Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

taint all around her. She was able to go on a soul journey to find it dwelling within Raven. She used herself as bait to bring the entity to the surface, and allow Natalya to destroy it.\"
    Lara slipped her arms tighter around Nicolas\'s neck and buried her face against his throat. Nicolas nuzzled the top of her head with his chin and then looked at Gregori, dark anger rolling like thunder in his eyes. \"Too bad you have condemned my life mate to banishment as a spy from the camp of the enemy.\"
    He stepped around Savannah only to find his way blocked by Gregori\'s solid body. \"You will not condemn my children to death because you are angry with me.\" His body crackled with electricity, tiny sparks snapping around him.
    \"Get the hell out of my way,\" Nicolas snapped, not in the least intimidated.
    When Gregori didn\'t move, Nicolas placed Lara carefully on the ground well clear of a possible fight zone and stepped up, chest to chest, staring straight into Gregori\'s eyes, two dangerous predators not yielding an inch. \"Do you really want to do this with me?\" The anger faded from his eyes so they went flat and cold and a killer stood where a man had been.
    \"If I have to,\" Gregori replied.
    A collective gasp went through the cavern. Mikhail sighed and waved his hand toward the two men. The energy field around Gregori snapped off with a small, brightly lit surge before going dark and both men found themselves on the floor, sitting side by side on the edge of the rich soil.
    \"Enough. You can both leave if you refuse to do other than posture.\" Ignoring both men, Mikhail crouched down beside Lara, looking into her eyes. \"This is more than needing blood. Francesca? Come take a look at her.\"
    \"Get away from her,\" Nicolas growled, his first thought to get to his life mate, but the women surrounded them, pushing in close to the two men, trapping them inside a circle of protection.
    Savannah caught at Lara\'s hand, tears streaming down her face. \"I\'m sorry. Please, I\'ll do anything.
    Anything at all. Don\'t let my babies die.\"
    Page 159

    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    Lara\'s body jerked. She\'d heard those words before. A man\'s voice calling out in a desperate plea. Xavier turning to look back at Razvan, his silvery eyes glittering with such contempt and triumph . She gasped, her shocked gaze hunting for Nicolas, her only anchor when the truth clawed at her, tore her open.
    Nicolas. He did it for me. He allowed Xavier to take him over so I would be allowed life.
    Razvan had inadvertently opened his soul to Xavier when he had sought to save the life of his child. He\'d exposed his soul and Xavier had snatched it, able to control his grandson\'s movements, taking over without having to drain his energy by possessing the body. For her. To save her. Razvan had paid the ultimate price-not death, but soul destruction.
    \"Nicolas!\" She called for him, covering her face with her hands. She was slipping backward into her mind.
    \"I am here, fél ku kuuluaak sivam belso , and I am not going anywhere.\"
    \"She came back too fast,\" Francesca said. She pushed past Mikhail to kneel beside Lara, slipping her arms around her. \"She\'s freezing. Gregori, I need help.\"
    \"She\'s back in the ice cave,\" Nicolas said. He was already there, gathering Lara into his arms and holding her close, his mind merging with hers to hold her steady. He crooned softly to her, rocking her back and forth.
    \"She should never have gone there without me.\"
    \"What has she done?\" Gregori demanded, crouching beside Francesca to examine Lara. His hands skimmed over her.
    \"She used herself as bait. The entity destroyed babies so she regressed and became a child so it would follow her,\" Natalya explained.
    Nicolas swore under his breath. \"She shouldn\'t have gone back without me,\" he repeated.
    \"She fears me,\" Gregori said abruptly. \"You have to get her to come back with me to retrieve what has been lost.\"
    Nicolas searched Gregori\'s face for a long moment, then he nodded.
    Gregori crouched quite close to Lara and looked into her eyes. He nodded at whatever he found there and murmured instructions to Francesca, who once again took up her position at her drum.
    \"She needs to feel safe and loved, Nicolas,\" Gregori said. \"Bring her into the center of the circle and hold her so she feels your presence. Stay connected to her mind. A part of her is so stressed from the painful revelations of her past she\'s unable to deal with more of her