Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Ferro called Isai ekä, brother. Isai’s loyalty would be first to his lifemate, Julija, but he would fight with Ferro if need be, to get Ferro and Elisabeta away from the compound. Ferro also thought that having Julija there would help to calm Elisabeta when the others arrived.
He should have known that when Tariq Asenguard arrived, as the leader appointed to represent the prince in the United States, he would be closely guarded, and that meant more than Gary Daratrazanoff came with him. Chairs formed a loose circle around the large room, Tariq sitting directly across from him. Gary sat to his right. He was a strange man. At one time he had been fully human, but he had been turned and the blood of the Daratrazanoffs ran in his veins, and their knowledge of healing and battle experiences filled his mind. His eyes carried the peculiar, bluish-silver color only their particular line held. Power clung to him and he gave the impression that he saw everyone, including Elisabeta, which didn’t sit well with Ferro. The battle experiences and skills of every warrior that had come before in the Daratrazanoff line lived in every cell of his body and resided in his brain. He would be a difficult opponent and the one to kill first. Ferro didn’t want that to happen. He felt a kinship with Gary, but if his lifemate was put in jeopardy and he had to fight his way out, it was the healer who would have to go first.
Maksim Volkov sat on the other side of Tariq. Maksim had run with Tariq on and off for centuries. They hunted together as loose partners just as Ferro had with the brethren. Maksim was a force to be reckoned with. He could be very still and then explode into action with blurring speed. Maksim was a man never to be discounted under any circumstances, no matter how much he liked to fade into the background.
Valentin Zhestokly had been in the monastery on several occasions but the call of his lifemate had been strong and he had left several times to hunt for her. He had found her when she was still a human child. She had been taken by a vampire and given to a puppet to use as food. When she was rescued, eventually, the Carpathians had to convert her in order to save her. Valentin watched over her now, staying close to the Asenguard compound, where Liv resided. He sat in one of the chairs and it was impossible to know where his loyalties would be, so Ferro didn’t count on him.
Elisabeta huddled into herself, retreating further and further into her mind. She seemed light, almost insubstantial in his arms. He knew immediately it had been a mistake to have her be present for the discussion on how Sergey might have accomplished reaching out to her while she was safeguarded in the healing grounds. There had been an attack on her once, using one of the children. Now, it seemed, there had to be a second breach in security.
Talk with Julija and pay no attention to those coming to discuss this security matter, Ferro advised his lifemate as gently as possible.
He didn’t want to draw any more attention than necessary to his very frightened woman. She had curled up so small in his lap that he doubted she was even visible in the dim lighting of the room, although all Carpathians could easily see in the dark. If her trembling got any worse, he feared she might really shake apart.
He kept his hand curled around the nape of her neck and his gaze fixed on Tariq, as if he wasn’t in the least concerned with his lifemate huddling on his lap. His fingers gently massaged in an attempt to ease the tension out of her. He knew that Elisabeta hadn’t been exposed to so many people in centuries. It had to be a terrifying experience for her. This rising was proving to be far worse than he had expected for her.
Seven men had come with Tariq. Ferro knew they had come as guards because he was considered dangerous and he had never sworn his allegiance to the reigning prince. Tomas, Matias and Lojos, triplets who were always together and had been for centuries, had been sent by the prince to help guard Tariq whether the man wanted it or not. They took their job very seriously. Ferro knew they were a force to be reckoned with.
The seventh man who had come to protect Tariq Asenguard was Afanasiv Balan. Most of the Carpathians simply called him Siv. Like the brethren, he was a true ancient and he was considered extremely dangerous. He had thick, long blond hair and strange eyes that by turns could be green or blue. More than once, Siv had sought respite in the monastery when demons had been too close, but he left to hunt vampires and eventually ended up in the United States, guarding Tariq. He had the creed of the ancients inked onto his back, just as the brethren did. If he turned on them, he would be forever branded a traitor among them. Ferro had no idea whether or not he had sworn allegiance to the prince.