Sandu found himself smiling. Siv was right. So far, each of his brethren who had found their lifemate had also found trouble. He had a strong foreboding that the beautiful woman in the other room who was taking far too long was going to be the greatest trouble so far of all of them. And wouldn’t you know, it would have to be his lifemate. The others would never let him hear the end of it.
“I am still reading your thoughts,” Adalasia said as she came out of the bedroom, her satchel in one hand. The other was up, fingers pushing at her hair as if that would help to tidy the wild, wayward fall. She’d put the mass of silk in a braid, but hair had escaped. “Your opinion of me is awful.”
He flashed her a smile. She was breathtaking, even with her hair disheveled. Especially with her hair a wild mess. She wore what appeared to be older jeans, ones she’d owned for a long time. They’d been washed so many times the blue was faded to nearly white. They fit her curves like a glove yet looked as if they gave her room to move. A simple tank top was under a loose jacket. The jacket had loops and zippers inside it. He knew she had weapons in those loops and closed pockets, as well as items she considered valuable to her. She wore the same boots she’d had on with her skirt.
“You ready?”
Adalasia nodded. “You have a place in mind for us to go?”
“Go out the back to the roof. I’ll take us from there. You’ve trusted me so far.” Sandu indicated the back door. Even though he’d acted as if she’d taken a lot of time to change and use her bathroom, in reality, it had only been under five minutes.
She moved very quickly through the apartment to the back door and, once again, stepped aside to allow him to scan for intruders. He indicated it was safe and she stepped through, waited for him to step outside, where he cloaked both of them while she locked the door.
“I’m going to pick you up. We’re traveling a different way. It might be uncomfortable if you choose to open your eyes. I’ve got you safe and you’ll have to trust that I do.” He didn’t wait for her agreement. He simply reached down and fitted an arm beneath her knees and one behind her back to lift her, cradling her against his chest. “Put your bag in your lap and your arms around my neck. You can push your face into my chest with your eyes closed.”
For the first time, he really felt her trepidation. She’d been nervous, but this was real fear. She had to force herself under control to keep from fighting him. “Tell me what you’re going to do. It will help me.”
“We’re going to move through the air.” He spoke matter-of-factly. She stiffened, and the fingers linked at the nape of his neck tightened. “Look at me, Adalasia.”
She had courage. Her eyes met his. “What are you?”
“The cards warned you I had certain powers. I do. You aren’t as afraid as you should be. Somewhere you’ve heard of someone like me.”
“But you’re not real. You were never supposed to be real,” she whispered.
“I’ve got my arms around you. Do I feel real?”
“Yes,” she agreed faintly. “But if you can take to the air like . . . If you can do that and you’re real, then the other things I read about, the legends, the blood, the ground, are they true?” Her whisper had grown to the softest of threads. She was on the verge of flight. Of fight.
Had someone written about Carpathians? A written record couldn’t exist. Not if they were to survive. They had to stay secret. More than once, Carpathians had been hunted along with vampires until so few were left they were nearly extinct. It hadn’t helped that other species had waged war to stamp them out.
“We are going to take one crisis at a time. You believe in your tarot cards. We have a journey to take together, ewal emninumam.” He couldn’t keep the caress out of his voice. The last thing he wanted was to frighten his courageous woman. “I believe that is what was revealed to us. I cannot harm you. It is an impossibility, nor can I allow any other to harm you. Think of me as your guardian.”
“What does ewal emninumam mean?”
He smiled down at her. “Sweet goddess. Now close your eyes.”
She turned her head into his chest and closed her eyes tight. Sandu didn’t hesitate but took to the night sky. He would share the night sky with her once he got away from the city. The blaze of city lights could easily drown out the beauty of the reality of the stars and moon.
You’re a blend of all the elements. Earth. Air. Fire. Water. She whispered into his mind. The magician wields so much power because he understands the true meaning of above and below. You do, don’t you?
He was Carpathian. He was elemental. He was of the earth. She sang to him, called, healed him when he was wounded. Cared for him when he sought solace in her arms. Yes. He answered her.
You can bind with elements.
He felt her struggle to understand. Did your cards tell you this? I am more than your magician, Adalasia. Much more.
She moved in his arms. It was subtle. She didn’t lift her head from his chest, but she did shift as if she might try to put distance between their bodies.
You didn’t say if you can bind me to you. There was real fear in her mind.
You did not ask this question. You stated that I can bind elements. I asked if your cards told you this. You did not answer me. He had distracted her. He felt her frown.
The magician card is always present in my readings for myself or for you, but no, it is there in the history. We are playing word games here, Sandu. Can you bind me to you in some way?
You already know the answer to that question, or you would not be trying to scare yourself, Adalasia. You are the keeper of my soul. Are you aware that you are?
She was silent for so long he wasn’t certain she would answer him. He let her be as he moved away from the sprawling city. San Diego was deceptive in that it didn’t appear to be as large as it was. He preferred the mountains, and he especially preferred to be as far as possible from cities.
The San Bernardino National Forest was three hours away by car, but far less than that when flying straight and rapidly. Eight hundred thousand acres of forest and cave systems gave Sandu a feeling of being home. He could set up safeguards and protect his lifemate from any trouble— human, vampire or otherwise—while he slept beneath the soil.
I am not sure what you mean.
There was both truth and untruth in Adalasia’s carefully guarded words.
Have you heard the term lifemate? Was that used in this history you refer to that is no more than a legend?
Again, she fell silent for some time. I am going to open my eyes. I don’t want to continue this conversation right now.
She was honest enough to avoid something that was upsetting to her. He much preferred that to her lying to him.
We are in the air. Fairly high up and moving quickly, heading for the San Bernardino National Forest. Your enemies will not easily find you there. We can make our plans for our journey and how best to start it. Let me drop lower and slow down so you won’t get dizzy. I’ll tell you when it is safe to open your eyes.
Her fingers tightened around his neck. I can’t believe we’re actually in the air, but I can feel the wind rushing around me. I can hear it. Why don’t I feel cold?
I would never allow you to be cold.
His assurance seemed to buy him more trust with her. The fingers at the nape of his neck began to knead into his skin like a cat, but there was a wholly intimate component to it. Just as there was an intimate factor to speaking mind to mind. Each time she spoke to him, her voice brushed that whisper into lonely places he thought would never be filled. His soul might still be torn in half, the blackened remains tattered and filled with holes, scarred in too many places to count, but already he felt lighter just having her close.