Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

of her past. She had felt him there at that first burst of pain, before either realized what was happening.
    \"You cannot possibly think you are in any way responsible for anything Xavier has done. He wanted immortality and he was angry and bitter that he did not have it and the Carpathians did. He wanted every power our species had as well as his own. When Rhiannon\'s life mate was murdered and she disappeared, we knew he had been plotting against us for years. Of course we had no way of knowing the extent of the damage or what he had done. He is a master mage, and undeniably powerful. The seeds of hatred and his descent into madness began centuries before you were ever born.\"
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    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    \"His blood is in my veins.\" She gestured toward the house. \"In her veins. He set out to destroy an entire species in the foulest way he could think of.\" She looked at him then, her eyes sad, shamed. \"You know that\'s what we saw. More experiments. He\'s done something, has been doing it all along, to make the women miscarry, to make the children die.\" She tilted her head in challenge. \"You don\'t know him the way I do.
    You can\'t kill him. You can\'t stop him. He is the most despicable creature on the face of the earth, the most evil.\"
    Nicolas understood what she meant. Xavier had murdered his own son. Had kidnapped, raped and forced Rhiannon to bear him children and then, after using her blood for years, had murdered her. He had imprisoned his grandson and experimented on him, tortured him and used his children for a blood supply. He had murdered his grandson\'s mage wife. There was nothing he could find redeeming about Xavier. He\'d never liked him in the old days when the mages and Carpathians had a strong alliance.
    \"It isn\'t all mages, you know,\" she said softly. \"My mother was mage.\"
    \"Fél ku kuuluaak swam belso,\" he whispered.
    Beloved. Was she beloved? Could someone as strong as Nicolas possibly really understand, accept and love someone as damaged as she?
    His mouth curved even as he kissed her again. We both know I am not without my faults, as much as I would like to pretend otherwise. You need to eat this night. We will go to the inn .
    She nodded. \"I want to check on my friends anyway. Let\'s go.\"
    Nicolas glanced back at the house. Lara needs a little time. I will take her to the inn to get some food. We can meet after the warriors\' council and check out the cave before we bring the women .
    A feminine voice gave a small huff of disdain. The women ?
    Lara\'s voice echoed her aunt\'s. There you go with your women theme. I suspect you have hidden issues, Nicolas .
    You have no idea. She was feeling benevolent toward him now, but after the warriors\' council, she wouldn\'t be too happy.

Chapter 12
    The inn was bustling with activity when Nicolas and Lara arrived. It was always necessary within the village to keep up the pretense of being entirely human. Many Carpathians often went to the dining room and appeared to be eating dinner. It wasn\'t difficult for Nicolas to shift into immaculate clothes, giving Lara a long, swingy dress that swished around her ankles.
    Lara patted her hair, surprised that it was down in a long freefall of red-gold silk. She glanced up at the tall handsome man who made her feel beautiful. His male beauty struck her, a mixture of danger, animal and pure sensual male. She swallowed the sudden need rising and managed a quick smile. \"Did you remember makeup, too?\"
    He tangled his fingers with hers and brought his hand in a possessive gesture to his chest as they entered the lobby area where even the villagers often gathered for drinks. \"Of course.\"
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    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    As close to him as she was, she instantly felt the difference in him. The moment they stepped inside where there were others, he went from her gentleman to fiercely, primitive male. It happened in a heartbeat. He even smelled different, a combination of musk, spice and wild outdoors. The cut of his mouth was sensual, yet held a cruel, warning edge. His heavy-lidded eyes brooded, drifting over the competition as if marking each man.
    The hand at the small of her back was distinctly possessive. He even moved that scant fraction of space closer to her, so that he seemed to be everywhere, dominating her space.
    Or maybe the difference was in her. She was intensely aware of the darkly handsome man prowling at her side, all raw sexuality and power. Women turned