Ivory forced a smile, and was grateful for Razvan's understanding. He didn't touch her, which might have been her undoing, but he surrounded her with warmth. "My brother has been long dead. What is in his place is truly evil and bears no resemblance to the man I love, but I thank you for the thought."
Young Travis ran up to them. His eyes were bright again, his hair long and tied with a thin leather cord. "Gregori says to get a move on."
Laughing, they followed him to the entrance of the cave, but got no farther. A young teenaged girl Ivory recognized as Skyler stood waiting just inside. Her shoulders were square, her gaze hesitant. Francesca, the female healer and her adoptive mother, stood with her, shoulder to shoulder, her hand on Skyler's back.
Ivory's heart jumped. There was no denying this girl was Razvan's child. She was beautiful, but in her eyes, eyes very much like Razvan's, there was far too much knowledge. The girl had been through hell and back again. This was going to break Razvan's heart. Ivory wanted to wrap her arms around him and get out of there, take him far away where no one else could hurt him.
"This is my daughter, Skyler," Francesca said. She wore a smile, but her expression was strained. "You might remember that she aided in fighting Xavier's evil."
"Yes, of course," Ivory said. "You were amazing. Everyone thinks so highly of you, Skyler, obviously for a good reason. I am Ivory and this is my lifemate, Razvan."
She felt the impact when Razvan raised his head. The punch to his gut, hard and deep. He hadn't really paid attention to anything but protecting Ivory from Xavier's evil and trying to keep everyone calm. Now, there was no mistaking this child. Or the trauma she'd suffered. He swallowed hard, but his expression didn't change. Only Ivory felt the terrible blow.
"I am Dragonseeker then," Skyler said, her chin up. "That is why I can sense the earth in the way Syndil does, although she is not Dragonseeker, but has the gift of bonding with earth as the Dragonseekers do. I am part Carpathian, although for some reason, unlike others who are half, I have not needed blood."
Razvan took a breath, let it out. Ivory reached for his hand, clung. She didn't know which of them needed the support more.
"You are my daughter." He made it a statement, although he had no recollection of her mother. He must have been buried deep, suppressed by Xavier when the mage had impregnated the woman. Skyler had been spared being kidnapped and taken because her blood had not called to Xavier, the Dragonseeker in her hiding deep, probably sensing a mortal enemy. It was her eyes that gave her away. Had Xavier looked closer, had he not been so greedy for the "right" blood, he would not have allowed Skyler and her mother to escape so easily.
What happened to her? Razvan asked his sister. When he sensed her hesitation, he snapped an impatient order. Tell me.
Ivory put her hand on his shoulder. It was the first time she'd seen him really shaken. She felt him tense beneath her hand, but he didn't pull away.
Natalya bit her lip and then capitulated. Her mother ran when she was a mere infant. For years Skyler believed the man her mother married was her birth father. He was a very bad man and sold her to other men. Francesca rescued her.
Razvan closed his eyes briefly. Only Ivory's touch steadied him. His children seemed destined to live with pain and suffering even when Xavier didn't get his hands on them. He opened his eyes to look directly at Francesca. "I am grateful to you."
He had no idea what to say to this young girl. His daughter. A girl he knew nothing about, who had lived in hell and had far too much knowledge of monsters in the world. "I do not know what words I can give you, Skyler, other than to say I am sorry I have not been in your life to protect you from all the horrors of this world. Had I been able, I would have protected you."
She shrugged her shoulders, far too mature for her age. "That was a little impossible, as you didn't even know I existed."
"I do know now," Razvan said, "and I hope you are willing to get to know me. I will never take the place of your parents, but I certainly want to be a part of your life, if you will have me. You are someone any parent can be proud of. You stood your ground against evil, and I hear you work with Syndil to heal the earth. That alone is a miracle."
The tension seemed to leave her. "I'm glad we met." She held on to Francesca's hand, seemingly unaware she did so even as she reached out to touch the scars webbing his arm. "You destroyed Xavier. Gregori told us what happened."
"Without the others, Skyler, I would not have been able to do so. We worked together."
"They are waiting for you inside," Francesca said. "I wanted to look at you and Ivory again. I had hoped you would stay and allow us to heal you after the initial session."