Carpathian 12 - Dark Melody

poet without equal. The words that pour out of your soul, the incomparable music you make –
    that is who you are. The other is a part of your nature, perhaps, but only a small part. You couldn't say the things you say, the beautiful words you give to me, without feeling them deep within you."
    He opened her hand, studied her lifeline for a moment before pressing a kiss into the center of her palm.
    "I felt so many things in my youth, so much music, it seemed I was music. I heard it everywhere, in the earth and sky, the trees, the animals. I heard it and knew it was my world. Slowly it faded away. It was terrifying to realize I was going to lose it, so I wrote songs, hundreds of songs, thousands of songs, pouring out the notes and words and committing them to memory. Over the years those memories were what I relied on to get me through the darkness. I didn't feel the words or music anymore, but I had the memories to sustain me. I could touch others who felt the joy of love and laughter and draw upon their emotions to create what I needed."
    He studied her face, his black gaze drifting over her possessively, lovingly, with so much hunger and need she could feel her body melting under his scrutiny. "You cannot possibly understand until you are able to merge your mind fully with mine. I knew utter bleakness, a black, empty void. Without my music, without my soul, I wandered the earth not understanding what I was, not willing to accept what I was.
    What I am."
    She touched his face with gentle ringers. "What you are is a man with exceptional gifts, Dayan. The things you are talking about I see occasional glimpses of – I won't pretend I don't – but that is not who you are."
    His perfectly chiseled lips curved into a beguiling smile, and he deliberately drew her finger into the moist cavern of his mouth. "You think I am an alien being from another planet." There was teasing laughter in his voice.
    Corinne found herself grinning at him sheepishly. "It could happen."
    "I am Carpathian. We are as old as time, doomed to wander the earth until we make the choice to give up our lives. Our males are dark, deadly predators; the beast lies strong within us, ever growing until such time as we find our lifemates to anchor us in the world of light."
    Corinne knew he was telling her something of great importance, but she truly didn't understand him. "I have never heard the term Carpathian. If I still remember my geography, there is a range of mountains, the Carpathian Mountains in Romania and Transylvania…" She trailed off as the significance of that region hit her. She remembered vividly the strange twist her dream in the cave had taken. She was silent for a moment, gathering her courage. "Did you give me your blood?" she asked very quietly, unsure whether she wanted him to answer her.
    "Are you certain you want the truth?"
    She shrugged her shoulders, a delicately feminine motion. "I want the truth, Dayan, though I'm not certain I can take it. I wasn't dreaming in that cave, was I? It all happened just as I remember it. All those people were there to help you save my life. And you gave me your blood. Why? What did that do for me?" She tried to be very analytical about it, afraid that if she dwelled too long on the subject, she would be sick.
    She swallowed hard. "Why did you feel it was necessary?"
    "To save your life and the life of the baby." Dayan watched her expressive face carefully, was a shadow in her mind monitoring her thoughts. He listened to her heart and breathing for signs of extreme stress.

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    Corinne sat very still, allowed her heart to follow the stronger, steadier beat of his. She nodded, not fully comprehending but knowing she was getting closer to the truth. If his blood could save her daughter, then it was worth everything to her. She gathered her courage, watched his face intently. "Are you a vampire, Dayan?" She felt somewhat ridiculous asking such an absurd question, but she had never seen him in the daylight hours. Also, he was too mesmerizing. And if her strange dream had been a reality, he had given his blood to her in a rather unorthodox manner.
    Dayan wanted to smile at her thoughts. Corinne was struggling to understand, heading in the right direction, while at the same time totally disbelieving her own wisdom. He liked the idea that she found him too anything. He was also aware that she had banished the actual picture of