Dark Song

by Feehan, Christine

  “Who is brave enough to be next?” Sandu asked. “You, Dragomir? Or you, Petru? I see you, Isai, slinking away into the shadows.”

  Josef held up his hands. “I will work with one of you next rising. I need to go through the rest of the system, or at least get through as much as I can before dawn comes.”

  He does not show it, but he was very shaken by Sandu’s reaction, Elisabeta reported to Ferro.

  Just the size difference alone would have been enough for anyone to be shaken, but the fact that Sandu had so much battle experience was enormous. He was considered one of the best hunters the Carpathian people had. The boy had to have realized that he had been very close to death, although not once had the knowledge shown on his expression or in his voice.

  A man holding the hand of a woman with a cap of rich brown hair and cool gray eyes came toward Ferro and Elisabeta. Ferro recognized that this man had to be Traian Trigovise, Elisabeta’s brother. His eyes held piercing intelligence and also a determination that meant Ferro might really have to fight his way out of the compound if this man had his way. He wasn’t alone in that assessment of the situation. The brethren, including Gary, shifted positions, spreading out to cover the grounds and exits, giving Ferro and Elisabeta a clear path, if necessary, to escape.

  “You were gracious, Josef, in spite of my brief outburst,” Sandu said. “I apologize for breaking your demon device, although I should have crushed the thing much sooner and been done with it when I realized it was making my head pound. Call, should you have need, and I will come to your aid.”

  That was a huge promise, and one not lightly given by one of the brethren. Josef had earned not only Ferro’s respect, but that of Sandu.

  In spite of his modern appearance, Josef was well versed in Carpathian etiquette. He bowed in a courtly manner, showing he could be as elegant and old-world as the ancients. “I accept your astonishing offer, although it isn’t necessary. I have thrown my share of tablets.”

  Every Carpathian could hear lies, and Josef wasn’t lying. Ferro liked him all the more for his confession. Sandu gripped the boy’s shoulder for a moment and then stepped away from him, turning as Tariq and Maksim came up on either side of Josef. Ferro didn’t like that Tariq had once again put himself in harm’s way by stepping between Traian and Ferro.

  Now that Sandu was safe, Elisabeta’s gaze shifted around her. Ferro felt her instant retreat. Her vision shimmered, wavered, as if her eyes couldn’t focus properly on the large area her sight encompassed. Her body began shivering uncontrollably. He wrapped his arm tighter around her, pressing her front to his side, his large body nearly hiding hers from the others.

  You are completely safe. The brethren are here with us. Sandu will never allow anything to happen to you, not after what you did for him. You saved his honor. Andor and Lorraine are close. Do you feel them? Julija and Isai are to our right. Julija is not only Carpathian but mage as well. We have the ability to go back to our home, stay and talk, or leave this place. Your brother has only your best interests in his heart. Feel that flowing from him.

  She moaned in his mind and he knew immediately she had made as many decisions as she was going to make for this rising. She’d come through when no one had asked it of her and she hadn’t even realized that saving Sandu had been her choice alone. In saving Sandu, she had saved Josef and she had also spared Ferro from having to kill his friend and brother.

  This decision will be mine to make, piŋe sarnanak. You will abide by what I decree. She was back to needing firm guidelines and he would provide them.

  “Traian and his lifemate, Joie, have come a long way to see his birth sister,” Tariq said. “Traian, this is Ferro, Elisabeta’s lifemate.”

  Ferro inclined his head. “I realize you would like to speak with her, but she does not do well out in the open. It is too much for her. I invite you and your woman back to our home. I am taking her there now. Tariq and Maksim can show you the way if it is your wish to spend time with her.”

  Ferro didn’t wait for an answer. Abruptly, he swung his lifemate into his arms and took to the air. He felt the brethren rise with him. They were silent, unseen, but he knew they were there. Niceties mattered little to him when his lifemate was near to having a breakdown.

