Danutdaxton’s dark eyebrows rose. The lines in his face deepened. “There are only a couple of lineages with hair that color. The Selvaggio and Bercovitz are the two that come to mind. You said she was able to speak to animals at a very young age. The Bercovitz line definitely has that gift. The Bercovitzes lost a little girl, so I would conclude the child taken was that one. Do you believe the demons took this child in order to control animals?”
Sandu nodded slowly. “That is exactly what I have come to believe. This child had a very specific talent and had already proven so at an extremely young age. She’d saved a human from a pack of wolves, was able to keep the wolves from killing the farmer when he was wounded and bleeding, already helpless. She was only eight at the time.”
Adalasia arched an eyebrow at him. I was unaware you even knew what a child was.
He hadn’t realized how tense he was. How guilty he felt. He was a Carpathian male. An ancient, sworn to protect their females.
“Sandu,” she said gently aloud, “we came to ask Danutdaxton and Riley for advice.”
He was well aware of that. Too aware. Once Sandu spoke of what he believed aloud, he could never take it back, whether it was real or not.
No one hurried him. The breeze moved over him, relieving the humidity there beneath the canopy. He noticed the lack of insects or small reptiles. Even birds were no longer flitting in the branches. There were no owls close. The safeguards woven had been strong. Adalasia had added her own powerful strands to keep Nera’s spies away.
“The Bercovitz child would be centuries old if she were alive,” Sandu said. “If she still lives, she would be an adult Carpathian woman.”
“Raised how?” Riley asked. “Who would have raised her? These demons? What would she have turned out like? How could she possibly know right from wrong? She would be so confused.”
Sandu kept his gaze on Adalasia. She stayed very quiet, her eyes on his. She knew he felt guilty; she just didn’t understand why. She waited in that way of hers, reserving judgment, letting him figure out how best to tell them what he thought.
He could feel Dax’s eyes on him. The man said nothing, either. Even the Old One was waiting, as if he, too, knew Sandu had information important to them.
“She might be confused at first, Riley,” Sandu answered. “Carpathian female children have excellent memories. She also holds the light in her, as well as guarding the soul of a male Carpathian. Growing up in whatever environment she was forced into would have been difficult for her, but she would have adapted in order to survive. I believe she survived.”
He hesitated again, and when no one spoke, he made the decision to confess. “When the hellhound dragged me through the portal during the battle and Adalasia was pulling at me to bring me back, I could feel the demons trying to surround me, to keep me there. There was unbearable heat and pain. I knew the poison was spreading through my body at a rapid rate. I could hear Adalasia and knew if I could get back, she would seal the portal. Another woman’s voice suddenly called out to me in the ancient language. I heard her very distinctly. She said, Muonìak te kaδa ?ama? maγemet it.”
“Which means?” Adalasia prompted.
“I command you to leave this place now.” Sandu and Danutdaxton interpreted simultaneously.
Adalasia frowned. “If it was this girl—woman now—how would she have learned the Carpathian language? How could she possibly remember it after all those centuries? Do you think the demons speak it?”
Sandu shook his head. “No, I think she speaks this language with another who resides there. The one you guard against, Adalasia. I think the demon you hold back and refuse to allow loose on the world is a Carpathian male, an ancient who has not turned vampire but has gone beyond the point of no return. He is lost. She can communicate with him because she speaks to animals, and he is more beast than man. That is my theory.” He had already told Adalasia of his belief that a demon was behind those gates, a demon who had once been a Carpathian hunter.
Again, there was a long silence. Sandu couldn’t look at Dax. The women wouldn’t condemn him for his actions, but another Carpathian male would. Should. He had left a female Carpathian woman alone in a terrible situation.
Danutdaxton sighed. “Sandu, there was nothing you could do to remove this woman from her fate. She is locked behind a closed portal we cannot open. I do not talk of the gates this Carpathian male lives behind. Any opening between our realm and the demons would cause untold damage on the world. The few demons who do escape cause enough destruction. She had an opportunity when the portal was open to leave, yet she did not. Perhaps this beast behind the gates is her lifemate.”