Christine feehan - Dark Slayer 20

How was I able to get out?

It only works in one direction; a warning system is not needed in both. I would not keep anyone a prisoner. Again there was that slight hesitation. In truth I have never thought to bring anyone down here.

He thought it best to ignore her nervousness, and he did not have to feign his interest in her system. It was as unique and brilliant as the inventor. He waited while she disappeared into the crack and added a few more of her gems. The light worked much like an ancient mirror system, one prism working off another. He realized she used the gems for her weapons as well, that her experiments were sophisticated.

It is safe for you to come and go as you please.

Ivory floated down, avoiding the light spreading slowly across the sky, screened by the now-heavy snow. Once she hit the living chamber, the wolves leapt from her back and padded after her to the bed of soil.

«I do not do well, even under the ground, when the sun has risen.» Again Ivory appeared uneasy. «I spent too many years in the soil trying to heal.»

«I spent many lifetimes in the ice caves,» Razvan assured, watching her curl up, the wolves surrounding her. He waited for an invitation.

Ivory gestured toward the side of the large basin. «There is plenty of room.»

He envied the wolves pressed close to her, but said nothing, knowing she was being more than generous. He closed his eyes and allowed the breath to leave his body, his heart to slow and then stop while the soil poured over them like a living blanket. It was the first time he could clearly remember being totally relaxed and infinitely happy.

CHAPTER 7

Ivory woke knowing three days had passed and the sun had already sank from the sky. She was used to the way time passed so deep beneath the earth and the rhythms spoke to her, as she had become accustomed to them. It had been disorienting at first, which was when she'd come up with her prism system for bringing a small bit of light into her sanctuary. It rather shocked her that Razvan woke with her. The wolves would, of course, after so many years, but she had thought to go hunting alone and to give herself time to prepare for another in her lair.

She stared at his face, the lines etched there, the way his eyes seemed so compassionate and understanding. His life had been nothing but struggle and pain, yet he seemed, when she touched his mind, to be truly kind. Why then, did her hands tremble? Why did she feel as if butterflies had taken flight and were winging their way through her body whenever she looked at him? She had absolute confidence in her abilities as a warrior, but had no idea how to interact off the battlefield.

Razvan's expression softened when his eyes met hers and he smiled. Her heart jumped in response. His smile was sweet and made him look years younger. «Good evening. You certainly are beautiful to wake up to.»

She wasn't. She knew she wasn't. She was in her true patchwork form-her body put together in pieces and a little mismatched here and there. She rubbed at one of the worst offending scars, the one dissecting her collarbone, and was shocked to find the ridge lessened. The healer had done more than heal her wounds. The scars would never disappear completely, but he had helped them to fade to thinner, flatter lines.

«I am not, you know.» She could feel color rising under her skin.

It embarrassed her that she no longer knew the civilities. Once, long ago, she had run a warm, happy household. Somehow, seeing that sweet smile on Razvan's face brought bittersweet memories rushing back. There had been so much laughter and love in her house. How could her brothers have turned their backs on everything honorable and chosen to give up their souls? They hadn't suffered the way Razvan had suffered, and he had endured the centuries of torment, being branded a criminal, despised by all those around him, his body used for vile things. Yet, still, he kept his honor.

She had told herself that her brothers had been grief-stricken over her disappearance, but she knew better. Everyone experienced loss. All five of them had turned together-unheard of in Carpathian history. She knew them better than anyone else, and she knew that meant it had been a conscious decision, not one made from too many years of lack of emotion or killing friends who had become vampire. The decision hadn't been made because they were desolate from grief or had waited too long for lifemates. She knew their decision had been reasoned out together. They wanted power. They believed they were smarter, stronger and more deserving than anyone else. Her disappearance had been the excuse they needed to finalize something they had often discussed in the privacy of their home.

«You look so sad, Ivory.»

She never thought to hide her expressions in her lair. She didn't hide her true form and now didn't know what to do or how to act. She gave a small shrug. «This is a little awkward.»

«Only if you wish to make it that way. I will not intrude where I am not wanted.»

Ivory shook her head. «No, do not feel that way, as if I would not want you here. I invited you. After all these centuries, I just am not certain how to act with company.»

His smile widened, reached his eyes, warming them into soft velvet. «But then, I am your lifemate, not company. Act as you always have. I am here to learn from you.»

That hurt, struck her in her belly like a knotted fist. He wasn't in her lair to be her lifemate in the way a man might claim a woman. She knew that. She wanted no part of that, yet she still felt slighted. It was the perverse reaction of a woman, not a warrior, and she was disappointed in herself. She had set the terms; he was merely abiding by them. She pushed at the fall of her heavy hair, more for an excuse to hide than because it was bothering her.

«I will get more at ease over time.» It was all she could think to say.

Ivory watched the wolves as they gathered around him. In spite of his older appearance, he was a handsome man. Now that the earth had revived and rejuvenated him, his frame was filled out and muscular. His hair fell in a long wave nearly to the middle of his back. It was thick and dark, and she knew from three weeks of holding him and feeding him, running her fingers through that soft, thick fall, that many colors made up that heavy mane, not the least of which was gray.

Razvan, instead of towering over the pack and bullying his way into leadership, crouched down in the midst of the six wolves and allowed them to take their time pushing their noses into him and rubbing along his legs and back.

This is Razvan. My mate.

She included Razvan in the circle of communication, knowing when they went into battle together that leadership was essential. Raja had to accept him as her partner and therefore coleader of the pack. He would only do that if she named him mate.

Razvan glanced at her. Ivory willed herself not to blush. She tried to look as nonchalant as possible. Razvan seemed very large in the confines of the bedchamber. His masculine frame filled up the entire room. Every breath she took seemed to draw the scent of him into her lungs. Every breath he took made her ultra-aware of him, the way his heavy chest muscles moved beneath his thin, tight tee; the way his body looked in that brief moment before he'd donned that thin, tight tee.

Raja turned his head and looked at her, giving her an aloof glare, baring his teeth at Razvan. The Dragonseeker shrugged his shoulders.

«I know what it feels like to be displaced, old man,» he soothed. «We will get along.»

«Offer him your blood.»

Razvan stood slowly, his eyes meeting Ivory's. «You feed them Carpathian blood?»

«You do not remember much of our first meeting.»

«Some.»

She took a breath, let it out, and then made her confession. «Many years ago, so long now that I cannot remember when it all started, a wolf pack helped me. They found pieces of me and would have consumed them, but I was able to touch their minds, and instead they buried the pieces of me together. In return, I found their descendents and I made certain they thrived. I did not spend much time aboveground in those days. My body just could not handle it. But when I did, the wolves were all that kept me sane. They were my only companions and all I had to trust.»