Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Safia found herself abruptly sitting on the mat she’d placed on the floor in the outer chamber out of respect for her grandfather. She would never disturb him while he was consulting with the ancestors unless it was an emergency. She would have to trust her instincts. If there was trouble, the bats would warn her—or her internal system would raise an alarm. Now was the time to rely on her training.
The candlelight flickered and glowed, throwing eerie silhouettes on the walls of the cave. Sometimes the shapes looked like people bent over or crouched low, other times they appeared to be inky 3D shadows climbing out of the pitted dirt. The continual sound of water trickling, cutting a path through dirt and rock, could be heard.
Safia pressed her hand tightly to her heart. “There was such triumph in the vampire. It radiated from him. He kept whispering that he had no choice, that the fighter would have to save me, and in doing so, he would condemn everyone else to death. My parents, grandparents, his parents, everyone. His voice was terrible, and he kept repeating the same thing over and over—that he had no choice.”
“The last thing anyone expected was for Petru to attack the leader beneath the ground. He did so with pinpoint precision and turned the tide of the battle,” Aura reiterated. “But no Carpathian male can trade the life of his lifemate for others, no matter how right the decision is.”
For the first time, Safia made herself look at Aura. “You said he wouldn’t turn vampire because he had not claimed his lifemate.”
“That did not mean there wouldn’t be severe consequences. In the history of our people, no male had ever done such a thing. There was no precedent set. We all knew it would be bad, though. He hadn’t expected to live through the coming battles. Watching him hurtle himself into one fight after the next, I don’t think anyone expected him to live.”
Aura paused, and Safia could see she was lost in the memories of that long-ago war. Aura’s large dark eyes met hers. There was always something fierce about Aura, but right then, she looked vulnerable, almost childlike in the dim lighting of the chamber. Safia couldn’t imagine what it would have been like for her all these years.
“Do you have a lifemate?”
“Somewhere. He still lives. He has not found me, but I have duties, responsibilities that tie me to this place. I cannot go out into the world and leave a trail for him to follow.”
Was there sorrow in Aura’s voice? Safia’s heart felt heavy, as it often did when she was in the presence of others and felt their emotions.
“As I said, there were severe consequences for Petru’s decision to sacrifice his lifemate in order to save the rest of us. Her parents and grandparents, his family, my family, every single member of our tribe—we all knew if he did as the master vampire said and took the child and left with a guaranteed safe passage, all of us were dead. They were so smug and superior, Eduardo and the one beneath the ground running everything. They were so certain he would do as all Carpathian males are programmed to do. He would just take the child and go, leaving us to be slaughtered. It had to be a horrific split-second decision for him.”
Once again, Safia pressed her palm tightly against the scars over her heart. She had shared that moment with him. She remembered now. The door had cracked open, and the memories seeped inside her whether she wanted them to or not. She felt his sorrow. His regret. The knowledge that those in the valley had no chance without him—that he was their only chance. She felt his apologies to her. She gave him her permission. As young as she was, she knew it was the only decision.
He didn’t hesitate. That wasn’t his way. He struck at the leader of the war with everything he had, focusing his enormous power on the destruction of the unknown entity and leaving the child to her fate.
Safia’s heart pounded in trepidation. She didn’t ever want to go through that again, not in her nightmares, not in her memories. Aura was speaking again, and she concentrated on listening, blocking out the emotions crowding in that gripped her, holding her prisoner of those childhood memories.
“He tried to get to you, but it was too late, and the vampire brutally murdered you right before his eyes. He went berserk. Nothing could stop him. They sent everything they had at him, but no matter how torn up he was, he went after that vampire, going through everything in his path to get to him. The battle raged through most of the night, and just before dawn, we knew we were the victors.”