Carpathian 17 - Dark Celebration

start a new fad with this stuff, Desari. You cook the roast and we'll make the soles of shoes and after they walk for a while, they'll never go hungry."
    "Eeeww! That's just sick, Barack. You've been around Julian way too long."
    "Seriously, honey, it is much better used as a football."
    "Don't you sweetheart and honey me, Julian," Desari protested. "I can't very well have people eating that roast after you've been throwing it around." She glared at the two men, hands on hips.
    "Go out for a pass," Barack directed Julian.
    Julian took off running and Barack launched the roast high into the air. Julian sprang up and caught it, pulling it into his chest. Before he could land on the ground, Desari began to sing and the notes danced silver in the air around Julian, hooking together to form a net. He bounced as if on a trampoline and slid off onto the ground, landing hard in an inelegant sprawl.
    Barack doubled over with laughter, but undeterred, Julian lifted the dried out roast over his head in triumph. "Touchdown!"
    Desari sang a few more notes. The silver and gold notes danced and dipped, hooking around one another to form a noose that slipped over Julian's head. Mikhail's breath caught in his throat. In the darkness, with the snow falling, the musical notes were beautiful, shimmering and glowing with life and energy. All the while Desari's voice pulsed through his body, making his heart and mind glow with warmth, happiness and, most of all, the love she felt for her lifemate.
    Desari suddenly turned her head to smile at Mikhail. She was beautiful, dazzling even, her voice fading into the night, a part of nature itself "I suppose I shouldn't strangle my lifemate in front of the prince, should I?" she asked. There was no embarrassment in her voice, only laughter and welcome.
    Desari is a true Daratrazanoff. She exudes confidence . He shared with Raven the image of the Carpathian woman with her flowing hair, soft features and her musical voice and the dancing silver and gold notes casting a noose around her lifemate's neck.
    And she is beautiful.
    There was no edge to Raven's tone, but Mikhail smiled at her through their telepathic link. Perhaps you should come and join me and leave that gravy to insects — although poisoning any creature is never a good thing .
    You are so funny, my prince.

    Mikhail winced. Raven never referred to him as a prince unless he was skating the edge of trouble. He smiled at Desari. "I have always wanted to strangle Julian."
    "So has my brother, Darius," Desari said, walking over to him, her every movement graceful.
    A slow smile softened Mikhail's mouth. "I can well imagine if Darius is anything like Gregori. Julian used to drive Gregori right up the wall. Even as a boy, Julian had little fear in him. He went his own way and got into more trouble than most of our children could ever conceive of doing."
    Julian swept his arm around Desari's narrow waist. "Do not listen to him. I was not the bad boy of the Carpathians. Just independent—and for good reason. I had a vampire using my eyes to spy on our people. I could not very well stick around."
    "And you have since destroyed this vampire?" Mikhail asked.
    Julian nodded. "I had built him up to be so powerful. As a child, to me, he seemed so, but like most monsters in our lives, once I became an adult, he was not nearly as powerful as I remembered. Looking back, I should have told an adult and perhaps they could have hunted and destroyed him, giving me back my childhood, but I thought he would harm our hunters."
    Mikhail shrugged his shoulders. "It is easy for us to look back and say what we should have done, but that is because later we have different information and, of course, knowledge always changes our decisions."
    Julian flashed a faint smile. "I would have wanted those years back with Aidan. He has been so good about it, but I know it hurt him to be separated."
    Desari reached for his hand in an offer of comfort. "We see him as often as possible now, Julian," she reminded him, and then jerked her hand away to rub her palm on her thigh.
    "You're all greasy."
    "The infamous roast," Julian said, presenting the large, dried up hunk of meat to her with a small courtly bow.
    Mikhail covered his reaction with a small cough, turning his face away as Desari glared at her lifemate.
    "It's all squishy, Julian, you ruined my roast. What am I going to do now? I have to provide something for tonight's dinner."
    "Ask Corrine to help," Barack