Carpathian 20 - Dark Slayer

answer. He sent the prince a smoldering glare. “You and Raven must be protected at all times.―
    Mikhail flashed Razvan a small grin. “Do you see what it is like to live with him? Nag, nag, nag. And he is my daughter’s lifemate as well.―

    â€œIn this instance, I have to agree with him,― Razvan said.
    â€œIf Xavier had an entrance through me to strike at you, he would be unable to resist. The thought of torturing me mentally amuses him. He is particularly fond of using me to harm my sister. If he could use me to harm the prince of the Carpathian people, and make certain I knew it, he would be elated.―
    Ivory felt the wrenching pain in Razvan, although his voice was steady and his expression gave nothing away. Sorrow weighed heavily on him. With his emotions so new and raw, difficult to control, his love for Natalya, his determination to keep her safe at all costs, had infuriated Xavier, and now Razvan could remember and feel every betrayal as if it were the cut of a knife.
    â€œIf we can find his portal, Dragonseeker,― Gregori said, “we might be able to close it.― Once more he looked to Ivory. “Let’s get it done.―
    Ivory stroked her fingertips over his jaw, her touch lingering on his skin for just a moment. Abruptly, she shed her body and followed Gregori, pure light and energy, seeking darkness that had to be hiding somewhere inside her lifemate. While she didn’t want to admire anything about Gregori, she couldn’t help herself. He sorted through memories fast, processing each horrible event quickly and discarding it, looking for that moment Razvan had traded his body for his sister’s life.
    They reached that memory, so long ago, centuries, a young boy offering himself to a madman, to a killer, to keep his sister from harm. Ivory had to fight to stay in the form of energy. It was so difficult exploring those old memories, that boy beaten down but valiant, trying to shield those he loved, seeing too much evil every day. She examined everything from all angles of that memory, looking for something that had allowed Xavier to take possession.
    Not here . Gregori moved forward in time quickly, sorting through data fast, looking for something that Xavier had done, some trigger word, something that might indicate he had possessed Razvan’s body at will.
    Wait! Ivory had been paying more attention to Razvan’s memories of himself. The way he looked at what was happening around him. He was Dragonseeker, turned fully by his aunts in their effort to give him the necessary strength to escape. He had the mind of a true Dragonseeker. He had resolved to travel the world in spirit, rather than allow Xavier to continue to “use― him. He wasn’t aware, but the use of his body at that time was an illusion Xavier created to make Razvan believe the mage was all-powerful.

    Realizing he had little hope of escape, kept starving and weak, Razvan used his waning strength to shed his body, leaving it vulnerable to Xavier’s attack. Ivory saw the exact instant Xavier entered into that shell and left pieces of himself behind.
    Now they knew the time and the how, but they still had to find the small pieces of Xavier and find a way to extract them.
    Ivory began to chant softly in the Carpathian language, sending the words vibrating through both Razvan and Gregori.
    I call to me all that is good to aid me in my desperate plight .
    Sky send to me the purest light .
    I plead for the song that I may sing to reveal that which is evil buried within .
    Light of sky, burning bright, find that which is dark and make it light .
    Evil one, I call forth the blight you left behind .
    Light burst through Ivory and she directed it into Razvan’s body, allowing it to seek out the darkness left behind. The light swam into his bloodstream, rushed through his mind and heart, and sought to go deeper into the very essence of his soul until Razvan’s being was entirely illuminated. In his mind there was a dark scar, a very small ridge that Ivory recognized. There was one in his heart, one pumping through his bloodstream and the last in his soul. Four . Heart, mind, body and soul. No wonder Xavier managed to possess Razvan’s body at will.
    Even with that, Razvan had fought back for centuries.
    Razvan appeared splintered, as if he’d been broken apart and put back together wrong. Ivory’s