“You did not want to stay any longer in this world.” Julian crouched down beside the leader so that he no longer towered above him. “It was in your mind to seek eternal rest. You cannot hide that from me any more than I could hide what I am from you. What made you stay when you felt yourself so close to turning? I can feel your fight, every waking moment; your life is endless darkness. What made you stay when you wanted, needed eternal rest?”
“You did.” The reply was simple, brief, yet Julian could read the truth in those two words. “I read some of your memories. I knew of your intention to seek eternal rest before you discovered what you call your lifemate, my sister. I do not know much more, only that she made it worth every moment of your struggle with the darkness devouring us. You have roamed the world and were certain you would never feel again, but you do feel. You laugh. There is a real joy in you that you cannot hide. I had no idea there was hope. I thought that for our males, once we lived a certain length of time, there would be only two choices. Eternal rest or the loss of our souls. Now that I have found this information, I can do no other than try to lead the way for Dayan and Barack. I will hold out as long as I am able to, until I know the crouching beast is close to overcoming my strength, and then I will seek eternal rest. If I can once again feel before I cross over, then it will be worth all the long, dark days.” Darius’s voice was very soft, a mere thread of sound, as if he could not find the strength to speak more strongly. “I would like to feel the love I have for my sister and my family, not simply remember that there once was such a feeling.”
It made no difference to Julian that Darius’s voice was fading. Like all Carpathians, he had incredible hearing and could turn the volume up at will.
“In any case,” Darius continued, his long lashes hiding the dark depths of his eyes, “I will wait until there is no hope at all for me, so that Dayan will realize he must also have hope until there is proof otherwise. He grows weary of this earth and has spoken often of resting. And he will not follow you so easily.”
“My charming personality, no doubt,” Julian agreed.
“Dayan is a quiet soul. Not dark of nature like me or Savon. Dayan has always chosen the right paths instinctively. Yet as the darkness grows within him, the heaviness in his heart expands. Hidden within him is an explosive predator, all the more dangerous because he is so opposite to the man. Dayan struggles to understand that side of his nature while we simply accept it.” He was deliberately imparting knowledge of his family to his sister’s lifemate.
Darius’s voice was so low now, Julian was unsure whether he was really speaking aloud or mind to mind. “You grow weak, Darius. Sleep. We can talk of such things when you are healed.” Deliberately, Julian allowed his voice to drop an octave, to take on the low, hypnotic tone of his kind. Soothing, peaceful, healing. An underlying command, very subtle but nevertheless powerful.
Darius smiled, a mere flash of strong white teeth. He heard that “push” in Julian’s voice and recognized it for what it was. Even in his weakened state, he would ordinarily have resisted such a mind touch, but Julian was going to do as he wished anyway. He would hunt the undead without Darius, and argument with him would be futile. And tiring. Darius planned to sleep for a long while. “I go under, golden one, but do not think you managed to make me overlook the fact that I must thank you for my continued existence.”
“Or curse me.” Julian stepped away from the black, rich soil, then watched as the breath ceased and the heart quit beating in Darius’s chest. He waved a hand so the soil would fill in around and over the body, providing the healing balm to mend the terrible wounds. His hands wove the patterns of strong safeguards to ensure Darius would not be disturbed. He stood for a long moment, savoring the unexpected warmth that came with belonging to something. Once he hunted and destroyed his ancient enemy and knew all was safe, he would seek out his own twin brother. He ached to see Aidan again, to meet his lifemate and to present Desari to him. Though he dreaded having to admit the truth, that he had been marked by a vampire as a boy, he now longed for what interaction with others could bring into one’s life. He wanted to be part of a family once again.
“You are already part of a family,” Desari reminded him, her body brushing his, her arms circling his waist from behind. She had materialized out of nowhere, her presence filling the healing chamber.
She was there. Completing him. His air. His heart. The part of his soul that really lived and loved and mattered. Without conscious thought he sent up a quick prayer of thanks that he had been granted such a priceless treasure when he felt so undeserving of her.
Julian loved the way she smelled. He inhaled, and her scent washed over him, clean and sexy. “This mess? With all these males?” Julian allowed a low, rumbling growl to escape. “This is no family. This is a man’s nightmare.”
Desari deliberately moved against him, her body soft and pliant with invitation. “Is that what you think?”
“What I think is”—Julian circled her slender throat with his large hand in mock threat—”you are deliberately tempting me when I have important, pressing business to attend to.”
Her slender arms instantly circled his neck so that she could press her body against his hard frame. “I am a superstar, lifemate, yet you wish to leave me alone at every opportunity. There are men everywhere who would be happy to take your place by my side.”
He bent his head, his teeth scraping a provocative rhythm over her pulse. Desari went liquid, boneless, her stomach clenching in anticipation. “No, they would not be happy to take my place at your side,
cara mia,
because I would promptly end their lives in a most unhappy way.”
“You are such a caveman, Julian. You look tall and elegant and princely, yet you have not matured beyond the cave.” Desari allowed her tongue a brief inspection of the taste of his skin. She closed her eyes to savor the moment.
“I have no intention of rising above caveman mentality,” he growled in her ear, his breath teasing tendrils of hair and sending little flames dancing through her bloodstream. “There are so many benefits for the caveman.”
“You like playing the part of the dominant male, no doubt,” she whispered, her voice so husky with need that his body tightened in urgent, painful response. Her mouth moved over his throat, her hands seeking skin beneath his shirt. “I have a need of you, lifemate, and you are deliberately ignoring your sworn duties to me.”
“Little minx.” Julian curved his arm around Desari’s shoulders and began walking from the chamber into the maze of tunnels carved from molten lava. They were numerous and deep, leading throughout the large mountain, deep within the earth. It was hot and humid, steaming, so that the heat soaked through their clothing as they walked together. Little beads of sweat formed and ran over their skin, following intriguing paths.
Desari’s white silk blouse clung to her so that her breasts were dark, enticing shadows, her nipples even darker. Her long hair became damp and heavy as they descended deeper within the earth, and she stopped to twist it and knot it at the back of her neck.
Julian smiled faintly. “How do women do that?” His eyes were on her body, the way her breasts lifted in innocent seduction when she raised her arms to attend to her hair.
Desari turned her head to look at him. “Do what?”
“That thing with your hair.” Julian leaned down to taste a small bead of sweat running down the back of her neck. He felt her shiver, felt the answering shiver deep within his own body. His hand slid under the edge of her silken blouse to find hot satin skin, his long fingers caressing each rib. “How do women tie up their hair without looking at it?” His voice was raw and edgy, reflecting the way his body was reacting to hers.