Carpathian 20 - Dark Slayer

kept his gaze on Ivory, not answering. Just hearing his daughter’s name was hard, and emotions swamped him, but he refused to let it show. He had centuries of practice at learning to keep his face a mask, and he didn’t allow the prince to see how the mere thought of Lara twisted him up inside. Ivory lifted her lashes and looked up at him. His gaze locked with hers and his heart jumped.
    She knew. She had to be in tremendous pain—she had to be fearful of the outcome of his threatening the prince of the Carpathian people—but a small half smile curved her mouth.
    He knew that smile was for him. That secret smile locked them together, fit them like two pieces of a puzzle, private and intensely intimate. Her eyes were soft as she sent warmth into his mind.
    Something deep inside of him twisted into hard knots.
    Something else melted. His heart gave a curious flutter and his throat closed. Ivory. Why had he found her now? She was the most unexpected treasure. No one, least of all him, deserved her, with her tenacious courage and generosity.
    Feminine amusement slid into his mind. Do not deceive yourself. No one but you would call me generous. I am the slayer. That is all .
    She was so much more—she was everything . He kept his eyes locked with hers while she shuddered again as more parasites fell from her pores to the blood-spattered ground. He filled her mind with strength and the scents he had discovered in her lair, the ones he knew soothed her, to sustain her through the rest of the healing.
    The extraction of parasites was a difficult process. The healer had to be especially careful not to miss even one and, as Gregori rejoined his body, he swayed with weariness.
    â€œShe needs blood,― Gregori announced, and sank into the snow beside her.
    â€œSo do you,― Mikhail said, gliding over the snow to the healer’s side. He held out his wrist in a casual, easy gesture that spoke of longtime familiarity with donating blood.
    Razvan hesitated. He had no idea of the extent of Xavier’s hold on him. If it was cellular or molecular, if he gave his blood to Ivory, would Xavier be able to somehow possess her as well?
    He didn’t know and he didn’t want to chance it.

    The healer slashed him with peculiar silver eyes, eyes that reminded him eerily of Xavier. They glittered with menace, a threat, a reprimand, and for the first time in his encounter with these men, he felt shame.
    â€œYou protect me,― Ivory said, “and I am grateful. No one here has an understanding of what you—we—deal with.―
    â€œI offer my blood freely,― Sara reiterated and stepped close to Ivory, holding out her wrist in offering.
    Ivory inclined her head. “I am grateful.―
    The blood was rich, a Carpathian’s blood, hitting her system like a fireball of energy, soaking into her cells and aiding the healer’s careful repair of her shoulder and ribs.
    Gregori studied Razvan’s face. “You fear to give your blood to your lifemate.― It was more of a statement than a question, and this time a hint of respect crept in. Every male Carpathian was driven to provide for their lifemate. “You have not claimed her.―
    Razvan shrugged. “I cannot. I will not.―
    Ivory lifted her head, her tongue sliding over the pinpricks in Sara’s wrist, dark eyes gleaming, going almost amber, much like a wolf ’s eyes. “There is no need to explain to any of these men.―

    â€œIvory,― Mikhail said, his voice gentle, “no one is accusing Razvan of failing you. Quite the contrary. And the man who gave his services to heal you is the man who brought my eldest brother to the justice he so deserved. Gregori spent three months in the ground from the injuries he sustained.―
    Her chin rose. “I spent three hundred years in the ground.― As soon as the words slipped out, the first sign of bitterness, she looked ashamed. “Forgive me, healer. I have long been away from the company of others and have forgotten my manners.―
    â€œThere is no need to apologize,― Gregori said, but he was still studying Razvan’s worn face. “I would like to examine you for signs Xavier might have left behind.―
    There was a stunned silence. Mikhail frowned. Falcon stepped partially in front of Gregori and Razvan actually took a step farther