Total pages in book: 183
Estimated words: 167196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
Andre turned back toward the house, and Sandu was grateful. He felt even more uneasy that Andre didn’t seem to feel the threat that he did in the forest. The screech owls, with their round yellow eyes, continued to stare at them. He felt he was too far from Adalasia. They had kept the front of Andre’s home in sight the entire time, and his brethren patrolled, but Sandu found he liked to keep his eyes on his lifemate, especially when he had shielded her from his mind during the conversation with Andre.
“Bring your woman into our world, Sandu, and the two of you get as close as possible. You have to be a unit. That is what I feel above all else. I know your family was one that was far from the Carpathian Mountains and all help from the brethren unless one chanced being in their area. I know danger surrounds both of you and will be coming from every direction. Above, below and both sides. It is good you have the brethren with you.”
Andre waved his hand at the door, and it swung open at his command. “I know each pull in the direction you feel or she feels will be the correct one, and you need to follow that instinct. Your intuition will save you. You cannot have an ego or be arrogant simply because you are an ancient. You must listen to your lifemate and the thing she is able to use to guide both of you.”
If that was so, Sandu’s gut was telling him he needed to stay by her side—that something was wrong. The threat to her was already close.
Andre stopped in the warmth of the living room, with its double fireplace and dark hardwood floor covered in thick rugs. “She has a talent unsurpassed, a gift, but it is more than that. I would speak with her again, Sandu.”
“I still feel uneasy, Andre. Strangely, it is not the feeling I get when the undead are near. But I feel as if she is in danger.”
“I feel it, too. I think there is an urgency to completing the ritual for both of you,” Andre said. “I really need to speak with her again.”
Sandu didn’t hesitate. The two women had returned to the living room, and both looked up when they entered. Andre wishes to speak with you, Adalasia, and it is important you give him the truth. He has sight where it is veiled to others. He didn’t know how else to tell her.
Adalasia’s gaze jumped to Andre, then back to Sandu. She kept her blue eyes fixed on him as if he gave her the necessary courage.
“Hi, honey,” she greeted. When he reached her and had bent to grasp her chin, tilt her head up and brush a kiss on the tip of her nose, she smiled at him, then managed to look at Andre. “Your home is lovely.”
“Thank you, Adalasia. The credit goes to Teagan and her grandmother. The two of them spent weeks designing the house and each separate room. I am very pleased with the results.” He looked at his lifemate with pride, before switching his full attention back to her. “Would you mind answering a few questions for me? It would help me in giving you both the advice you came for. At least, that is my hope.”
“Yes, of course, Andre. I really appreciate that you’ve opened your home to us and you’re willing to help, especially at such short notice. I know it had to be an inconvenience.”
Sandu reached for her hand as he sank into the chair beside her. There was no trembling in her voice, but he felt it in her mind.
I cannot share everything about my family with anyone but you, and perhaps those traveling with us.
It is all right, Sivamet. Just tell him what he needs to know. Andre is different. He knows things, and this is why we have been directed here.
“What do you have that guides you on your journey?”
She lifted her chin, her gaze flicking to Sandu. For a moment, he felt her protective barriers rise. She took a deep breath. “I read tarot cards.”
There was a small silence. Andre continued to look at her. Adalasia pressed her lips together and then looked again at Sandu.
Tell him the truth.
“They are not just any deck of cards, Andre,” Adalasia admitted, her voice a thread of sound. The flames in the fireplace flared so that shadows danced along the wall. She looked at them uneasily. “The deck has been in my family for generations, handed down from mother to daughter.”
“The same exact deck?” Andre asked. There was wariness in his voice. Speculation. Beside him, Teagan stirred, but the Carpathian put his hand on her, and she immediately relaxed into him, but the tension in the room increased so that the air seemed to thicken.