  You gave us a miracle, sívamet. How did you know you could pull Sandu back from turning? I have never seen anyone come back once they were that far gone. Even the healer could not reach him. None of us could.

  For a moment he didn’t think she would answer him, but his question distracted her enough that her mind turned the query over and over as if it were a puzzle she was trying to figure out. That kept terror at bay. Something was at work there, Ferro. Something beyond Sandu and his dislike of modern technology.

  He knew what that something was. Sandu, like the ancients from the monastery, no longer even heard the whisper of temptation to feel for one moment that rush when they killed. All of them had thought that was the worst, but when the whispers stopped, and there was only the terrible void, they knew the danger had increased tenfold. No one but a hunter who had survived centuries on their honor alone would know what it was like to fight every minute of every rising, especially without hope. Sandu had ceased to hope.

  He took her straight to their home and immediately set the room for company. “You have done this several times, minan piŋe sarnanak.” He ran his hand down the back of her head and then dropped his fingers to the nape of her neck. “Should Tariq and Maksim accompany them, and most likely they will in order to prevent them from in any way misunderstanding me . . .”

  “Why would they misunderstand you?”

  Her dark eyes looked straight into his. She rarely did that, and his heart clenched hard in his chest. He began a slow massage. “I am not an easy man, you know that. If I do not like something said, I do not use diplomacy. I am trying to learn, just as you are, but I have not lived among even my own kind in centuries. Tariq will counter what I say so there are no misunderstandings, especially with your birth brother.”

  Ferro was unsure what he expected, but faint amusement lighting her eyes was definitely not it. She reached a trembling hand up to his mouth, the pads of her fingers very soft as she traced his lips.

  “You like to look very scary to everyone.”

  Deliberately, he captured her fingers and bit down gently, staring down into her beloved face—and it was beloved now. He didn’t see, in spite of how he had tried to keep his heart guarded, how he was ever going to be able to do without her if she could no longer tolerate him.

  I am scary. He tried to make her laugh.

  Ferro had left the door open and Maksim strode in first, followed by Tariq and then Traian and Joie. Behind them were Gary, Sandu and Benedek. Ferro waved them to the chairs he had formed in a semicircle facing the chair he was in. Sandu sat at his right, Benedek at his left. Gary closed the door and lounged against it, but not before Petru had drifted in unseen. He was secreted somewhere in the room, at Ferro’s back, making certain Elisabeta was safe. Saving Sandu from turning vampire had cemented her position with all the brethren whether or not she was Ferro’s lifemate.

  “Elisabeta will not always talk,” Ferro said. “I do not force her to do so. She has been forced enough these last centuries. If you ask a question and she wishes to answer, she will, or I will do it for her.”

  Traian’s eyebrow shot up, but he refrained from speaking.

  Joie frowned. “How do we know if you’re the one answering the question or she is?”

  Silence followed her question. Tension filled the room. Ferro didn’t speak, nor did he deign to look at her.

  It was Gary who broke the uneasy stillness. “You cannot insult the honor of an ancient warrior, one who has lived by honor alone for centuries, and expect his cooperation. I think this meeting is over before it has begun.”

  Joie instantly shook her head. “You misunderstood me. Or I didn’t word my question correctly. I meant, when Elisabeta wants to give her brother an answer
, will you indicate to us that she is the one answering?” She leaned toward Ferro. “Please forgive me for the unintended insult. This means so much to Traian, and I was trying to get clarity only.”

  Ferro inclined his head toward the woman, studying her without seeming to do so. She was a smart little thing. He could see she was far more than what she wanted people to see, and that made her dangerous. Traian and his lifemate were used to working with one another, and did so with ease. He wondered if, when in telepathic communication, their energy would be barely detectable. Ferro shared his conclusions with his brethren, warning them to do as little as possible in the way of talking to give nothing away to either of these two.

