Riley made a small sound of distress. Immediately, Dax turned to her and pulled her beneath the protection of his shoulder. “What is it?”
“You said ‘us.’ Do you intend to go with them to the shadow realm? If you do, Dax, I will accompany you.” Her tone was very firm.
“They will need an anchor in this world, Riley. We are that anchor for them. You, me and the Old One. We cannot travel to the shadow realm, nor would I ever allow you to go.”
Riley and Adalasia exchanged a long look before Riley rolled her eyes. Adalasia noted she didn’t look too concerned with Dax’s dictate.
Benedek emerged next, sliding into his body, coughing, so weak he could barely sit. Adalasia realized that as each of the ancients returned to their bodies and were given blood, either Danutdaxton was healing them as he provided for them, or one of the other ancients healed them. Riley continued to give Dax her blood. Adalasia knew that couldn’t continue. They would be far too weak to help her find Sandu in what they referred to as the shadow realm.
“Go, Dax,” Nicu said. “I will wait while you and Petru hunt. If Luiz needs blood, I can provide for him.”
Petru immediately dissolved into vapor and streamed away from them through the trees.
Danutdaxton leaned down to brush kisses on top of Riley’s head. “Let us go,” he murmured. Immediately, the two dissolved in the same way Petru had.
Why that surprised Adalasia, she didn’t know. She thought Riley would stay with them, but clearly, her lifemate had other ideas. She supposed that made sense. Sandu wouldn’t have left her unless all four guardians were with her, not after a battle like the one they’d just gone through.
Her gaze once more strayed to Sandu lying so still in the thick vegetation. A little shudder went through her body at the sight. She didn’t like him there on the ground in the open. She would have preferred to be in an enclosed area or at least have the ground open so the rich soil was exposed. Surely the soil with all the minerals would aid in healing Sandu.
She drew up her knees and rubbed her chin on top of them as she studied his long form. Even lying so still, he took up a lot of space. If it wasn’t for the graying, now almost a bluish-black, running beneath his skin, she would have expected him to stand up. He was just that powerful.
“I feel so useless just sitting here. He wouldn’t be just sitting here if I were the one dying.” She raised her sorrowful gaze to Nicu.
“Sisarke, I know this is extremely difficult for you.” Nicu’s voice was gentle. “You are keeping him with us. We are only healing his body. We cannot possibly do what you are doing.”
Adalasia frowned. It didn’t feel as if she was doing anything at all. “What exactly do you think I’m doing, Nicu?”
“You have his soul.”
She rubbed her chin over her drawn-up knees again. “Yes, he sent it back to me. It felt as if he’d rejected me after all the rebirths and lives I led to get to him.”
“But you know better.”
“I suppose so, intellectually. Rejection still feels very real.”
She turned inward, surrounding the half of his soul he’d given back into her keeping with her bright light, warming it, holding it to her a little desperately. There was no warmth emanating from it. No light. It was tiny, as if slowly it was disappearing from her care. She actually saw that small piece shiver, tremble, as if too weak to continue to hold on. Adalasia drew her net of warmth tighter in a circle around his soul.
Don’t leave me, Sandu. I can’t exist without you. I will follow you. You know that I will. That will leave the gate unguarded after all the centuries our family has held true. I would be the one to lose honor. You have to hold on.
Silence met her alarmed begging. And it was begging. She wasn’t too proud to try to convince him of her need of him. She had converted, become Carpathian for him, taken that leap of faith, but somewhere along the line, she had fallen hard for him. He had become her other half.
She became aware of cold. Bitter, icy cold. Whispers. Stings like bees on her skin. No, not her skin, inside her body. Not even her body. Her spirit? His? He was being attacked relentlessly. He was in agony. Agony.
“Nicu. That man you thought was a healer, he is harming Sandu. I connected just for a moment, and Sandu is in so much pain. The attack is on his spirit. You have to get him away from Sandu.” She stretched her legs out, ready to leap up, but what she planned to do, she had no idea.
“The attack has been going on for some time, Adalasia,” Nicu said, his voice soft. “We wanted to spare you the worst. He is long gone from us. You only see what remains of his body. His spirit has traveled down the tree of life and is now in the shadow realm. Luiz is healing his body from the inside out. Driving out the plague. Sandu cannot return to a body with even a small taint in it. We cannot take any chances with either of you.”