Christine feehan - Dark Slayer 20

«I appreciate his service.»

«You have no need to continue to hold me hostage,» Mikhail said. «Gregori snarls and snaps, but he has no wish to harm your lifemate, only to heal her. He is driven by his code. He will not be so understanding over your continued threats. I have given my word for safe passage for both of you. It would be foolish to escalate the situation when your woman will need care.»

Razvan held the knife for a few more moments, as if weighing the truth of Mikhail's words and then the knife disappeared and he stepped back into the shadows where he had a clear path to all three male Carpathians.

Mikhail didn't move out of striking distance, maintaining his show of faith. Falcon glided a little closer so that he was in a better position to insert his body between the prince and potential harm should there be need.

«Tell me, Razvan,» Mikhail said, «does Xavier still truly live?» He studied the gray-streaked hair. Few Carpathians went gray; only the gravest of all injuries could produce that kind of damage to a Carpathian. When looking closely the prince could see signs of suffering etched into the worn face. Razvan was a handsome man, but he looked older, weathered.

«He does,» Razvan confirmed.

«Does he possess your body at will?»

«He does,» Razvan answered, without flinching. «Although for the first time, I was able to keep him out. I have never been at this strength before, so it is possible, with time, I can learn to keep him at bay.»

Falcon stirred, his dark eyes looking deep into the shadows as if he might see their oldest, most dangerous enemy. «Do you endanger your lifemate?»

«I am a danger to anyone near.»

Mikhail flicked Falcon a quick, quelling glance. «How is it you came to escape?»

«The last attack on the ice cave forced him to move me from the chamber where I was normally held. He had little time to prepare, and it wasn't as secure. I had not been fed in days. I believe he thought me too weak to make the attempt.» Razvan shrugged.

Mikhail studied the face ravaged by hardship. That small shrug told him a lot about the man. He wasn't asking for sympathy, nor was he apologizing for the life he'd been forced to lead. Those simple sentences spoke volumes.

Mikhail bowed. «You are a true Dragonseeker.» No Dragonseeker had ever succumbed to the darkness preying on the males of their species. If anyone had reason to embrace bitterness, hatred and anger, it was Razvan, if all that was suspected was correct. «We are in a battle for our very existence. Perhaps there are things you can tell us that might aid in our fight to save our children. Lara has been invaluable to us.»

Razvan kept his gaze on Ivory, not answering. Just hearing his daughter's name was hard, and emotions swamped him, but he refused to let it show. He had centuries of practice at learning to keep his face a mask, and he didn't allow the prince to see how the mere thought of Lara twisted him up inside. Ivory lifted her lashes and looked up at him. His gaze locked with hers and his heart jumped.

She knew. She had to be in tremendous pain-she had to be fearful of the outcome of his threatening the prince of the Carpathian people-but a small half smile curved her mouth. He knew that smile was for him. That secret smile locked them together, fit them like two pieces of a puzzle, private and intensely intimate. Her eyes were soft as she sent warmth into his mind.

Something deep inside of him twisted into hard knots. Something else melted. His heart gave a curious flutter and his throat closed. Ivory. Why had he found her now? She was the most unexpected treasure. No one, least of all him, deserved her, with her tenacious courage and generosity.

Feminine amusement slid into his mind. Do not deceive yourself. No one but you would call me generous. I am the slayer. That is all.

She was so much more-she was everything. He kept his eyes locked with hers while she shuddered again as more parasites fell from her pores to the blood-spattered ground. He filled her mind with strength and the scents he had discovered in her lair, the ones he knew soothed her, to sustain her through the rest of the healing.

The extraction of parasites was a difficult process. The healer had to be especially careful not to miss even one and, as Gregori rejoined his body, he swayed with weariness.

«She needs blood,» Gregori announced, and sank into the snow beside her.

«So do you,» Mikhail said, gliding over the snow to the healer's side. He held out his wrist in a casual, easy gesture that spoke of longtime familiarity with donating blood.

Razvan hesitated. He had no idea of the extent of Xavier's hold on him. If it was cellular or molecular, if he gave his blood to Ivory, would Xavier be able to somehow possess her as well? He didn't know and he didn't want to chance it.

The healer slashed him with peculiar silver eyes, eyes that reminded him eerily of Xavier. They glittered with menace, a threat, a reprimand, and for the first time in his encounter with these men, he felt shame.

«You protect me,» Ivory said, «and I am grateful. No one here has an understanding of what you-we-deal with.»

«I offer my blood freely,» Sara reiterated and stepped close to Ivory, holding out her wrist in offering.

Ivory inclined her head. «I am grateful.»

The blood was rich, a Carpathian's blood, hitting her system like a fireball of energy, soaking into her cells and aiding the healer's careful repair of her shoulder and ribs.

Gregori studied Razvan's face. «You fear to give your blood to your lifemate.» It was more of a statement than a question, and this time a hint of respect crept in. Every male Carpathian was driven to provide for their lifemate. «You have not claimed her.»

Razvan shrugged. «I cannot. I will not.»

Ivory lifted her head, her tongue sliding over the pinpricks in Sara's wrist, dark eyes gleaming, going almost amber, much like a wolf 's eyes. «There is no need to explain to any of these men.»

«Ivory,» Mikhail said, his voice gentle, «no one is accusing Razvan of failing you. Quite the contrary. And the man who gave his services to heal you is the man who brought my eldest brother to the justice he so deserved. Gregori spent three months in the ground from the injuries he sustained.»

Her chin rose. «I spent three hundred years in the ground.» As soon as the words slipped out, the first sign of bitterness, she looked ashamed. «Forgive me, healer. I have long been away from the company of others and have forgotten my manners.»

«There is no need to apologize,» Gregori said, but he was still studying Razvan's worn face. «I would like to examine you for signs Xavier might have left behind.»

There was a stunned silence. Mikhail frowned. Falcon stepped partially in front of Gregori and Razvan actually took a step farther back into the shadows.

«You have no conception of how dangerous that might be,» Razvan said.

«If no one tries,» Gregori pointed out, «you are lost to us.»

«I have been lost these hundreds of years.»

«And all the information you possess that might aid in our fight against our greatest enemy is lost as well,» Gregori continued. «And your lifemate is lost as well.»

«I do not factor into the equation,» Ivory protested. «Do not put pressure on him to do anything he thinks is wrong by using me as your leverage.»

Gregori flicked her a quelling glance. «You have much to contribute to the world at large, Dragonseeker. I wish only to take a look.»

Perhaps he is right. Deliberately Ivory didn't look at Razvan. It is solely your decision and I will back you all the way, but perhaps we can find a way to break Xavier's hold on you. I suspect there is a way.

Razvan turned the idea over in his mind. He hadn't thought about living, only dying. Dying represented freedom from Xavier's possession, from mental and physical torment, and now even from his memories and the emotions they elicited. Ivory had used the term we. He had never thought in those terms either. He looked around at the small group.