Gently he stopped her feeding, catching her chin in his hand and lifting her face so he could take her mouth, kissing her, removing all signs of blood from her lips and teeth. She came out of the dreamlike state he’d put her in, kissing him back a little tentatively. He didn’t push it further, although every cell in his body screamed at him to do so.

“I have to leave you,” he murmured, his mouth against her throat.

“I know. I don’t want you to go, but I know you have to. Dragomir, thank you for fighting for me. You are the most incredible man.”

“Thank you for just existing, Emeline. I am not dead. If you have need of me, reach for me in your mind. Our exchange ties us together. I will hear you and answer if at all possible. Don’t try to leave, and don’t be beguiled by anyone calling to you. Not the children and not your friends. Someone cracked open the doors to allow Vadim in. It wasn’t just Liv, although she played a huge part in the conspiracy. We don’t know who we can trust.”

She nodded, clinging to him. “Be safe, Dragomir.”

“I will be close,” he promised. It was difficult to leave her. Her eyes swam with tears, which made his heart hurt, but he had no choice. The sun was climbing and his skin was burning. He brushed one more kiss along her cheek and was gone.

6

Emeline stared out the window, counting the minutes until the sun set. It had been the longest day of her life. The worst. She had tried to sleep, but she couldn’t keep her mind still. Over and over her brain insisted on tricking her, telling her that Dragomir was dead. He lay in the earth, the soil over him, covering his terrible wounds, wounds he hadn’t fully taken care of because of her. He’d spent so much time trying to save her, in the end he’d sacrificed his life.

She didn’t understand what was happening to her. She’d never paid serious attention to any man. Now she couldn’t think about anything or anyone else. She’d spent a good deal of time pacing. Then she showered and washed her hair. She was weak enough that she had to sit twice, but she was determined that when next she saw him, her hair wouldn’t be a tangled, horrible mess. It was a little shocking to run a comb through her hair after washing it and have not one tangle snag the wide teeth. Dragomir. He had done that for her.

Three times during the day, she had found herself with tears streaming down her face. She needed to touch him. To see him. She was desperate for any kind of contact with him.

Outside, the play yard was silent. The dragons were back on guard, five of them, made of stone, standing vigil, but the children were nowhere in sight. A breeze kicked up leaves and swirled them in the air.

Genevieve had knocked, and then called her on her cell when Emeline hadn’t opened the door. She was shocked that Emeline was pregnant and wanted to know how to help. Emeline didn’t know how she could. Genevieve couldn’t bring Dragomir to her. She followed his orders and didn’t allow anyone in.

She spent part of the day trying to find food or drink that her stomach could handle, but she’d been sick from the time Vadim had taken her prisoner, and that only seemed worse now. She could barely manage to sip water and keep that down. Mostly, if she did more than wet her parched mouth, she vomited.

She rocked back and forth, trying to soothe herself. The baby had been very quiet, with very little movement, as if she were sleeping right along with Dragomir. She rubbed her stomach, happy that her daughter was finally comfortable enough to sleep. She knew eventually the parasites would attack her, but Vadim hadn’t issued that order, so they left the baby alone. That was Dragomir, too. He’d done that.

She tried to rest, but she couldn’t lay down or relax. She closed her eyes and reached for him, giving in to need and the sorrow building in her. She had always lived her life on her own terms, and it was difficult to need another – but she did, desperately.

Dragomir. I don’t want to disturb your sleep, but I can’t seem to function without knowing you’re alive and well. I know it sounds stupid when it’s only another hour until sunset, but I can’t relax. She waited, her heart in her throat. Her body was still, her lungs refusing to draw in air until they burned.

I am here, close. Right beneath you. There is a chamber beneath the house. Tariq must have put them in for safety reasons. This one is quite large and runs nearly the entire length of your home.

She closed her eyes, drawing in air as relief flooded her. He was alive. Close. Right beneath her. She sank down onto the floor, and ran her hand over the hardwood. She loved the gorgeous pattern, a huge moon in the center, with stars scattered around the room, formed by beautifully cut wood. She would change the furniture if she lived there permanently. She’d begun to think of the house as hers. It was the first real home she’d had in her life. Blaze’s father had sent her to France when there was trouble, but she returned when she found out he’d been murdered. In France, she’d had a tiny apartment, but no one was there, not even Blaze, so she had been very lonely.

Has the soil helped?

Yes. The healer is extremely powerful. I doubt I could have aided you and the baby without him.

You could have died, Dragomir. Just acknowledging that truth made her heart skip a beat and then begin to pound. He saved your life. You should have gone to ground immediately, and you know it. Your wounds were horrendous.

Then I am more than grateful to him. Every minute I am alive is a minute I can spend in your company. Are you ready to acknowledge that I am your lifemate?

There was faint humor in his voice. She wasn’t feeling the least bit amused. “No. I think you’re the best man I’ve ever met in my life, and that’s saying something because I loved Blaze’s father and thought he was until I met you. I think you’re trying to save me from myself and from everyone else.”

Kislány kuŋenak minan, you are going to continue to deny the truth, but it doesn’t matter. I am your lifemate and I will watch over you no matter what. Did you rest?

For a moment, she considered hedging, but she didn’t want to lie to him. She’d done enough of that by not telling him she was pregnant from the moment she first saw him. No, it was a difficult day. If you had known I was pregnant with Vadim’s child, would you still have rescued me? She chewed on her lower lip, wishing she hadn’t asked, terrified of the answer. She was fairly certain she would hear the truth. She was beginning to hear nuances in voices.

I am your lifemate, Emeline. I will always come for you, no matter the circumstances. If you believe nothing else, believe that. When she didn’t respond, he said, My friend Aleksei is lifemate to a woman who was begging another man to take her away with him. Now Aleksei and his lifemate are together and happy.

Emeline frowned. Aleksei’s lifemate was in love with another man? That seems… wrong. What were the circumstances? She was genuinely interested, but even more, she wanted to keep him talking.

I do not know much, only that the woman had not been born Carpathian as we all had believed and that the healer who aided me was the other man. He was human also at one time. He was subdued by the prince of the Carpathian people and Gregori, the prince’s second-in-command. It took them both to keep him restrained.

How sad for everyone.

There was silence for a moment. I understand that you would have sympathy for this man, but I would not want you to develop feelings for him.

She frowned, tracing a pattern onto the hardwood floor with her finger. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. He makes me uneasy.

What is it about him that makes you uncomfortable?

She realized she was writing Dragomir’s name on the floor over and over. He looks at me as if he knows every secret I have or will ever have. I think he knows about the loaves of bread I stole from my aunt’s store when I was eight.

You stole bread?

I was starving. I tried to clean houses, but my aunt was kind of a jerk and she didn’t really want me in her house. She said I could sweep the floor in the store and clean all the glass cases. Unfortunately, she didn’t come to pay me or give me food, so I took two loaves of bread. Nothing has ever tasted so good.

There was a long silence again, so long Emeline could hear her heart beginning to beat too fast. He had to keep talking to her. She needed the sound of his voice to ground her. She traced the letters of his name on the floor three times before he spoke.