Once Forbidden(22)

“We have guards, Devlin. You know this. But we need to see that she is properly trained in our ways now that you’ve broken our laws and sired her,” Giles insisted.

“I will teach her all she needs to know,” Devlin assured the Elder. “As Carina taught me.” He watched Carina, but she gave no sign of outward emotion at all. He still found it almost impossible to believe she would have betrayed him.

Carina kept her eyes on Devlin, but spoke to the group. “He has the right to train her, Giles. We can test her, but she is his to train.”

Devlin was surprised by her support. “Thank you, Carina,” he said formally.

Carina looked at him for a long moment. “Don’t thank me, Devlin. Go find your lady.”

Devlin bowed to the Council and left the chambers.

Where was she? “Sarah!” he called. He’d gone back to his home. He knew immediately that she wasn’t there. “Where are you?”

He went next to her apartment. Again, he knew immediately she wasn’t here. He’d have sensed her otherwise. Now, he was getting worried. He should have been able to sense her. She hadn’t had time to learn the ways to prevent him reaching her so soon.

He sat on her bed and concentrated. Where would she go? He knew she had no family at least not that was close. No one had come to her during the time he’d been visiting her dreams.

Where would she go? Where would she feel safe? He considered other possibilities. Had she gone somewhere and been captured? Or, heaven forbid, gone somewhere that it wasn’t dark? That thought was too terrifying to even ponder. He couldn’t believe that she was dead. Not when he’d just found her. He was too worried to remember for the moment that he’d know if she was injured. She’d be too frantic to shield herself if she were.

“Sarah!” he called again. “Answer me.”

Devlin heard it then—the faint whisper in his mind. She was trying to reach him, but something was barring her. He heard his name. “I hear you, love. Can you tell me where you are?”

“It’s dark, Devlin. I can’t see anything.”

Her voice was so faint, he had trouble making out the words. “What were you thinking when we left my house, Sarah?”

Her answer was rueful, which encouraged him. It didn’t sound as if she was in immediate danger at least. “I wanted to be half-way around the world.”

Devlin made a mental note to spank her bottom for that little bit of idiocy, but for now, concentrated on simply finding her.

“You can’t, Devlin,” she said very clearly.

“Can’t what?” he replied, confused. “I’ll find you, love. I promise.”

“You can’t spank me,” her voice came stronger now, and Devlin smiled.

“Are you inside or out?”

“I’m in some sort of a room, Devlin. There are people here…I…I can smell them.”

“That’s a place to start. Can you hear any voices?”

“Yes! They have accents!”

Devlin stood up. “Good, love. Now, close your eyes for me. Think of how much you want to be here with me,” he said aloud and mentally. He wasn’t sure she could get back to him, but it was easier than him trying to gallivant half-way around the world looking for her. “You can do it, Sarah.”

Sarah closed her eyes and concentrated. She certainly didn’t want to be in this dark room! “Devlin,” she said loudly. “I want to be with Devlin.”

“That’s my girl,” he said approvingly with a chuckle.

Sarah opened her eyes wide when she heard his voice. “I did it!”

“Yes, you did it.” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. “You scared me, love. I’m still going to spank you for it.” He tightened his hug and kissed the top of her hair.

Sarah snuggled against him. “I was terrified, Devlin. I didn’t know where I was.”

“I know, love. I think you were probably in Australia. I’m not sure though.”

Sarah shook her head against his shoulder. “No, I’d have recognized those accents. I don’t know where I was—but they weren’t speaking English!”

“It’s okay. You found your way back.”

Sarah looked up at him. “Did you find out who attacked me?”

His eyes darkened. “No. But it had to be one of the Elders. Nothing else makes sense.”

“You’re right, Devlin.”

Devlin’s head snapped up, and he put Sarah behind him. “Carina.”





Chapter Thirteen





“So it was you,” Devlin said flatly. He glared at the woman he’d called friend for a hundred years. The betrayal was painful in its intensity, but the rage was worse. “Why?”