Carpathian 20 - Dark Slayer

wish for peace, Razvan? Should I have allowed you to slip into the next life?― The lump threatened to choke her. At times he looked so worn, his eyes old, his mind filled with too many memories—none of them good.

    â€œI would not have wanted to miss being with you for the world. Perhaps I spent those long years with Xavier for just this purpose, Ivory. How do we know what we are meant to do? I had years to learn his ways and now each test matters. I do not forget. Ever. Anything you need is stored in my head. And I will quickly absorb all of your battle experience. We will make such a pair as the world has never seen.―
    He leaned forward and kissed her again, a slow, heart-stopping kiss that robbed her of strength so that she clung to him, shaken by the intensity of her emotions. When he lifted his head, his eyes were warm with love. She saw it, stark and unafraid, a raw emotion he didn’t bother to hide from her and it made her ashamed of her own fear.
    â€œWe will make a pair such as the world has never seen,―
    she agreed.
    12
    Razvan and Ivory burst through the soil together, coming up out of the earth’s arms after weeks of healing underground.
    The sensation of breathing air again was strange after so long sharing the soil and its healing properties. The moon was a full silver ball in the clear sky, glowing softly and casting light over the snow-covered terrain. Ivory, cautious as always, scanned their surroundings for any hint of danger.

    Razvan followed her lead, reveling in his growing Carpathian knowledge. He stretched as he made a full circle, using all of his senses to gather information. He realized he saw and felt differently. He even processed differently. Before, as a Carpathian at full strength, he had been astonished at the flood of information coming to him, but now it was even more intense. It was if the earth spoke to him, whispered her secrets, and ferreted out the smallest detail to share with him. He had changed somehow, beneath the ground. The soil shared something unnamed with him, allowing the trees and plants, the soil itself to pour a wealth of knowledge into him.
    He turned his head to look at his lifemate. She was wearing her familiar fighting garb, the double-breasted vest and pants that molded to her long legs. Her hair was in the thick long braid that signaled business. He loved watching her move, all flowing muscle and soft curves.
    â€œWhat?― She smiled at him with genuine warmth. There was happiness in her eyes, and with a glow of satisfaction, he knew that he had brought it into her life.
    â€œYou are beautiful.― He bent his head and took a tentative lick along his newly healed arm where the white lines clearly matched hers. “I bet if I were to taste you at this precise moment, you would taste of salt and sin.― There was a high concentration of minerals in his skin, and he could discern the complex mineral recipe that had been used to heal both of them. He had been revitalized, with trace minerals flowing through his blood, and all of the elements pressed into his body to allow it to reemerge whole again.
    â€œI want to see your wounds.―

Her gaze flicked to his face. “I do not understand.―
    â€œI know the vampire injured you, Ivory, and you took care of me rather than heal your wounds. I need to see what is left of the damage.―
    â€œReally, scratches. Nothing.―
    His eyebrow raised. “I recall his shoving an arrow into your breast right over your heart.― As he spoke a ripple of pain crossed his face. “When you pulled your hand from his chest it was nearly severed.― Razvan swallowed hard, his dark brows coming together in a frown. “He withdrew the arrow from your body, twisting it to do the most damage, and plunged it two inches lower, driving it deep. He was enormously strong and he punched your breast, right over your heart, with tremendous force. I heard your sternum crack.―
    Had he? She didn’t even remember. She remembered Razvan had come to her aid in spite of his condition, sending a fiery blast at Sergey’s back, shoving him onto her fist so she could get to the blackened heart. When Sergey had attacked by bringing down the house and forming spears that flew at her from everywhere, Razvan had used his strength to form a barrier around her, taking the brunt of the wooden spears in his own