Carpathian 13 - Dark Destiny

organ. Alexandria did not have such a thing or Aidan would have told me. He described to me his healing of her in detail but there was none of this."
    "Destiny has whole colonies of them," Nicolae said.
    Gregori frowned. "Savannah, we will need candles, and the bag we brought with us from New Orleans.
    We did not need it for Dayan's lifemate, but I fear we will need all of it here."
    Savannah nodded. "It's lucky we didn't use it." She produced a large satchel and tossed it to her lifemate.

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    Nicolae inhaled the contents of the satchel deeply. Vikirnoff followed suit. Destiny was startled by their reaction. She took an exploratory sniff. The scent was of earth. Clean, fresh dirt. It smelled different from any she had ever encountered. She looked at Nicolae. There was something close to rapture on his face.
    "What is it?" she asked curiously.
    "Soil from our homeland," Nicolae answered, awe in his voice. "How did you come to have such a gift?"
    he asked Savannah.
    "Julian Savage, one of our people, had it brought many years ago to New Orleans. He stored it in a hidden chamber and left it for us when we became lifemates," she explained. "It was a shocking but very welcome surprise."
    Destiny could sense Nicolae's eagerness to put to use the treasure the healer had brought.
    "We took some of the soil with us, thinking we might need it to aid Dayan and his lifemate when she was so ill, but it was not needed. We kept it for just such an emergency as this." Gregori smiled down at his lifemate. "It was Savannah's suggestion that we bring it along."
    Destiny looked into the dark bag, saw the deep richness and felt her palms itch. Nicolae plunged his hands into the soil and closed his eyes.
    Vikirnqff. You must feel this. I feel it all the way to my bones. A welcoming such as I have not had in centuries. Our homeland is in this small bag.
    Vikirnoff reached into the bag slowly. His hands tunneled deep into the rich soil. I am sharing your mind, Nicolae. This will sustain me as nothing else could. I feel a sense of peace for the first time in so long. Thank you for allowing me this experience .
    Destiny was sharing it with the two brothers. She sensed the intensity of Nicolae's feelings for his brother and realized that the only way Vikirnoff could feel that love was through Nicolae's emotions.
    Emotions you returned to him, Vikirnoff reminded them.
    Returned to us, Nicolae corrected.

Chapter Nineteen
    There was silence in the cave. Destiny looked around her at the candles burning in every conceivable space. Hundreds of them, tiny pinpoints of light releasing a soothing aroma of spice and the scents of healing. Essential oils were warming in small, nearly flat receptacles heated by the flames. These candles were meticulously crafted by the Carpathian people to be used in difficult healing sessions.
    Gregori looked even more impressive as he seated himself beside Nicolae, his dark hair gleaming in the flickering light, his eyes liquid silver. Nicolae lay in a shallow depression of earth beside Gregori, his head in Destiny's lap. She stroked strands of long, silky hair from his face with gentle fingers. His dark gaze was firmly locked on hers.
    Breathe, little one. You lookso frightened. You will give me no choice but to kiss that look from your face. Gregori is a great man. He has not condemned us as you feared. Rather, he and his Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    lifemate have welcomed you, welcomed us and agreed to aid us with this healing. You must trust him .
    Destiny took a deep breath, took the healing scents deep into her lungs. I trust only you, Nicolae, no other. I almost wish they had condemned us. This woman is the Prince's daughter, yet she welcomes me with open arms. She has no idea what lies hidden inside me. I feel guilty every time I look at her, as if I'm hiding some terrible secret .
    What Gregori knows, his lifemate knows. Savannah is Carpathian and typical of our people. None would condemn you. All will welcome you and would seek to aid you. Do not fear belonging, Destiny.
    She tunneled her fingers in his hair, gripping with her fists as if she might hold him to her. Her tongue moistened her suddenly dry lips and she lifted her chin, meeting the strange, glittering eyes of the healer.
    She met his merciless gaze without flinching, trying to convey with a look what she felt. She didn't