The sound of a great body of water had grown louder until it was roaring. Adalasia managed to turn the volume down on her own. Water poured down from above a series of gray boulders. The blue-and-white water spilled in a long fall into an unexpected turquoise pool surrounded by more rocks and large ferns. Trees with orchids winding their way up the trunks and wrapping around lower branches surrounded the pool, standing upright like soldiers guarding a treasure. The sight was breathtaking, even with the dark mist rolling along the ground and moving above the private lagoon.
Dominic didn’t give them too long of a time to admire the beauty of the place. He waved his hand and the fall of water parted. They could see the narrow path shimmering into sight from their side of the forest floor. It was designed so only one person at a time could walk along it and enter the grotto behind the falls. Whatever was there was impossible to see. Adalasia tightened her fingers in Sandu’s.
This is a really cool place to live if you’re going to have a home in the rain forest, Sandu.
It is.
For the first time, she felt his reluctance. The four brethren traveling with them echoed his concerns. The shadow of a cat, for a brief moment, shone on the wall of rock behind the water, the fall shimmering right through the shadow, casting iridescent colors on the gray boulders. Adalasia blinked, and the silhouette was gone, leaving her wondering if it had been an illusion. Dominic walked, without pausing, along that narrow trail, and then he, too, disappeared into the dark, cavernous opening.
Nicu, drop back, Sandu commanded. We may need you to bring an army of animals to aid us in battle.
Nicu stepped to the side, and Siv continued forward as if Sandu had not spoken. Adalasia could feel all the brethren connected to him in her mind. Petru moved up to stride behind Siv, covering his back but giving him room to fight should there be need.
Do you really believe Dominic would lead all of you into some kind of trap?
No, but he did not expose his lifemate, even though we revealed you to him. The real Dragonseeker could not be vampire. This does not feel like the undead. I do not believe there is a master vampire capable of deceiving all of us, but it is your life at stake, and none of us are willing to take a chance with you. Being on guard always is our way, Sivamet.
Sandu followed Petru, his hand guiding Adalasia behind him. Around their legs, up to their knees, the same dark mist, as dense as in the forest, tumbled and boiled like a brew in a witch’s cauldron. She concentrated on keeping her heart beating in rhythm with Sandu’s. Dominic didn’t feel evil to her, either. He felt protective. A warrior. She wasn’t nearly as concerned as Sandu and the brethren.
It was the mist that intrigued her. The wards in it. If even insects couldn’t penetrate it, then Nera and her army of demons couldn’t get them. She would have to learn how to add that to their arsenal of protections. More and more, she felt she had been missing the most important point of the guidance her cards had given them. She was happy she’d read the cards and found that the guardians had lifemates alive in the present century. Yes, Sandu and she needed information on Sandu’s past to help him find his memories, but this was her journey as well. She was to learn from it, and at each stop, she was being given something extremely important. She couldn’t afford not to listen. Not to hear what was being said—or not said.
There was a light spray of cool water that was very real coming off the rocks from above. Sandu passed into the dark cavern, and she was only a few steps behind him, blinking rapidly so her eyes would adjust. She felt Benedek close at her back and knew Nicu was a few paces behind, still bonded in their minds.
Carpathians could see so clearly even in the darkest caves. A few feet inside the narrow opening, the cave suddenly widened into what appeared to be an expansive hallway. The floor beneath their feet was stones of various colors. The walls and ceiling, made of similar stone, curved as if they were the entrance to a magnificent mansion. Sconces of blown glass in soft blues and purples lit the hall. Gold filigree held the glass from the wall, and starbursts shone on the ceilings, beamed from those sconces.
Nicu. Sandu gave him the clearance to enter.
There was a feeling of warm welcome the moment they entered that hallway. This was a home. Adalasia wondered how Dominic and Solange had managed to construct it there in a cave in the rain forest, where Solange felt most comfortable, surrounded by nature. Just the walls and floor were works of art, let alone the sconces and the way they cast stars and galaxies onto the ceiling.
The hallway gave way to a large chamber that clearly was the great room, with high ceilings and gem-covered walls. Diamonds in various colors, as well as sapphires and rubies, sparkled when light played across them. The floor was the same as in the hallway, great flat stones of various shades of gray, highly polished until they gleamed. Even with the exclusivity of the walls, there was nothing cavelike about the room. Adalasia found the artsy style to be rare and lovely. Again, there was a warmth to the room that surprised her.