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.
“We observed it happening within her mind,” Gary said. “Ferro suspected. She is so terrified of Sergey yet he was her only contact throughout the centuries. She expects him to come after her. She knows nothing but his threats. It is natural for her to believe he will do exactly what he told her he would. When she is not with Ferro, she believes she is wide open for Sergey’s assault. And she aided us in uncovering yet another hole in our defenses.”
“That is insane,” Maksim said. “She actually summoned the vampire? Could he resist her call?”
“I doubt it,” Gary said. “As he was the constant in her life, she was the constant in his. More, he needed her to provide emotions and keep his body from decomposing. Right at this moment, he is deteriorating at a rapid pace. That has to be very shocking for him when he is used to getting his way in all things. He may have acted as if he was going after other women to take her place, but no other woman will do for him. There is only Elisabeta for him. He had to have put something of himself in the worm in order to direct it to her specifically. His hope was to intimidate her into coming back to him.”
“You believe Elisabeta can actually summon Sergey at will?” Tariq asked.
“Yes,” Gary said.
“I believe we are done here, gentlemen,” Ferro said. “My lifemate is exhausted.”
Immediately Tariq stood. “I appreciate you allowing us into your home, Elisabeta. I know this was difficult for you.”
Elisabeta didn’t look at him. Ferro had told her to look only at him. See only him. She took in what they were saying, but only from a distance, and that allowed her to process the information without reacting to it. She would do that later, when she was alone or with just her lifemate.
“Will she summon Sergey into this compound again?” Tomas inquired. “If he was able to slip the worm in, could he do so with some other creature once she calls for him?”
Ferro’s cold gaze moved over Tomas. It was a legitimate question, and one that all the warriors would be asking and preparing for, but he didn’t want it asked aloud in front of his lifemate. He had no choice but to answer honestly.
“It is my hope that she will summon him,” Ferro said. “When I am ready, we will make certain she does, in a place of my choosing.”
“She will summon him if Ferro isn’t with her unless he can convince her that Sandu, Andor or I can protect her the way he can in his absence,” Gary said. “And that means, Tomas, that every ancient in this compound had better do exactly what I told you to do when I first arrived, find every point of weakness and fix it. This is not her failing, it is yours, mine and all of ours in this compound. We have not safeguarded against the netherworld well and we must do so immediately.”
Tariq walked to the door, followed closely by the healer. Immediately, the others filed out, leaving only the brethren.
“If you have need of us, Ferro, call. We will come. Should you have to leave this place, we will accompany you,” Sandu said.
Ferro inclined his head. “Thank you.”
Elisabeta found it interesting that Ferro felt deep affection for those who had stayed to protect them but didn’t seem to acknowledge it to himself. None of the ancients recognized their emotions or admitted to those feelings.
The moment they were gone and the door shut behind them, Ferro waved his hand toward it and murmured a few words, sealing the thick oak closed. He bent his head and brushed his lips over hers.
“You did very well, Elisabeta. You were in this enormous room, surrounded by strangers, and you allowed yourself to be examined by the healer in order to keep young children from having to undergo another inspection. I am very proud of you.”
The moment he spoke, that barrier that had provided a distance between her and everyone in the room was gone and she understood exactly what had occurred. “I summoned the vampire? I did that? Is that really possible? Why would I do that?” She was horrified. More than shocked. Sickened. She pressed a hand to her churning stomach. “I really did endanger the compound and everyone in it. I not only allowed him in, I invited him in.”
“That is not what the healer said, piŋe sarnanak,” he said gently. “You did not listen properly. You summoned the vampire with your fear. That is not the same thing as inviting him in. He could only send the kod lewl kuly from the netherworld and with it some tiny part of his own spirit, which we destroyed. He cannot get that back. That worm couldn’t live in this realm so it would not do him any good as a spy. He could only plague you with it. In truth, you summoned your own tormentor.”
“The healer says I will do so again if you are not with me.” Her nervous fingers plucked at his shirt.
“I believe he is correct. Over time, you will gain confidence and that will not happen. In the meantime, if I have to be gone, you will be in the ground where you are safe. I will also see to it that you become more comfortable with Julija and Lorraine. Sandu, Gary and Andor are tied to us. Eventually, it is possible we both will be comfortable with one of them guarding you when I am not available.”
He wasn’t certain that was true, especially regarding Gary. He still felt that vague threat toward his lifemate. No matter that the healer had stood for her. He had examined her properly and told the truth, but that faint alarm was still present no matter how much Ferro wanted it to be gone. It was possible that because he was from ancient times, when Carpathian males kept their lifemates hidden away from other males, and he was a throwback to that era, he was in some way casting the healer in a villain light because he was powerful—or because Elisabeta didn’t trust him. She caught all those thoughts and couldn’t help shaking her head, although she knew if he decreed it, she would have to abide by his decision. She felt his rejection of the idea in his mind and she was happy for it.
“Have no fears, piŋe sarnanak. I am an ancient and still live the ancient ways. That means I do not like other males around my woman unless I am right there.”
She found that she was extremely happy that he was an ancient and preferred the older ways. She didn’t want anyone else around her. She definitely preferred it that way as well.
6
The rain upon a fire, frenzied and in need;
A blessing for all life, and fortune for the seed.
The call of the rain woke Elisabeta, a dark drumming that beat in her heart and lungs, forcing her to come to the surface regardless of her determination to stay safe beneath the soil. Above her, already, the earth had opened at her lifemate’s command and she knew she had no choice but to obey his summons.
She wanted to come to Ferro whole, her mind free of the vampire who had been her constant companion for centuries, but he had damaged her in so many ways, she didn’t know where to start repairing herself. She did know, and accepted, that her lifemate was a good man. A kind one—and he deserved her trust, although a part of her couldn’t quite believe she really was in good hands.
She lay in the earth waiting, but Ferro made no move to bring her to him, and she realized he wanted her to come to him. At once, familiar panic gripped her. Her heartbeat accelerated. Her breathing turned ragged.
You are afraid, minan piŋe sarnanak. Tell me what disturbs you.