Sisarke, Benedek whispered into her mind. Leeches attached to one’s body on rising is quite . . . He stopped searching for the correct term in her language.
Vile, Nicu supplied.
Disgusting, Petru said simultaneously.
Beyond the foulest of the undead, Siv added.
Her laughter continued. Surely all of you realized the leeches weren’t real.
Again, there was that collective silence. It was all Sandu could do not to roar with laughter. He had to turn his head away from the stoic ancients. They were without expression. Their faces refused to show any kind of shock, but their minds, firmly entrenched in his, reverberated with disbelief. Amazement. A kind of delight that she was able to actually trick them. All four were bringing up that initial waking, finding the weight of the leeches attached to them. They’d gotten rid of them quickly as they hurriedly left the sanctuary of their resting places, none of them checking to see if the leeches were real or illusion. Petru, Benedek and Nicu believed Siv had pranked them. Siv believed the others had done so. None considered the leeches could be illusion.
Sisarke, Siv said, you do astound me. Why you have been wasted on the likes of Sandu, I have no idea.
Sandu didn’t bother to take exception. He was just grateful Adalasia was his lifemate. “I want to spend a little time with her before we seek Dominic and Solange. I sent word to him we would be coming for a brief visit. Just to talk. He was amenable.”
At once, the four guardians were all business, pulling abruptly away from their bond with Adalasia.
“The Dragonseeker is careful of his lifemate. Both are lethal, Sandu. When you have an audience with one, you have an audience with both, even if you do not see the other,” Petru advised. “If he invites us to his lair, it will not be a home he often uses. It isn’t that Dominic necessarily sits in judgment of others, but he holds strictly to the old ways.”
“I have heard that his lifemate was royalty, a Jaguar princess, before the mages destroyed their species and brought them to extinction,” Sandu said, mostly for the sake of Adalasia. She might not be able to hear the entire conversation, but she could hear him. “My understanding is she can walk in sunlight. If she gives him her blood, doesn’t that mean he can as well? That is not the old way.”
Nicu shook his head. “I have visited with Dominic often, and he has been kind enough to offer his blood when I have been wounded. His lifemate was somewhere in the trees holding a weapon on me the entire time, I might add, but even with his blood, I could not take the sun. I know that Zacarias De La Cruz has often exchanged blood with Dominic, and he has told me he can spend perhaps an hour but uncomfortably. He builds clouds or his skin burns and blisters.”
“Is Dominic able to walk in the sun?” Sandu persisted.
“That is the question, isn’t it? As we aged, and as we continued to destroy the undead, we became something else. Dragonseeker did not,” Nicu said.
“How do you know?” Siv asked.
Nicu shrugged. “I know every beast in the forest, the mountains. They call to me, and something in me answers. Dragonseeker does not have the beast in him. He is the same, calm and steady. He is resolute. Although he is ancient, he is not like we are, and he is very aware of the difference.”
Sandu contemplated that information. If Nicu said Dominic Dragonseeker had no scarring on his soul, then it had to be so. Nicu didn’t make those kinds of mistakes. “I informed him I was bringing my lifemate. I was very open with him that we were traveling with four of my most trusted brethren and that you were bonded to her and to me. He still issued an invitation. I expect him to watch us carefully. In his place, I would do the same. I still believe that it is worthwhile, since we are so close to him, to seek his advice.”
Benedek nodded. “I agree with Sandu. Dominic risks much with his invitation. Even with his warrior woman lifemate backing his play, he knows he could not hope to defeat five ancients in battle. He believes you are in need.”
“You consulted with Gabriel and Lucian and also Andre. Dominic could have reached out to them, or they could have reached out to him,” Petru said. “With this new technology, everyone seems to be right on top of one another.”
Unless you break tablets the way Sandu did. Throwing a tantrum because he did not want to learn modern ways. Siv made certain to include Adalasia in their conversation.
Petru took up the story to give Adalasia a reference point. Poor young Josef, tasked with teaching ancient minds modern technology. Sandu was first, and he clung to the old ways, insisting he could rip knowledge from young minds.