Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Garald held the blade of his sword in the blue flame his sister’s ceremonial sword provided. Afanasiv regarded the two of them with his unusual eyes. They were both staring at him openly. He knew his eyes were very different. One moment they could be green. The next blue. Not just any blue. Deep blue. Vivid blue. The same with the green. His hair was blond. Like the other ancients, he kept it long. It was thick and he wore it pulled back away from his face and tied tight at the nape of his neck. The length was knotted with cord every few inches to keep it tidy.
He studied his lifemate. In fact, it was rather impossible to take his eyes off her. He hadn’t known what to expect, but he had certainly never dreamed or imagined he would end up with a woman as physically beautiful as Vasilisa. In the Carpathian world, physical beauty meant nothing at all. Age meant nothing. Perhaps all lifemates felt this way. He was certain they must after searching through centuries for their other half. Up close, she was truly gorgeous.
“Lifemate.” He whispered the word. It came from his soul. Felt as though it were wrenched from him. Sacred.
She smiled. Her blue eyes soft. “Lifemate,” she returned.
Garald groaned. Shook his head. “No. No. Vasi, no, it can’t be. You know it’s impossible. He’s Carpathian. Can’t you see he’s Carpathian? That’s what they call each other when they claim each other’s souls. That’s an unbreakable bond. You can’t be any part of that. You’re Lycan and you’re of royal blood. Do you have any idea what kind of controversy that would cause? Absolutely not. Say no.”
“It’s too late, Garald,” she murmured, still looking into Siv’s eyes.
Garald groaned again and waved his hand between them in an attempt to break their connection. “You two aren’t thinking straight. I’m actually trying to help you. This is a physical thing. I get it, Vasi. You’re going into heat. It happens. You can’t mate with a Carpathian. We’ll find you a perfectly respectable Lycan.” His voice was soothing when he spoke to his sister.
He turned to the hunter, his tone changing to steel. “I’m sorry, Afanasiv. You’re a good fighter. I’m sure in your world you’re an admirable man, but you and I both know what happens when our blood mixes. It isn’t accepted. You’ve seen Dimitri. No one accepts him. They pretend to but they don’t. We watch over him, but we worry someone will still try to harm him or Skyler.”
“I was born with the other half of his soul, Garald,” Vasilisa informed her brother very gently. “I have known almost from birth that I was destined for a Carpathian male. Mother knew this and did her best to prepare me for his coming.”
Garald continued to shake his head. “Vasi, you are Lycan royalty. Don’t you understand what I’m saying to you? This could cause a war. This will cause a war.”
“Not if you, Grigor and Andros stand with me. In any case, there is no way to stop what is already done.”
“I forbid this. You come home, and he must leave this land.”
Afanasiv had had enough. “Do not speak to my lifemate in such a tone of disrespect. You must go to Dimitri and Skyler and warn them that there is danger. Mars believed that he was promised Skyler should he defeat me in battle. It is not only possible but probable that others have been promised something similar. I must find Vitus and destroy him. My brethren have run into others on your land. Master vampires with their pawns looking to destroy your people. They too have made pacts with those from the underworld.”
“Vasilisa will come with me,” Garald commanded.
Afanasiv remained silent, showing no impatience, although he needed to follow Vitus as quickly as possible. This was a matter for his lifemate to settle with her brother. Her decision whether to stay with Garald or go with Siv would set a course for their future.
“Vasilisa speaks for herself, brother,” she corrected softly. “I always have. I go with my lifemate. His journey is dangerous and he will have need of me. What’s more, I have need to be with him. Our soul is joined together. Where one goes, so must the other. We will return when we have destroyed the master vampire. We need to discover who else is betraying our people and why, because it seems as if the whisper of conspiracy has spread in all directions.”
Garald swore under his breath and turned away from them. “You are taking a dangerous path, Vasilisa. One I don’t know if we can save you from.”
“She will not require you to save her,” Afanasiv assured. “I am quite capable of defending my lifemate from any who wish to harm her.”