Dark Carousel (Dark #30) - Christine Feehan Page 0,106

belly and then he stripped my clothes off without touching them. One minute I had clothes and then I was naked in front of him, the one they called Vadim. He was obviously the leader. His brother Sergey was there and the one called Fridrick.”

Amelia whispered the words into Charlotte’s ear, clinging tightly. “It wasn’t like what they did to Liv, because they only bit into my neck and my . . .” She pulled back and touched her left breast. The tears on her lashes made them spiky and wet. Heartbreaking. “Here.” She laid her palm over her breast, shuddering. “And then he took his hand and pressed very hard into my belly and put his fingers in me. He said I wasn’t ripe yet, but would be soon.” She closed her eyes and laid her head on Charlotte’s shoulder. “They were horrible. Grinning. They said someone named Addler could have me.”

A little shudder went through Amelia’s slim body and then she was crying again. Silently. Heart-wrenching sobs that broke Charlotte’s heart. She held the girl as close as possible, whispering to her, reaching for Tariq in her mind. She wanted to be able to soothe Amelia by herself, and she knew Tariq was with Danny trying to help him understand what they all knew had to be done with the children. Conversion. Charlotte didn’t want to think too much about that last step. Danny had waylaid him before he could reach the gate and insisted on talking.

Addler is Fridrick’s brother. There are three of them. Fridrick is the oldest, then Georg and last Addler. He got kicked around a lot. They often travel together. All three chose to give up their souls and follow Vadim Malinov. They were there that night, tearing through the village, killing as many innocents as possible just because I’d befriended them and refused to join the Malinovs in their betrayal.

She heard the guilt in his voice. She couldn’t imagine what it was like watching so many innocent people fall at the hands of monstrous vampires simply because you chose that village to live and work in.

“Is something wrong with Amelia?” Liv came up behind them, her voice trembling when she saw her older sister in Charlotte’s arms.

Amelia started to pull away, hastily trying to cover up the fact that she was crying, but Charlotte didn’t let her. “She’s telling me about what happened to her in the tunnels. It’s hard to do that, to let yourself remember and trust someone else enough to tell them, but it’s also very brave. She’ll be all right. We all will. We’ll get through this together.”

While she was talking, Liv put her hand on Charlotte’s leg. Casually. Lightly. Still, Charlotte knew she was checking for the truth. Reading her. She continued to hold Amelia and stroked soothing caresses down her hair, down her back, whispering gently to her how proud she was and that they could get through this. They could help the others together. And she meant every single word.

Liv looked up at her for the first time with a fierce, possessive look, and she wrapped her arms around Charlotte’s waist, holding on to her sister and locking her against Charlotte. “You’ll do it then. You’ll be our mother.”

“I want to be,” Charlotte agreed softly. “I think we all belong together, don’t you?”

Liv nodded. “And Emeline. She belongs with us. She’s broken, too.”

Charlotte dropped her hand on top of Liv’s head. “We might all be a bit broken, honey, but together we’re very strong and we’ll grow stronger as we get to know one another. We can help one another get through this. And we will get through it.”

“You believe that,” Liv said. “Amelia, she really believes that.”

Amelia managed to stop the tears, and she just rested her forehead against Charlotte’s shoulder for a moment before straightening and directing a smile at her younger sister. “I know she does. And I’m beginning to believe it myself.”

“What are these?” Liv asked, turning back toward the rock dragons. “They look like fun. They’re all very different, aren’t they? Where did they come from?” She fired off the questions rapidly.

Charlotte laughed softly, still holding Amelia. They weren’t through talking but they had a good start. “Which one appeals to you?” She wondered if each individual dragon made by the three Carpathian hunters had been created with one of these children in mind. That would be . . . incredible. That would mean that in the middle of putting together