Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
“Elisabeta, you have to have faith that I am going to take care of you. I will send for Tariq and also Julija and her lifemate, Isai, one of my brethren. Julija will be able to give us a clear timeline. It is necessary because with all the safeguards woven by so many of us, the vampire should not have been able to get through to you. We need to know when he was able to do so and why, for the safety of everyone here.” His fingers kept moving on the nape of her neck, feeling like magic. “You do understand that, right? And you know that I will not allow anything to happen to you.”
The last was a statement. It was difficult not to believe him. She had been lied to so much that she had stopped believing anything, but in a short period of time Ferro had managed to overcome every defense she had. He had shown her kindness when no one in her life that she could remember had, other than Julija.
Tentatively, because she was still afraid to do anything without express permission, Elisabeta wrapped her fingers around Ferro’s wrist. It was a strong wrist, a large bone covered with muscle and skin. She felt the connection of his veins, the blood running there, his heartbeat.
“Julija is the only person besides you who has ever cared for me, that I can remember, kont o sívanak.” She whispered the name for him she had in secret places of her mind. Strong heart. It was there beating under the pads of her fingers. Sometimes beneath her ear when she laid her head against his chest. It was in the sound of the rain and in his song.
“Julija seems to be so strong, and she is. A mage and a Carpathian. A modern woman, and yet she was raised a prisoner just as I was. Cruelly used and horribly treated. She risked everything to save our people and to save me. She has been waiting for me to rise to meet everyone. Please, if I can ask one thing of you—and I know I do not deserve it, but it is not for me—she is with child and she has been through so much, do not be angry with her.”
She didn’t want Ferro to upset Julija or her lifemate. What if Isai forbade Julija to speak with Elisabeta or refused to allow them to be together because Ferro was angry?
“Elisabeta.”
She recognized the soft command in Ferro’s voice and her stomach did a slow roll. It was strange to her how her body reacted just to the various tones of his voice. She knew he expected her to meet his eyes. That was one of the most difficult things for her to do. She had been taught never to look at her master. Never to raise her eyes. Centuries of keeping her gaze downcast made it nearly impossible to force herself to look into Ferro’s eyes, but he was isäntä— master of the house—and he was never to be disobeyed.
Silence stretched between them while she gathered her courage and then dared to lift her lashes and look into his amazing iron-colored eyes. She had dared before and it seemed the color was different every time. Right now, the color was almost gold. For the first time she noticed the long, dark lashes ringing his eyes.
“I will not jeopardize your friendship with Julija,” he promised solemnly. He bent his head and brushed a kiss over her forehead. “She is on the way. Tariq approaches with several of the brethren as well as the healer, Gary Daratrazanoff.”
Elisabeta stiffened. She couldn’t help it. Several meant more than one. Tariq was the leader of the people there in the compound. Daratrazanoff was a name even Sergey cursed often. The lineage was always second-in-command to the prince of the Carpathian people. They were very powerful, not just as healers but as warriors. More, these were Carpathians who had given her blood, and she’d sensed both Tariq and, especially, the healer trying to penetrate the shields in her mind.
She wanted to retreat into the ground, find a corner of the room and slide into the shadow, disappear into the wall itself, become part of it as she had for so many centuries. Ferro’s arms prevented her from disappearing, but she ducked deeper into them.
He nuzzled the top of her head. “You do not need to speak unless I ask you to. If you need to answer, you can speak to me on our path alone. No one else needs to hear the sound of your voice. You do not need to look at them. I will shield you at all times.”
Elisabeta was shivering again and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She wanted to be brave for him, especially since he continually persisted in calling her courageous, but already she felt the power building around the dwelling. They were coming. It wasn’t one or two. There were several ancients and they carried power easily, so easily that the house and ground fairly crackled with it.