If you believe we can, Sandu, then I will believe it.
Dominic Dragonseeker emerged from the trees, striding out of the steamy fog rising from the forest floor. At first, it was difficult to make him out. He appeared almost to be an apparition as he came toward them, a handsome man, like all Carpathian males seemed to be. Formidable. Strong. A force to be reckoned with. He greeted each male in the age-old way of the warrior, clasping their forearms and speaking a greeting in their native language.
Sandu introduced Adalasia to him as his lifemate. “Thank you for seeing us, Dominic, on such short notice.”
Dominic’s gaze moved over the four brethren guarding them and then came back to rest on their faces. “This is no social call. Are you in trouble, Sandu?”
“I did say we may be bringing trouble to your door, Dominic,” Sandu reminded. “It is not the undead on our heels. Another kind of enemy follows us. They use bats, owls, insects and whatever else they can manage to invade as spies to get close to us. Here”—Sandu indicated the trees and forest floor—“there is plenty for them to use.”
“How is it they track you?” Dominic was patient, not moving, standing solidly in the exact same position.
Adalasia realized none of her guards had moved from theirs. Sandu hadn’t, either. They had surrounded her the moment Dominic had stepped from the rising fog, keeping her in the middle, protected by their superior height, but they weren’t protecting her from Dominic. She stretched her senses. She knew it was important to utilize her newly acquired Carpathian senses, all much more acute than her human ones had ever been.
Aside from the peculiar shadow cat in the trees, Dominic hadn’t come alone. She should have known. The others knew. Adalasia was annoyed with herself for not paying more attention to the signs the men gave. She had been too busy looking at all the spiders and other potential hazards Nera’s army could use in the battle against them. Each visit seemed to escalate the attacks, as if Nera knew they were getting closer to answers that might stop her from being able to open the gate Adalasia was responsible for guarding.
By now, she was positive this was about a concentrated attack on the gate. Her family had been tasked with guarding and keeping it locked for centuries—and they had done so. Now, for an unknown reason, Adalasia’s family and her heritage were being tested. She wasn’t going to fail. She had been thinking about each of these visits as a way to look into Sandu’s past, but now, she thought maybe it was more than that. Just as her childhood had been a preparation to hone her fighting skills, to bring her to this point, was it possible she was supposed to be continuing to learn?
Her tarot cards had always guided her, and yet now that they were on the path of danger, she had jealously locked them away, taking them out to read each evening before they met with a couple. Had she missed the true importance of what the cards were telling her each evening? She could feel heat gathering under her skin, and it wasn’t the heat of the rain forest. She had forgotten her training. Her skills. The very gift she’d been given from birth. The cards.
“Adalasia’s family has been tasked with a burden handed from mother to daughter. The enemy is from one of their line. Blood calls to blood. We never have much time. They find us very fast. We don’t want to put your lifemate in danger, Dominic.” There was no mistaking the sincerity in Sandu’s voice.
“It appears your lifemate is in danger,” Dominic said. “Solange would never forgive me if I allowed a woman to remain in danger if we could aid her simply by having a conversation.” A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
That brief action made him appear even more handsome, in spite of his scars, than Adalasia had first thought. One side of his face had scarring, but strangely, those scars only served to make him more appealing.
Sivamet, it would not be a good thing for me to develop a trait as unseemly as jealousy.
Adalasia did her best not to laugh out loud. She wanted to throw her arms around Sandu and kiss him right there in front of everyone, but she could tell he was still protecting her from whoever was in the trees protecting Dominic. She could only assume it was the absent Solange. She wanted to be like Solange—able to disappear and be counted on to have Sandu’s back at all times. Dominic didn’t look to see if she was there; he knew she was. They were partners.
You have no reason to develop such a trait. I observe, that is all. There is no one to compare with you. That is a given. Sandu couldn’t fail to read the absolute sincerity in her.