  Are you willing to answer your birth brother’s questions? Do you have any questions for him? He knows things about your past that might be important to you. Deliberately, Ferro enticed his lifemate, wanting her to make a connection to her Carpathian roots. She didn’t identify as a Carpathian. She didn’t see herself in that light as of yet. He wanted her to have the confidence that came with knowing who she was and where she came from. He also wanted her to see that she had a family that cared for her.

  Elisabeta’s fingers dug into his arm. I will listen to him. He is sad. Very sad. He weeps inside and she is filled with sorrow for him.

  Ferro knew that Elisabeta was naturally compassionate, but he hadn’t realized the full extent of her gift. It was becoming clear to him that she could read the emotions of those near them. She didn’t need to be in their minds. That would mean she could read intent as well. It also meant that her need to help others would always have to be checked by him so she didn’t overextend her strength.

  “I will, of course, indicate which of us is answering your question.” He gave his answer to the couple aloud.

  At once the tension eased in the room.

  “I searched for you, Elisabeta. I do not want you to think I abandoned you. When I met my lifemate, I was still searching,” Traian said. “You vanished so completely. There was no trace of you, no sign of violence. Nothing. No path to you.” He shook his head. “I am sorry I failed you.”

  Elisabeta sat up a little straighter, shaking her head and then pressing back against Ferro, her fingers once more digging into his forearm as if he were her only anchor. Ferro felt the sharp eyes of Joie penetrating the shadows. She was watching Elisabeta’s every reaction; the tiniest detail would not escape her. She noted that Ferro massaged the nape of her neck and shoulders. The intimacies he gave to his lifemate in order to give her the necessary courage to face the terrible challenges she had to overcome were for the two of them alone, but he wasn’t going to cease giving them to her because Traian’s lifemate had piercing eyes.

  It was never his failing. No one was ever going to find me. Sergey hid me from even his brothers, and often I was in the same place with them.

  Ferro repeated what Elisabeta’s response was verbatim. “I wish I could give you her exact inflection because she has a way of speaking that makes you understand exactly what she means. Hopefully she will become comfortable enough that she will be able to talk to you.”

  “Do you know why she is afraid of us?” Joie asked.

  Ferro nodded and kept his voice matter-of-fact, no accusation, although he wanted to let them both know that they had added to Elisabeta’s fears. “You both made your intentions very clear when you arrived. You did not like the fact that I am her lifemate and you made that known. She fears that you will try to force her as the vampire did and attempt to separate us. I have assured her that I would fight to the death for her, but she has lived in terror for so many centuries that she cannot conceive of another way of life. She wakes every rising with such fear I must coax her from the ground. She is extremely courageous and comes to me when I call to her, but her new fears have only added another layer of terror for me to wade through.”

  Traian frowned and leaned toward his sister. “I want only to know that you are safe and happy, Elisabeta. That is all that matters to me. I want to be in your life, of course, but your safety and happiness come before all else. After centuries of not knowing what happened to you and fearing the worst and then knowing it was even worse than I ever imagined your fate could be, I want only to protect you. Wrapping you up in a cocoon is not what you need, and that is what I would want to do. I see your lifemate appears to know what you need, as lifemates are prone to do.” He said the last reluctantly.

  He pressed his fingers to his forehead as if his head hurt. “I wish you could talk to me. I need to hear your voice. I need to be reassured that it is your will that you stay here and not someone forcing you. I don’t mean to sound insulting, I just have for so long been searching for you, and giving you up without knowing . . .” He trailed off.

  Merged as he was with Elisabeta, Ferro felt her shivering but gathering her courage, determined that she would speak to this man she couldn’t find in her memories because each time she reached for him, pain flashed through her, causing some kind of near seizure in her brain. Sergey’s work, which Ferro tried to repair, was a scar on her brain that was centuries old and difficult to remove. He flicked a quick glance at the healer. Gary nodded once, indicating he had felt Elisabeta flinching away from her past memories.

