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)
She understood it was a decree. She could see the ruthless, merciless side of him stamped into those lines carved so deep. For the first time, she read it in his soul. He was laying down an absolute law, and if she didn’t agree, if she tried to go against this one absolute, he—and his brethren—would stop her.
“I understand completely, Petru.” She did. In the short time they’d been together, the one thing that had become very clear to her was the danger Petru would become to every species should something happen to his lifemate. There would be no going back for him. He was a man of honor, but the scars marking the passage of time with too many battles and taking of lives well past his time had already decided his fate for him.
“Lilith will throw everything she has at us to end the war as fast as possible,” he said. “We are very few in number.”
She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She’d read the cards. She’d seen the odds against them. They weren’t good.
“We have no choice but to even the odds, if possible. The way to do it is risky, but if we counterattack swiftly and hit back hard and precisely, as I believe we can if everyone follows the plan, we have a better chance.”
“Risky?” she echoed. She had no idea what he was talking about. It wasn’t like they could rush out and get reinforcements at this late date. Whatever he had planned, there was no going back. It was clear in his mind that it was the only path open to them if they were going to defeat Lilith. He had hoped an entire tribe would be backing them, not just the members of her family.
Petru hadn’t complained. He never once considered leaving them to their fate. It never even entered his head. He simply planned out his battle using what little resources they had.
“Benedek is capable of using a very ancient and powerful technique, or magic if you prefer. It is unknown to mages or vampires. As far as I’m aware, only his lineage can do it or even knows of it. He needed the consent of a few of your family members.”
Her heart dropped. Whatever he was about to tell her, she wasn’t going to like. He had used the word “risky.” This hadn’t been discussed with her.
“Essentially, what Benedek does is put pieces of himself into pieces of someone else. In this case, while your entire family volunteered, Amastan was too old, Layla pregnant, Lunja and Zdan parents, so it was determined Gwafa, Izem and Usem would be the participants. They will be divided into many individuals. They won’t be illusions but real thinking, breathing, fighting men with their capabilities as well as Benedek’s.”
She could see the drawback immediately. She didn’t need Petru to point it out to her. Should any of them fall—and the chances were enormous that some would—the individual and Benedek would be significantly weakened unless that part of them could be retrieved before death.
She didn’t voice her distress. No one would take such a risk unless the circumstances were dire, and theirs were. “The toll on Benedek will be terrible.”
Benedek’s risk was the highest, as a part of him would be in all the replicas of the men, and yet he did so without hesitation. She was coming to see that Carpathians lived a life of sacrifice.
“Your family didn’t hesitate to volunteer, even after the risks were explained to them,” Petru said. “It was the first time I observed discord between Izem and his spouse. She insisted on also volunteering, and Izem forbade her from participating.”
“Amara never goes against Izem,” Safia said, a little shocked. She dressed herself in the clothes she wore to slay demons. The long coat with the many pockets and loops holding various weapons and emergency medical supplies felt familiar as it settled around her shoulders.
“She did. She was insistent that if he took such a risk, she would, too.”
Safia caught the hint of respect for her sister-in-law in his mind.
“Izem forbade it, as did Usem with his spouse. We’ve set up a station to replenish blood when needed, and we’ll need it, most likely often. I gave Charif the task of overseeing that and the wounded to keep him occupied. His father reinforced that he was to always stay right there and see to the wounded coming in. He was shown how to treat Carpathian wounds with soil, and a fresh bed was set up at his station.”
“What blood?”
“We brought in humans from town. Quite a few to supply us. They are compliant.” He didn’t add any other information.
Safia hadn’t considered that they would need a large supply of blood, but of course there would be wounds. She had her memories of the first battle when she’d died as a child. She’d seen those gaping rips in Petru’s chest where the vampires had clawed and bitten at him in an effort to extract his heart.