"You take great pains to keep them all thinking you're a kid," Skyler pointed out with a small smile. "You like them to underestimate you. You're a genius, Josef, and you don't let any of them see the real you. You deliberately provoke them."
His grin widened until he looked positively mischievous. He blew on his fingertips. "That is very true. I don't deny it." His smile faded. "But this is very different than the pranks I pull on them. This is big, Skyler. I just want you to understand what's at stake."
"Of course I know what's at stake."
"Your family is one of the most powerful families of our people." He frowned. "Which reminds me, why don't you ever refer to Gregori as your uncle? He's a brother to Lucian and Gabriel, so technically, he is your uncle."
"I guess I never thought about it. I don't know him. We're in London, and he's here in the Carpathian Mountains and he's never shown a tremendous amount of interest in me."
"He's a Daratrazanoff, believe me, Sky, he's interested in you. If you disappear, your family is going to come looking and they'll be on the warpath. All of your family, especially Gabriel."
"Are you afraid of my father?" Skyler asked.
"I've got news for you, honey, everyone is afraid of your father, and if they aren't they should be, especially when it comes to you. Haven't you noticed how protective he is of you? Your uncle Lucian is just as bad if not worse, and if anyone messes with one of those men or anyone they love, they answer to both of them."
Skyler bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Josef, for putting you in this position. I can't turn back. I have to find Dimitri. I know I can do this. This plan is flawless. And we both knew—and counted on Gabriel and Lucian coming after me. I can go from here by myself, I really can."
Josef burst out laughing. "Now you really have lost your mind. If I let you do this alone, they'd really kill me. No, we're here and we have to see it through. I think you're the only one who could pull this off. But, Skyler, if you get into trouble, this really will start a war. Lucian and Gabriel are not going to back off if someone hurts you, or if you're captured. They won't care what the prince says. They'll go after you and no one will stand in their way. You'd better go into this knowing that. You have to know the consequences and be willing to face them."
Skyler pressed her lips together. She'd thought about little else since she and Josef had come up with the plan. "Dimitri is a good man. He could have claimed me, taken me away from my home and the only stability I'd ever known. I wouldn't have been able to resist him, the pull of lifemates is just too strong. But he didn't, Josef, no matter the terrible cost to him. He didn't insist on claiming me or binding us together. He wasn't afraid of Gabriel. He was never afraid of Gabriel."
Josef waved his hand at the coffin and the lid creaked closed. "I know," he admitted softly.
"He knew I wasn't ready, that I needed time to find myself and overcome . . . everything in my past." Skyler ducked her head, so that her wealth of silky hair covered her expression.
"Don't, Sky," Josef said. "We're best friends. What happened to you wasn't your fault, and you should never feel ashamed."
"I'm not ashamed, well, not like you think. I believe Dimitri is a great man and he deserves a lifemate who can match him in everything. I'm not that woman yet. I want to be with him, I feel that need nearly as strongly as he does. It grows in me every single day."
"Do you think he would hold your past against you?" Josef asked.