He went from near unconsciousness to his mind on complete alert. She felt him pushing into her mind, and he was extremely strong. Like a battering ram. A tidal wave.
Be careful,she cautioned.There are others who might overhear if you aren’t cautious. How badly are you injured?
He didn’t withdraw from her, but he remained silent as though thinking whether or not he was going to answer her.You are?
She sighed. She should have known he would ask. There was no getting around this.Vasilisa Sidkorolyavolkva. And you?
I am called Afanasiv Belan. Or Siv for short. The daughter of the royal wolf,he mused.Are you aware of what you are to me?
Vasilisa didn’t know if it was because they were speaking telepathically to one another that his voice stroked and caressed like a deep, husky velvet brush. Soft. Gentle. He sounded as if he belonged to the night, just as she did. She only knew it was one of the most sensual experiences of her life.
She wanted to lie to him. She didn’t belong to any man. She was her own person and she went her own way. He was the one who needed help, not her. She didn’t say any of that.Yes, of course. I connected to you when you were first injured. Your head.
Forgive me. Had I known, I would not have allowed you to feel anything. You must leave this place. I will find you once I know you are safe.
Her belly grew hot, and she knew her temper was fighting for supremacy. She hadn’t just sauntered down a brick road to get to him. She’d fought a battle and killed men to make certain he was all right. He was laid out like bait in a trap. Hewasbait in a trap. He’d been nearly unconscious when she’d first arrived. A small kernel of doubt seeped in. Hadn’t he? He’d come alert awfully fast. Had he been faking?
I do not allow strangers to be accosted on my lands without retaliation. In any case, I believe they are using you as bait to draw me to them. It would be nice to know why.
I wanted the answer to that question. That is why I am lying here on the ground looking pathetic with my head bleeding. They did a poor job of weaving magic to tie me to the earth.
How many? And describe them, please.She ignored his high-handed order to leave. She was born into the house of Korolyavolk—the royal wolf. Shewasroyalty, and while she didn’t hold that over the head of her people, no stranger was going to tell her what to do on her own land.
You are one of the very modern women who simply ignores anything her partner wants or needs.
She felt him heave a tremendous sigh. It was there in his mind. She might have found humor in the situation, but there was something else she caught a glimmer of—the smallest of scars, although its thickness gave her pause. That scar shouldn’t have been there in his mind. It wasn’t a barrier. He had those in abundance, hard walls she couldn’t penetrate, nor was she attempting to do so. That thick scar wasn’t actually in his mind; he’d been thinking of it in some conjunction with him. Sorrow had been instantly overwhelming.
She glimpsed startling shades of color, bright visions he tried to suppress or tone down. She got all of that in that one small glimmer that came through on their extraordinarily narrow connection. He was extremely good at keeping the energy from a telepathic connection from spilling into the air around them.
She went back over the words he had used.Ignore anything her partner wants or needs.He had used the wordpartner, a good thing. Why would he need or want her to leave him in a dire situation?You came with other men? Are you alone, or are they here waiting to help you when this trap is sprung?That had to be the answer. He had his friends secreted close by, and they had the situation well in hand. He was afraid she would tip off his assailants, and they wouldn’t show themselves.
No, I am afraid it is just me that came in this direction. We set out in different directions looking for Dimitri, a friend of ours. He resides here a good portion of the year. We thought it best to find him without calling out. There are vampires in the area. You seem a bit overrun at the moment with enemies.
She thought it sweet that he didn’t ask her if she knew Dimitri or where his residence was. Clearly, he didn’t want her to have to give up a friend or deceive him.
Yes, I ran into a betrayer and three of his associates on my way to aid you. They are dead, and I’ll have to send someone to deal with their bodies.There are four government agents staying at the inn. I don’t trust them at all. They were making inquiries about my brother. One specifically asked me if I had a man.
You told him you did.
He made it a statement.
There was a perverse part of her that wanted to deny it.I did.
Thank you, my lady. I would have no problem challenging him to a duel or fighting for the honor and privilege of your hand, but I fear I am far too ancient. The years have not been kind to my soul.
She tried not to allow her heart to accelerate. If she could feel emotions through the earth, he might be able to. He was an ancient. That was bad—really bad. Sorina had spoken briefly to her about ancients and how they sometimes locked themselves away in a hidden monastery somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains. The monastery was covered in clouds and a mysterious fog that kept Carpathians and humans alike from going near it. The ancients entering the monastery were extremely dangerous men, and it would take multiples of their strongest experienced hunters to destroy them should they ever turn. She had paid close attention to the lore of Sorina’s culture—it had been fascinating to her. Now, facing the possibility of having an ancient as the man she would spend the rest of her life with was daunting.
She wasn’t a coward, and she refused to flinch away from what she had been raised from birth to be. Fate had destined them to be together. She wouldn’t run now. They were together for a reason. She had a certain set of skills, as did Afanasiv Belan. Those skills had to somehow mesh together. When they were somewhere safe, they could discuss how.
Why would you want me to leave if you are trapped with no one to aid you?
The trap is set to capture you. They are luring you here. There are vampires, and they have conspired with demons. They are after the other half of my soul. They know you guard it, and they intend to force you to give it up.
How would they force me to do that?
Torturing someone you hold dear is usually where they would start. They might torture me in front of you, but I doubt they would try. I have been subjected to torture many times over the centuries and did not break. You have not had such a pleasure, so they could decide to start on you.There was a distinct edge to his voice and mind when he introduced that possibility.
Vasilisa was caught on a couple of things. He had been tortured numerous times, and he made that sound as if it were nothing. And someone she cared about might be tortured in order for her to give up his soul. Now she did have to work at keeping her body completely in tune with the earth, matching the heartbeat, keeping her breathing even so there was no possible way even a demon created for the sole purpose of reporting movement on the surface of the earth would be able to detect her.