Dark Song

Ferro’s hand came up to her ear, his fingertip tracing her lobe and sending little tingles of fiery heat spreading like electricity through her. This is not your fault. Let Julija answer the questions and then the two of you can talk together on your path while the others come in. We will try to ascertain where the breakdown occurred.

You do not mind if I speak with Julija?

Of course not. She is your friend.

She does not like you.

She does not know me and I do not expect her to like me, nor do I care. I am your shield, piŋe sarnanak, yours alone. I will ask the necessary questions and then you two can talk while the others decide the best course of action.

Elisabeta could barely contain herself. She glanced at Julija, found her gaze on her and sent a quick, reassuring smile. It was the best she could do before ducking her head.

“Sergey has not contacted her since I have been safeguarding her. If your lifemate can give us any kind of details regarding the timeline it would be helpful.”

“My understanding is that Sergey continued to plague Elisabeta every time she was awakened and given blood. He called to her every rising, whispering to her that he would kill everyone in the compound and torture the children in front of her if she didn’t come back to him. I believe he had done so since she was first brought to this place.”

Even to Elisabeta’s ears, Julija sounded disrespectful.

Is that so, piŋe sarnanak? If Ferro was upset with Isai’s lifemate, he didn’t sound it. Do you recall that the vampire always whispered to you?

I cannot recall a time that he did not until you stopped him, but time no longer means anything to me. She was frustrated that she couldn’t give him a definite answer.

He stroked a caress down the back of her head. You have given me all that I need, Elisabeta.

4

The earth may shake, and rivers may swell;

Yet here I stand, ready to break the spell.

Ferro wasn’t a trusting man. He had never been one to trust, not that he could remember. He had his brethren from the monastery, and even with them he was wary. Careful. Now, with Elisabeta to protect, he was even more so. He had thought to bring Isai there first, knowing that Elisabeta would be uncomfortable with visitors, but he needed to get to the bottom of how Sergey had managed to reach out to her in the compound, in the healing grounds, when she should have been protected.

He had that feeling of a threat coming to her from either Tariq or Gary, perhaps both. Now that he’d been in Elisabeta’s mind, he knew she was uneasy at the mere mention of the two Carpathians coming near her. He would have thought her anxiety was due to just being around others, but it was more than that. The healer had tried to examine her mind. He may have been trying to repair some of the damage the vampire had caused, but it would be unusual to do so without consent—and Elisabeta had closed herself off.

Ferro called Isai ekä, brother. Isai’s loyalty would be first to his lifemate, Julija, but he would fight with Ferro if need be, to get Ferro and Elisabeta away from the compound. Ferro also thought that having Julija there would help to calm Elisabeta when the others arrived.