Dark Celebration Page 0,52

you." There was pain in her voice, and it made him wince.

"You saw me flirt and walk off. I took blood and left them with false memories. The nights were torment, Syndil. Sometimes I thought I was in hell." He reached out his hand to her. "I had a terrible secret and I could never share with anyone. I lusted after you to the point that I could not let you get too close to me. I was always afraid someone would discover the way I felt about you. At the time I would have given anything that it was just lust, easily satisfied. It was so much more-is so much more."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"A Carpathian male should always-always be in control of himself. We wield too much power to be ruled by anything but our brains. I could not control my body or my thoughts when I was close to you." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I know everything about you, Syndil. The way you tilt your head just slightly when you're considering whether or not you are going to participate in a conversation. You tug on your left earlobe when you are worried. You have the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. I know you're so fragile and yet at the same time, you are incredibly strong."

A slow smile chased the worried frown from his face. "I always walk behind you to the stage so later, when I'm alone, I can feel the sway of your hips and the brush of your hair."

"You never told me this."

He rubbed his lower jaw. "It is a little humiliating to admit I have been obsessed with you. And when I knew I couldn't take it anymore, that I had to admit the truth, even if it meant leaving our family, you were attacked by Savon, our trusted brother."

Syndil glanced away from him, back toward the stream. The water ran cold and clean, all traces of the poison gone. Barack followed her gaze and as always, when he saw the result of her work, it left him feeling humble and proud of her.

"Syndil, there is no one in this world who can do as you've done. Do you have any idea how amazing you are?"

She looked out over the blackened ruins of the battle-scarred land. "There is much to be done here. Our enemies left their poison in the ground to work its way beneath the soil where we rest. If they can turn the earth against us, they have won."

Barack's head went up alertly. She sounded so weary. The energy needed to heal large sections of land destroyed by fire or foul vampire magic was enormous, and he had very little idea of the toll it would take on her to heal what the undead had wrought here with the size of such devastation. She looked pale, her eyes almost too large for her face. She pressed her hands to her chest as if her heart ached. "Syndil." He reached out his hand to her. "Come here to me."

He waited. His heart beating, a small part of him praying she would step forward, eager for his touch, for his aid, but as always, there was that tiny, brief moment of hesitation, the

wariness in her eyes, the shadow in her mind she could no longer hide from him. She crossed the distance to him, reaching out. His fingers closed around hers, and he drew her with exquisite gentleness to him. In spite of the fact that Carpathians could regulate body temperature, she was cold, shivering a little. He enfolded her in his arms, shielding her from the snow with his larger frame and using his own body heat and energy to warm her. He drew her scent into his lungs and smelled blood.

"What happened?" His drew her arm down so he could look at it.

She frowned, her body losing some of its stiffness to sink more fully into his. "Sasha and Forest were lying with me on the bed, sweet as usual, and then Sasha began to get agitated. Within minutes, Forest followed suit. They began pacing back and forth, sending out distress calls. I scanned, but the most I could do was feel a hint of power in the air. Not good or evil, simply power."

"That does not explain these scratches, Syndil. They are deep." He bent his head to her bare arm, his lips feathering kisses up and down the lacerations, tongue swirling over the wounds, taking