impetuous and consider what her lifemate needed rather than jump into something because of what she wanted. Part of her had wanted to postpone any serious conversations. She thought the two of them would enjoy the company. She liked Dimitri, and she did want to meet the legendary Skyler, who seemed to be able to connect with the earth as well as any Lycan—maybe better.
That brought her up short. Skyler did connect with Mother Earth. What of the others? She thought Afanasiv did because of her. Because of the Lycan in her. What if it was his Dragonseeker blood? Dragons sought caves and gems, things of the earth. They burrowed in tunnels beneath the ground.
Not in here, beloved. We will talk when we are alone.
That startled her, but she didn’t make the mistake of looking at Afanasiv. He might be struggling with something dark in his past, but he wasn’t running, and neither would she. He didn’t intend to shut her out, either.
“The name Belan is unique in the world of Carpathians, not one I have heard,” Razvan stated. “How did you come to use this name?”
It was a question that, on the surface, seemed only curious. Given that Afanasiv was Dragonseeker and didn’t acknowledge to anyone that he was, the question seemed ominous.
Afanasiv shrugged his wide shoulders as if it didn’t bother him one way or the other to provide the information. “In the old days, it was necessary to provide a new name every so many years as we moved around. There was a human family who did me a great service at much cost to themselves. Out of respect for them, I took their name when I had need to shed my own. It just so happened that I moved often after that, and there was no need to continually make new identities. I remain Afanasiv Belan.”
Vasilisa didn’t look up to see his expression. She knew what he would look like. That lazy, almost bored expression he could get. Dismissive, as if the subject was a little on the ridiculous side.
“But you are Dragonseeker.” Ivory made the statement as fact.
There was instant silence in the room. Dimitri looked up, snapping his head around to face Afanasiv. Petru and Benedek lost their masks of indifference, giving way to shock. Nicu simply nodded as if he had suspected—or known all along. Fen and the female Dragonseekers went quiet, each studying Afanasiv much more closely.
“I am,” Afanasiv admitted.
Vasilisa let her breath out. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding it until that moment. Now her lungs felt raw and burning, aching with the need for air. Aching for him, Afanasiv.Beloved. Let us leave this place.Again, she tried to tell him she would go anywhere with him. She didn’t need to be in the good graces of everyone. She needed to stay long enough to ensure that her people were safe from the government agents and that she had sealed the portals so the demons remained in the underworld.
It is too late.
“Your eyes and coloring give you away,” Razvan said.
Ivory shook her head. “It is your absolute stillness. I find it unsettling that so many Dragonseekers are in one place. That cannot be a coincidence.”