Carpathian 17 - Dark Celebration

Gregori asked.
    Mikhail was silent for a few moments. "Yes, of course. I am just tired of so many of my people having to make a decision to exchange their life for mine. It is difficult to live with oneself after a time." He didn't wait for Gregori to reply. He shimmered into mist and streamed from the caverns toward his daughter's home.
    Savannah waited anxiously for them, her thick blue-black hair a long rope down her back, anxiety in her deep blue—almost violet—eyes. She threw her arms around Mikhail's neck and held him tightly. "Papa, we were all so worried."
    "I know, csitri ," he replied. "I'm sorry. I'm fine, just a scratch."
    "You've always called me your little girl, but now that I'm grown"—Savannah reached for Gregori, clung to his hand—"you only do so when things aren't very good. How bad are you hurt, really, Papa?" She looked up at her lifemate. "Gregori?"
    Gregori framed her face with his large hands, thumbs brushing gently over her mouth.
    "You know I would never allow anything to happen to your father. He has a torn ankle and I'm going to take a good look at it." His silver gaze slid over Mikhail.
    "Do not look at me like that," Mikhail snapped, his hand sliding down to his ankle. The pain was nearly impossible to block. "What would you have me do? Stand by and watch a man who risked his life for me die?"
    Gregori waved his hand and a cushioned stool slid in front of Mikhail. "Yes. That is what I would have you do. I would not expect it of you, but yes, I would prefer it. One of these days, you are not going to survive these continual attacks on you. If you cannot think of yourself or your lifemate, perhaps you might think what would happen to your people." His voice was mild as he delivered what was definitely a reprimand.
    Savannah ducked her head, flinching a little, her protest dying under Gregori's slashing gaze. She brushed back her father's hair with gentle fingers. "It was courageous of you, but you could have been killed."

    "And what of the hunter, Manolito De La Cruz, who risked everything to save me? He went willingly into the burrow, knowing what it was, knowing he probably would die. I am to ignore that? I cannot, Gregori. I will not."
    Gregori shrugged his broad shoulders. "I suppose you could not. That is why you are the prince. But in truth, De La Cruz did his duty to his people. He has his honor and he can live with that. It is what we all do, Mikhail, and even you have to live within the rules of our society. We cannot exist without you."
    "There is Savannah."
    "We do not know if she is a living vessel for our people. And she is female. She is needed to provide children. If she ruled, we could not chance it." Gregori bent to examine the wounds in Mikhail's ankle. "This is very similar to the attack on Natalya's ankle just before the big battle. Razvan attacked her from below ground and injected her with poison using the tips of his claws. How are you feeling?"
    "Like he tore a hole through my ankle clear to the bone," Mikhail admitted. When Gregori continued to look at him, he sighed. "The leg is weak and I feel sick."
    Savannah went to wipe the blood away, using a soft wet cloth. "This should help a little with the pain," she explained. "I know you're having a difficult time controlling it and I put a soother in the water."
    Before she could touch her father, Gregori caught her arm and pulled her away from the wound. "I think we will treat this as if it is poison."
    Savannah glared at him. "You're going to go into his body and destroy the poison, aren't you? So big deal if I help my father feel a little better."
    Gregori paused, his black brow shooting up. "It is unlike you to snarl at your lifemate, Savannah. Perhaps you are more upset than you realize that your father has been injured.
    And you wept over that ridiculous dish your mother asked you to make."
    Color stained her cheeks. "I did not cry over it. I told you that." She glared at him. Don't tell my father that. He'll tell my mother and then she'll feel bad. And stop giving me orders.
    I just don't feel like putting up with it today .
    Gregori caught both her arms and pulled her into the shelter of his body. "You are near tears again. What is wrong with you? Is it the baby?" His hand brushed over her hair with exquisite gentleness.
    "Baby? What baby?" Mikhail asked, shifting position so he could look at his daughter's stomach. Savannah was small, like her mother. Now that Gregori had spilled the news, he could see