The owl changed direction, flying toward his face, preventing him from continuing in that direction, beak open wide and eyes staring directly into his.
You said it was forbidden to kill any but the vampire!
The feminine voice was frightened, a soft denial, almost pleading.
You said never to kill when feeding and never to feed when killing.
At the long-awaited sound of that voice, Nicolae’s world turned upside down. He tumbled through the sky while the gray and dark of the night were replaced with shimmering, dazzling silver and brilliant colors. It was like a fireworks display, bursting all around him, robbing him of his ability to breathe, even to see. He closed his eyes against the assault on his senses, struggling to regain control.
The owl struck him hard just as she called to him a second time.
Pull up, you’re falling. Pull up now!
There was terror in her voice.
Warmth spread, calmed him, and he righted himself. She had given him life again. Saved him from eternal darkness. His lifemate. The only woman capable of preventing him from turning vampire.
At long last she had spoken to him. Years of silence had conditioned him to believe she would never voluntarily speak to him, but when he was in danger from the raging beast within, she had leapt to save him in spite of her every resolve not to. She had filled the bleakness of his gray existence with colors and life.
Where are you? How badly are you hurt?
he asked, praying she would continue to communicate with him.
Leave this place. I vowed if you ever came here, if you found me, I would not hunt you because you saved me. Go away from here. I don’t want to have to kill you, but I will if you force me. I am not vampire. I am Carpathian. There is a difference.
Her sigh was soft in his mind.
So you say, but I know nothing of Carpathians. I have only met the undead, with their voices so sweet and compelling. Voices such as yours. Why would I teach you not to kill your prey if I were vampire?
He was patient. He could afford to be patient. She was his world now, the only thing that mattered to him. He had found her, and he would find a way to make her see the difference between a dangerous creature who had chosen to lose his soul, and a warrior fighting to maintain his honor.
I will give you no other warning. If you wish to live, leave this place and never come back.
Again he heard the soft, pleading note in her voice, felt it in his mind. She probably didn’t even know it was there, but he heard and it filled him with elation. Nicolae believed that she would try to destroy him. She was strong and well disciplined. He had taught her well, and she was a fast, apt pupil.
They were connected, mind to mind, so Nicolae felt the sudden stillness in her. Instinctively he knew that she had reached the lair of the vampire. The undead was wounded, doubly dangerous, and in his own lair he would have numerous safeguards and traps.
Get out of there. I am close—I will destroy the vampire. It is unnecessary for you to take chances with your life. This is my city, my home. My people, under my protection. I don’t share with the undead. Leave.
She closed herself off to him, slamming a mind block in place, a strong barrier he didn’t bother attempting to penetrate.
Nicolae sped through the sky, the owl keeping pace with him, eyes searching for signs, senses flaring out to test the air for the noxious trail. He didn’t bother to attempt to track Destiny; he had taught her too well. Her trail was nearly nonexistent. Without the wound, he would never have caught her scent, and she had already dealt with the laceration so that there was no more telltale spoor for him to follow.
Nicolae glanced at his traveling companion, the large owl flying so strongly beside him as it had done for years. They were traveling companions. Hunters. Brothers. Watching each other’s backs.
I will go into the lair of the vampire and destroy him. It is not safe for you to do so, but should something happen to me, I ask that you take this woman to the Prince.
His brother could no longer battle the vampire. He was too close to the beast to resist the call of blood.
There was a heartbeat of silence. Two. Nicolae felt the wind rushing past them as they moved together through the sky. For a moment he thought the other would not speak. He so seldom did these days, preferring to remain in the form of an animal.
You give me a task I am uncertain I can fulfill. You can do no other than see to it she is safely returned to our homeland. She is my lifemate, although as yet unbound.
Again there was only the silence of the night.
Nicolae, I am older by several hundred years. My time is waning. You feel the crouching of the beast. I am the beast. How can you trust my word?
For a moment Nicolae felt his heart jump. Vikirnoff had long battled the bleakness of a colorless existence. He had hunted the vampire for hundreds of years, destroying old friends. With each kill it became harder and harder to resist the need to feel something. If Vikirnoff made a kill while feeding, he would be lost for all time. Nicolae closed his mind to the possibility. Vikirnoff was strong and he would endure as long as there was need.