«Dominic, Rhiannon's brother, has sought news of her many years now. We were informed of her death at the hands of Xavier and he has been hoping to hear of his nieces. This news will sadden him.»
«They could still be alive,» she said. «It's possible. They helped me escape the ice cave, and maybe they managed as well. They were very powerful. Xavier kept them weak, but they were smart. They might have found a way. That's what I've come back to find out. I'm going to hunt for evidence of what
happened to them.»
Nicolas drew in his breath sharply. «The ice caves are too dangerous. The last visitors barely escaped with their lives. It is not a place you should enter.»
She kept her eyes on the water in the pool gently lapping at the ring of rocks. «Have you been down there?» She didn't much care one way or the other what he thought. She intended to go to the cave and find out for herself what had happened to her aunts.
«Not personally, but all Carpathians share knowledge. Vikirnoff and his woman fought shadow warriors, vampire and mages alike when they were there.»
She frowned and glanced up at him with a quick flick of her lashes. «His woman? Not that again. Does she have a name? Do women hold so low a place in your estimation that you can't be bothered to learn their names?»
He bent down, placing his lips against her ear. «I think you are trying to pick a fight with me because you are upset over the flashbacks you are experiencing. You have been in my mind enough to know I respect women, and would give my life to protect them.» He tugged on her long braid. «I have to see the prince and will get news of your friend. I also need to feed and you must as well. Stay here and relax. I will bring you food and something to drink and we can figure this out together.»
The feel of his warm breath against her ear, the mesmerizing brushing caress of his lips sent a shiver down her spine. Her breasts tingled, nipples tightening. She pressed her teeth together in a little snap.
«I do not want anything at all to do with blood.»
«I figured that out.» He straightened and moved away from her, gliding across the cave floor in that peculiar silence that reminded her of a stalking jungle cat. «Do you feel comfortable enough to stay here on your own, or will being underground trigger more flashbacks?»
She sent him her most fierce scowl. «I'm a caver. I explore caves all the time. I hadone small problem for just a moment seeing those disgusting little parasites. I'm fine now.Perfectly fine.» She deliberately took a slow look around. «It's quite beautiful here.»
It was, too. The walls were veined with minerals and crystals. Candles of all sizes were everywhere. The pool looked inviting. The air smelled fresh and soothing. Beyond the chamber she was in, she could see a bedroom of sorts set up quite like a room in an aboveground home. Clearly Nicolas had tried to provide a tranquil, safe place to rest.
«The safeguards are in place. They are the newest patterns to keep out enemies trained in our ways. You will be safe. If you have need of me, you have only to reach out,» Nicolas said. «I will hear you.»
«How is it possible we can communicate the way we do?» Lara asked curiously. «We aren't using the telepath common to all Carpathians. I thought that was established with a blood bond. You took my blood, but I didn't take yours.»
He was more than aware of that fact. Need roared in his ears, thundered through his heart, surged through his veins and pounded painfully in his groin in hot demand. He took a breath to keep his body relaxed, his mind calm when the primitive side of him wanted dominance. «You are my lifemate and I have bound us together. The rest will come in the right time.»
«And if it doesn't?»
He shrugged. «Then we do not survive this life and will go to the next to try again.»
She watched his large frame waver into transparency, and then fade away until he was nothing but mist streaming from the chamber. Only then did she realize she was holding her breath. She stood and stretched, trying to get her tight muscles to relax. She shouldn't be relieved to be here, she should be angry. Nicolas had taken her away from her friends without her consent, but if she was being honest, she couldn't breathe in that room. She couldn't think clearly there. She wasn't a strong enough healer to rid Terry of the parasites. Without her present, the Carpathians would call in more of their kind and Terry would have a better chance.
She sighed, knowing they would erase her friends' memories to keep them safe, but it was the only way. And maybe that was why her aunts had erased her memories, or at least sealed them up. She took off her clothes and folded them neatly, setting them on top of a flat rock before wading out into the hot mineral pool to ease the tension from her body. Water enveloped her thighs, chasing away the chill of bad memories.
Lara swam across the warm bubbling pool, aware of the instant relief of her headache and the terrible knots of tension in her neck. She sighed, lay back and closed her eyes.
* * *
Nicolas circled the forest with a lazy flap of his wings. He had shifted into the form of an owl, better to travel the distance faster. He still had much to do. It was imperative to speak with the prince and deliver the message he had traveled so far to bring. He took his time in the air. For the first time in hundreds of years, he enjoyed the incredible sensation of flying, rather than taking it for granted.
The feel of gently falling snow, the sway to the trees as the breeze whispered through them, even the scent of the crisp air, all brought joy to him as he spiraled down to the forest floor to the appointed meeting place. He had contacted the prince to insure Lara's human male friend was still alive and arranged a meeting with Mikhail while he was there. He had chosen the forest because the Carpathian Mountains had a special magic.
As he shifted, his boots sinking into the icy crystals and layers of vegetation beneath, he felt the instant connection to the earth. His species were of the earth, needing the richness of the soil for rest and rejuvenation. They felt a kinship with the plants and tall majestic trees. The animals and birds were brothers in nature and Nicolas drank his surroundings in, allowing himself to be overwhelmed emotionally by the ability to simply feel.
He waited in the comfort of the thick forest for Mikhail. He almost wished he'd had the meeting with the prince before his emotions had been restored. Overhead an owl settled onto a tree branch, wings fluttering before spreading out and swooping toward the ground. At the last moment, the owl shimmered and took the form of a man.
«You are pacing, Nicolas,» Mikhail said as he took the ground in a smooth stride. «That cannot be good.»
«I bring news, Mikhail, and no, it is not good. My brothers all send greetings and Zacarias has asked that I renew our family's pledge of loyalty and defense of you and our people.»
«That has never been questioned.»
Nicolas met the knowing black gaze of his prince straight on. «When your father ruled, and we were young and filled with arrogance and importance, we often sat around the campfires discussing options other than blindly following traditional Carpathian ways. My family and the Malinov family were close. We protected one another in battle and we shared memories as our time came and emotions faded. We spent a great deal of time together.»
Mikhail nodded, but remained silent-waiting-knowing that Nicolas rarely carried on conversations unless he had something important to say.