Carpathian 20 - Dark Slayer

stray tendrils of hair, which had pulled loose from her braid, behind her ear. “I should have been more careful in my wording of things. I grew up with a mage. I know that words carry power, yet I continued to make mistakes that cost those I loved dearly.―
    â€œYou were fourteen years old the first time he took you, and you gave up your life so your sister would be safe. You were a child, Razvan,― she said.
    His smile was gentle. “You are so fierce in your defense of me, hän ku kuulua sÃvamet —keeper of my heart, yet you should be called hän ku meke pirämet —defender.―
    â€œI am the keeper of your heart,― she said, “and I will defend you to the death, Razvan. You are an extraordinary man and I am proud to be your lifemate.― She ducked her head, embarrassed as always when she showed too much emotion.
    â€œWe should go back to our home so we can study the soil and see if we truly have your answers.―
    He caught her chin and took a kiss. Just one. But he savored her, the taste and texture of her, savored the scent and feel of her.
    When
    he
    lifted
    his
    head
    he
    smiled.
    â€œ Päläfertiil —mate.―
    Just the way he said that single word made her weak inside.
    Soft. Tender. Sexy. She smiled back at him. “That I am.―
    17
    â€œThe life-form had to have first been in the meteorite,―
    Ivory said and slumped down, her arms cushioning her head.
    â€œI should have known. It is iron rich.―
    â€œHow did it survive coming to Earth?― Razvan asked, rubbing her shoulders.
    â€œI have no idea, and frankly, I do not even care at this point.
    The soil is teeming with them and, so far, every time you have brought me contaminated soil, they rush to surround the mutated microbes and destroy them while leaving everything else intact.― She turned her head to one side to look up at him. “Do you know where the microbes are produced?―
    â€œXavier’s largest factory was destroyed and he moved to his fortress deep under the mountains. I can find it. But the microbes are not in the soil there. He leaks them down a glacier to feed the water systems and spread to the soil. The last time I hunted for us near the village just below the glacier, I overheard the local midwife speaking of the high rate of miscarriages. I fear the contamination has spilled over into humans. If the microbes infected their gardens, they could begin to suffer the fate of our species.― He massaged her neck with gentle fingers. “You need to rest, Ivory.―
    She had been working steadily for three weeks straight, never leaving the lair, not even for food. Razvan had hunted for the pack and for Ivory. He had taken the wolves running nightly and had gathered soil samples from dozens of places, bringing each back to her, but Ivory refused to go with him, preferring to stay and conduct her experiments. She looked pale and worn, with dark circles under her eyes.
    â€œI have a bad feeling, Razvan,― Ivory said. But she gave a small sigh of pleasure as his fingers worked their magic, easing the knots out of her neck. “It has been growing in me for some time now and I feel the need to get this done fast.―
    He was silent and she looked up at him to catch the expression on his face. Ivory sat up quickly and turned to face him.
    â€œYou have felt it, too.―
    He nodded. “Growing stronger all the time and the pack has been strangely restless.―

    â€œSomething is wrong.―
    He didn’t want to agree with her, not when she was so worn, but his every instinct told her she was right. “We have to go to the prince with what we have,― he said.
    She bit her lip. “I think I am right, Razvan, but I am always so meticulous. I would repeat the experiments a thousand more times and document more evidence. I am still working on the spell to change the existing mutations for when we find his factory.―
    She pushed her hand through her hair in agitation. “There is still so much work. You cannot just rush this kind of thing. If we make a mistake, we could do as much harm as Xavier, no matter what our intent.―
    They stayed up into the morning hours when her skin hurt and blistered, despite being so far beneath the ground—an aftermath, he knew, of spending more than a century beneath the earth to heal her