“Consider it done.” Dominic kept his voice even as frustration clawed at him. He nodded at Matt. “What about him? We don’t usually allow humans in the meeting hall, unless they are part of the Vasullus family.”
“True.” Richard moved closer to Matt, who looked terrified. Richard studied him carefully, his glowing lion eyes flickering to life. “Then I suppose Matt will be made an honorary member of the Vasullus. He’s seen far too much to explain it all away. So I suppose we shall tell him everything. If Tatiana says we can trust him, then that will have to do… for now.”
“That would be a refreshing change,” Tatiana interjected. She flicked an irritated glance to Dominic. “I’d love to hear everything about the Caedo, the Purists, and their breeding program. All of it. I’m sick of getting information bit by bit.”
“The Purists initiative has been disbanded right along with their breeding program,” Steven said firmly. He pulled Courtney into his arms and ran one hand protectively over her stomach. “Their leader is dead, and they’ve lost their resolve. I doubt they had anything to do with this.”
“We shall see,” Richard said quietly. “I will meet you all in the Council chamber in fifteen minutes.” His eyes glowed brightly as he bowed his head, uttered the ancient language, and vanished.
“What the fuck?” Matt whimpered.
Dominic looked over just in time to see him faint and fall into a bail of hay.
“Oh yeah,” Dominic said with a sigh. “He’s going to be lots of help.”
“Shut up,” Tatiana hissed. “The world he thought existed just got ripped away. So why don’t you give him a small break? Huh?”
Tatiana squatted down next to Matt and brushed his hair off his forehead. She whispered his name a few times, but all he did was moan. Cass trotted over and sniffed at his limp hand.
“Let me get him,” Dominic groaned. He thought she was going to stop him, but she stepped aside, allowing him to pick Matt up. The kid mumbled something but didn’t wake up. “I hope he can handle this because the last thing we need is to babysit a human.”
“He’s my friend, Dominic.” Her voice wavered, and her large dark eyes flicked to Matt. “Although I can’t imagine he’ll want much to do with me after this mess.”
Dominic’s throat tightened as Tatiana’s energy waves, thick with sadness, washed over him. It was unsettling to have someone else’s feelings directly impact his own. How the hell would he figure out how to navigate this aspect of their relationship? Shit. Who was he kidding? He didn’t know how to navigate any of it.
After they let the horses out to graze and put the puppy in the main house out of harm’s way, Tatiana followed Dominic and the others. The animals were clearly upset by what happened, and once they were done with this meeting, she planned on connecting with the horses again. Maybe if she could form a psychic bond with them the way she had with Spirit, she could find out who killed the mare. As that thought filled her mind, she stopped dead in her tracks as she recalled the voice from the dream realm last night.
Lies. All lies… Betrayer.
The words haunted her as she realized the feminine voice in the dream wasn’t Courtney or any other person. It was Spirit, and Tatiana did nothing to help her because she was too busy getting it on with Dominic.
“Tatiana?” Dominic called her name, pulling her from her thoughts. “What’s wrong?”
Tatiana shook her head and started walking again. She wasn’t entirely sure about what she heard and decided to wait before blurting out her suspicions. Especially since it happened while she and Dominic were playing the dream realm dating game.
You heard it too, didn’t you? Dominic’s voice touched her mind gently. Last night in the dream realm. You heard that voice in the storm.
Tatiana didn’t answer him but nodded. It was unsettling how in tune Dominic seemed to be with her. How in tune they were with each other.
As they walked across the property, she stole a glance at the men and noticed the startling similarity between them. All three of them, Eric, Dominic, and Steven, possessed a distinctly predatory air. Their energy waves rippled with tension, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice, and that had her more on edge than before. Were they in that much danger?
Images of Dominic appearing in her bedroom came immediately to mind, and her fear ratcheted up a notch as she answered her own question. Of course they were in danger. If the Purists were involved, couldn’t they simply blink in and out of the area with little effort? She made a mental note to bring up that little tidbit at the meeting.
They continued toward the heated barn on the other side of the property, and as she wiped the sweat from her brow, her stomach turned at the idea of being inside what was essentially a giant metal tube. The long cylindrical structure glinted in the sunlight, and she could see heat waves wafting from the steel.
“Where are we going?” Tatiana asked as she swatted at a mosquito on her neck. “I hope this meeting space isn’t in that metal barn. I can’t imagine it’s less than a hundred and ten degrees in there right now.”
Dominic glanced at her as they approached the entrance of the barn. His brown eyes stared at her intently. “As Matt learned today, not everything is as it appears.”
Matt moaned again but remained unconscious in Dominic’s grasp, and Tatiana noticed Dominic wasn’t even winded by carrying him. The muscles in his arms bulged, stretching the army green T-shirt to its limits which, in spite of the situation, had her remembering their little tryst this morning. Her face heated with embarrassment when Dominic caught her eye and winked.
“Oh please,” she said with roll of her eyes.
Eric stepped up to the massive metal doors, and the entrance swung open silently, as if by magic. Tatiana’s stomach fluttered nervously as she followed the others inside, and the doors began to close as soon as she cleared the threshold.
Tatiana glanced over her shoulder, and as the entrance closed, she saw Eric shimmer and burst into clan form. The glowing yellow eyes of a black panther were the last thing she saw before it shut, and they were sealed inside.
The temperature in the cavernous space was surprisingly cool, but that wasn’t the only surprise. The high, curved ceiling of the building stretched overhead like a steel rainbow, and the floor was a checked pattern of black-and-white marble tile—a far cry from a heated barn.
“What the hell is this place,” Tatiana asked as she instinctively inched closer to Courtney. Her voice echoed in the open space. She looked around as she rubbed her bare arms, which suddenly felt chilled by the dramatic change in temperature. “It’s obviously not a barn.”
“No.” Dominic’s deep voice rumbled through the air. “It protects one of our most sacred places and keeps it hidden from the world.”
“Where is everyone?” Tatiana gave Courtney a smile and waved one hand around. “I mean, there’s nothing in here. Not even some place to—”
“Revelamini.” Dominic’s voice, clear and commanding, cut off further conversation.
Seconds later the long white wall in front of them disappeared into the floor, and a subtle humming filled the space. As the wall vanished, a cavernous space was revealed. Tatiana inched closer to Dominic, and before she could stop herself, grabbed his arm for reassurance. He gave her a slanted glance, and his lips curved as he looked at her fingers draped over his bicep, but he had the good sense not to say anything.
They crossed the threshold, and Tatiana let out a whistle as she took in the sight before her. They were standing at the top of a gigantic set of steps, and at the bottom there was an arena. All four sides had steps that led down to the main floor, and it conjured images of the arenas in Ancient Rome. The floor vibrated, and the wall behind them rose, immediately sealing them inside the mysterious space.