The cards fell easily into her palm. Her demeanor changed subtly. She was in charge. She held the tarot cards between her palms for a moment and then offered the deck to Andre. “Shuffle them.”
Andre reached for the cards. Sandu watched closely, as did Teagan and Adalasia. The room had gone silent, as if all of them were holding their breath. Andre’s long fingers settled around the cards. Grayish white puffs almost like sparks floated around the cards and then settled into them. Andre simply held the cards. For a moment, his eyes were vacant. His body a shell. Once again, the double fireplaces reacted, flames flaring high, casting those ominous dancing shadows. Sandu went on alert.
Carpathians often went outside their bodies to heal others. It seemed as if Andre had done so in order to find the secret of Adalasia’s tarot cards. He glanced at Teagan. She was fully Carpathian in that moment. She had always been very small and sweet. Now she was a warrior guarding her lifemate. He had no doubt she was ready for anything that might threaten Andre, and she would fight to the death. She’d been with Andre long enough that he would have taught her many things. A woman who would climb boulders when she could float would learn how to fight the undead, even if she had the Ghost to protect her.
Then Andre was back. His piercing eyes were pure steel as he studied Adalasia. “Carpathian blood was spilled, not on these cards, but they were exposed to what was infused with the blood. So there is no doubt these cards carry the blood of the Berdardi family, although what I feel is subtle but extremely powerful and feminine.”
Sandu was grateful that Adalasia had told him. He had felt the reaction of the cards to him, those sparks sinking into his skin, trying to move through him to his bones. It had felt like a million needles, but at the same time, familiar. All too familiar, something he should recognize. Power meeting power. His own blood.
“You are not surprised, Sandu,” Andre said.
He felt Adalasia in his mind, holding her breath, trying to keep her faith in him. Beside him, she trembled.
“I held the cards,” Sandu said. “I know very little, Andre. What can you tell us?”
“The power comes from your line, Sandu. You have always been extremely laid-back around the rest of the ancients, preferring their talents to shine, but you kept your name. It isn’t the original taken in ancient times, but you have carried this one for centuries.”
Sandu nodded. “I moved enough and was alone enough that it mattered little.”
“Those of us who remember that the Berdardi family guarded alone, unaided by other Carpathians, have always known the power and danger you represent. For these cards to hold this power, and they are not the actual well of power, your line is incredible.”
Not the actual well of power? Sandu prompted.
Adalasia didn’t reply. She was small in his mind, staying but keeping very still.
Andre handed the deck back to Adalasia with a nod of respect. “That you can wield these cards is a tribute to your courage and prowess.”
“Thank you,” Adalasia said. She clearly didn’t expect that of him. “Have you advice for us?” Very calmly she shuffled the deck and then returned it to the velvet pouch before once more sliding it inside her top, where they completely disappeared again.
“Only that the two of you must be closer than most couples and never falter in your trust in each other. Listen to each other at all times. Really listen and make decisions together. It is the only way you will get to the end of your journey alive to perform whatever task is meant for you. I wish I could see more for you, but I cannot. Sandu, I cannot stress to you enough the importance of Adalasia being brought wholly into our world. Without that, a full commitment between you is impossible, and that leaves her exposed to too many dangers. More importantly, it leaves an opportunity for your enemies to drive a wedge between you.”
The Boroi guesthouse was hidden right up against the mountain itself, nearly impossible to see the way it was designed, unless you walked right up to it. The entrance looked almost as if one was approaching a set of boulders locked into the side of the mountain, covered in brush and small blades of grass and flowering shrubs. The front could have been a cave entrance.
As they walked through the trees and brush toward the little cottage, in which Andre and Teagan had assured them they would have complete privacy for the rest of the night, Adalasia noted the flutter of wings as very small screech owls moved among the branches. She felt uneasy being in the open, although she hadn’t heard the wolves howling in a long while. Sandu glanced up at the trees more than once and then dropped two steps behind her, letting her take the lead to the strange accommodations Andre and Teagan had lent them for the night.