Dark Song

He didn’t exactly answer her. She took a deep breath and forced herself to turn her head and look at the ancients who had merged with her. Sandu, Andor and Gary. These men were bound to Ferro soul to soul. They had tied themselves together, along with Andor’s lifemate, Lorraine, and the bond would hold until all of them had lifemates. Only then would they be able to break those ties. What happened to one happened to all of them. Now, she was a part of that brotherhood.

It was very difficult to look at the three men without the bars of a cage between her and them. The open space made her feel vulnerable but it helped that she could feel Ferro’s strength surrounding her. He was extremely strong and felt that way to her, like one of the ancient hardwood trees that was forever unbending even in the fiercest storm. He was back in her mind, merged with her but unobtrusive, just providing her with the confidence to stay there instead of running away.

She resolved that she wouldn’t embarrass him. He had come instantly at her call, just as he said he would. There had been no deception, nor had he gotten angry with her because she hadn’t wholly believed him. Right now, his hands were soothing on the nape of her neck and then moving in her hair, rubbing her arm, always reminding her of his presence.

His brethren faced the other ancients in the room stoically, without expression, but she felt them standing with Ferro—with her. For what reason? How had Sergey gotten past the safeguards?

Stay with me, Elisabeta. Let your heart and lungs follow the rhythm of mine. Every warrior in this room can hear any change in your breathing or your pulse. I am impressed with your bravery. Your courage. They have no right to pass judgment on you, nor do I think they will, but you are harsh with yourself. You are to think only of me. You represent me.

His hands framed her face very gently and turned her to look at him. Her gaze couldn’t fail to meet his. Do you understand? I am giving you an order you cannot disobey. You are to concentrate on your lifemate. Keep your heart rate exactly in tune with mine. Keep your breathing the same as mine. Look only at me. See only me. Think only of me. Know that I am the only one you are to please.

The guidelines were very clear and she was very good at following rules. She moved in his mind, looking for anything that was disturbing to him. She always felt that faint note of sorrow running through him. The song was there, the one she was beginning to think of as their song. Hopeful one moment and despairing the next. As if in the distance, she heard the healer speaking to the ancients.

“Elisabeta is fully Carpathian. She is powerful in her own right. She may not have had the opportunity to develop every one of her gifts as most Carpathian women do over the centuries, but those gifts are in her. She can bring peace even to one such as me. There are few like her in existence.”

Elisabeta heard the praise as if from a distance but felt Ferro’s pride in her, and it warmed her that he felt that way. She didn’t like him to feel that deep sorrow that she couldn’t reach and remove. It was important to her to take care of his every need.

“Her fears drive her. Sergey has terrorized her for centuries, and without Ferro to shield her, he continues to do so,” Gary explained. “Her very fears summon him. She opens the doors for him. Obviously, nothing from this world can come through and Sergey knows it—the safeguards are woven too strong—but not one of us thought to keep anything from the netherworld from creeping in. Elisabeta summoned him with her fears and Sergey responded to the summons by sending in the only servant he could get inside. The kod lewl kuly, the spirit shadow worm, could only stay so long in this realm, which is why it slipped away the moment she was put back in the ground.”

Complete silence greeted the explanation. The ancients looked at one another. “You are certain of this?” Tariq demanded.