  “It is difficult for me to speak,” Elisabeta said, her voice so low it was a mere thread of sound, although soothing and soft, spreading through the room in that peaceful way she had.

  Still, Ferro caught the underlying notes of distress. He was certain anyone paying close attention would hear them as well.

  “Ferro is my choice. He stands for me when I cannot do so myself, no matter what I ask of him, even if it is abhorrent to him, even if it makes him look bad to others. He does it for me. I do not want to be with any other. I would like to get to know you, but in truth, when I try to remember . . .”

  Ferro slid his hand gently over her face, feeling the tears in her mind, feeling the dampness on her lashes. “The vampire has made it impossible for her to recall her past without pain. The healer and I have not been able to address this adequately but will attempt again on the next rising. That particular scar is deep and may not be removed entirely. We have been taking things as slow as possible, giving Elisabeta as much time as she needs to learn the steps of survival. Simple things we take for granted, such as regarding the space around us without looking through the bars of a cage. She has to learn the things Carpathian children learn as toddlers. She is very determined, and if you are patient with her, she will be very happy to establish a relationship with her family.”

  Traian reached for Joie’s hand. “I would welcome that opportunity no matter how long it takes.” He glanced at Tariq. “Is there a place for us here?”

  “Of course. We have several guest homes.” Tariq stood. “Ferro, thank you both for allowing us to visit with you.”

  Ferro inclined his head and waited for them all to leave so he could once more be alone with his lifemate. “I am very proud of you, Elisabeta. You handled the entire night far better than anyone could expect from you.”

  “I am tired.” She laid her head back against his chest and closed her eyes, exhausted, both mentally and physically.

  Ferro didn’t need to be told twice. He took her to the sleeping chamber far beneath their home and opened it, floating them both into the rich healing soil.

  8

  A life of hope sings to you, melodies of devotion;

  A world of love awaits, vaster than the ocean.

  The sound of the rain woke Elisabeta, but this rising, there was a new note in the beat of the earth’s music. Entwined with that dark, persistent drumming was a sensual call that tugged at every one of her senses, bringing her entire body alive whether she wanted to feel those sensations or not. The moment she was aware, he poured into her mind. Ferro. Her lifemate. There wasn’t room for anyone else. He was larger than life, an invincible warrior of old. An ancient Carpathian hunter calling her from the soil, where she would have stayed to avoid having to learn
what was expected of her in her new existence.

  Trepidation filled her, yet at the same time a thrill of anticipation such as she’d never felt before. She actually looked forward to this rising, and she could honestly say she couldn’t remember feeling that way in all the centuries of her past. She wanted to go to him the way a lifemate would go to her spouse, but she knew little of the concept or what was expected.

  They hadn’t gone over any other clothing, as they had discussed they were going to do, mostly because so many unexpected things had happened the rising before. She was uncertain what to wear and still couldn’t make the decision to clothe herself, especially after seeing how Julija, Lorraine and then Joie dressed. She’d paid particular attention, trying to figure out if she would feel comfortable in their modern attire, but she didn’t think so.

  The soil opened above her and then she was in Ferro’s arms, her body clean, her heart beating too fast, her lungs dragging in air and his wild scent. He was as naked as she was, and she’d never been so aware of herself as a woman. Her breasts rose and fell in time to her ragged breathing. She couldn’t seem to control the way she reacted to his closeness, as much as she tried. He felt so strong and in control. He smelled good, filling every one of her senses as they floated together somewhere he wanted to take her. She didn’t care, as long as she was with him. Once they settled, she was on his lap, his arms around her, cradling her close.

  “Look at me, sívamet.”

  His commanding voice sent a shiver of need down her spine, arrowing from her breasts to her feminine channel. The reaction was shocking. She lifted her lashes immediately and found herself looking into his strangely colored eyes. One moment they seemed bluish-gray and the next a gray-rust. Right at that moment they were a deep blue-silver and so intense, so focused on her with a dark hunger, she could barely breathe.