A heartbeat went by. Two. It was Jubal who answered her while Dominic ran his hands gently through her hair.
There is Sandrine. They were told about Sandrine.
Solange froze, her golden skin going pale. There are few people who know of her existence. Who would betray a child to these vile men, Jubal? And why? What could possibly be their motive?
Hatred of all things Carpathian and Jaguar. Jubal sounded weary. Both of my sisters have become Carpathian. Joie is with Traian and Gabrielle is with Aleksei. My mother really detests that they are Carpathian, but above all else, she despises Jaguar with every breath she takes.
Sandu and his brethren were beginning to understand what Jubal suspected, and if he was right, the betrayal couldn’t get any worse. The cut was deep and it was visceral.
That makes no sense. You have Jaguar blood in you.
Yes, I do. Not just any blood. My mother is from a royal line as well. Like you, she was hunted relentlessly, and like Jasmine, she was kidnapped and assaulted. She was held for several years. I thought Rory was my father. He’s Gabrielle and Joie’s, but he isn’t mine. Both of them hid that fact from us. They went to such trouble to hide it. They never told us we had Jaguar blood in us. I think if our mother could have, she would have opened her veins and replaced her blood with someone else’s.
There was silence as all of them comprehended what Jubal told Solange.
My father, well, Rory, died last year of an infection. Mom had been acting more and more erratic. She’d always been volatile, but she seemed to be getting worse. Gabrielle is in a very remote area and doesn’t see her often. Joie sees her the most, but even that isn’t much. Mom would make excuses when I would say I would want to come to see them. When our father was ill with the infection, we all went to be with him. She was different. Very subdued. She didn’t leave his side. I believe she had gotten angry and slashed him with her claws. He had evidence of older, deeper wounds that had healed on his body. He never complained. He adored her.
Jubal’s sorrow was heavy in his mind.
I’m so sorry, Jubal. I had no idea you were going through so much, Solange said. I wish you would have shared this with us.
There wasn’t anything anyone could do. After my father died, Mom just seemed to retreat even more. She didn’t want to see me. I would drop in on her so she couldn’t avoid me, but she clearly didn’t want me around. I’d just talk to her about my life, about Jasmine and Sandrine and how much I loved them. I hoped she would want to meet them. That she’d want Sandrine in her life. She never once asked. I did, unfortunately, talk about the weapons the children were learning to use to protect themselves against vampires. I told her far too much in an effort to rally her. I didn’t realize how much her resentment toward the Carpathian people had grown.
You believe your mother found these rogue Jaguar men and gave up Sandrine’s existence to them? Nicu wanted confirmation. He didn’t have a lifemate. He wasn’t feeling the bond between Adalasia and the rest of them. He had no sympathy for betrayal. There was only death for such treachery.
She knew the entire story, yes, Jubal said. All of it. Jasmine’s kidnapping, the rapes, the bloodline. She knows they are of royal blood. She told me to stay away from them. I have royal blood from another line, and she said if we were to get together, I would turn into a hideous monster, and any male child I produced would be an abomination on the world.
Sandu looked down at the Mayan ruins. There was so much hatred and fear in that declaration that a mother would tell her son. She had to be half mad with grief and whatever trauma had happened to her when she was young. Still, that was no excuse to set up that same trauma for another young child. He shook his head, feeling the beast in him rising to counter any compassion he might have had for such a woman.
I am going to bring them out of their little hiding place, Solange said. We have to get all ten out. Remember, they have those weapons, so be very careful.
I will go with you, Jubal said. It will lend more credibility to your walking alone. They know you are with the Dragonseeker.
Sandu had studied Jasmine carefully. I will shift into the shape of Jasmine and walk with you.
There was a small silence. Benedek was the first to speak. Perhaps to give this scenario even more credibility, Jubal should hold your hand, Sandu.
This is a good idea, Petru agreed. Perhaps pull you under his shoulder protectively in the way of lifemates.
O jel? peje terád, Sandu replied.
What exactly does that mean? Jubal asked. It had better not be agreement.
Sun scorch you, Dominic interpreted, amusement in his voice.