Dark Curse Page 0,80

Nicolas. "That's why he helped bury my memories of him, isn't it? And the aunts agreed to it because they didn't want me to know I was abandoning a father who had tried to protect me. I would never have gone had I known he was a prisoner, being tortured and abused."

She rubbed her wrist. Nicolas had managed to reduce the scarring, but some of the ridges were still there. She brushed her thumb back and forth in a soothing gesture, without realizing she was doing it until she noticed Nicolas's gaze drop to her wrist. Embarrassed, she put her arm behind her back.

"Does it hurt?"

The gentleness in his voice constricted her throat. She shook her head. "I think it's a habit." But it had hurt for years, burning at times, painful for no reason.

"You didn't abandon him, Lara. You were a child, eight years old. Consider it from his point of view. If he was innocent and trying to protect you, the relief he would feel, the freedom from allowing Xavier to use him against you, would have been tremendous for him. Had you stayed, his suffering would have been far more."

"You don't know that."

A small smile softened the edge of his mouth. "He is Dragonseeker. His every instinct is to protect his family, especially his women and children. If Xavier really possessed his body, using him to impregnate women, if he really murdered your mother in front of him as it appeared he did, and if he controlled Razvan, forcing him to take your blood, then Razvan has suffered the torment of the damned for centuries. That would be the worst a Carpathian male could suffer. Your father would have rejoiced to have you out of there and out of Xavier's control."

She pressed her lips together. His hunger was beating at her, yet he stood there patiently trying to reassure her that leaving her father to be tortured and maybe murdered had been a good thing. "Let's go, Nicolas. I'd like to meet my aunt."

"Do you want to try shifting? An owl, perhaps?"

Her jeweled eyes gleamed at him. He had said she was capable of shifting with his help and she wanted it to be true. She was certainly willing to try. "A dragon."

He nodded. "Of course, what else would you choose?" He grinned at her, a teasing invitation to fun. She'd never seen him smile like that, and it made him look younger. "You are already familiar with the dragon's body. The most important thing with shifting-" He held out his hand to her and began to walk with her through the cavern into the labyrinth of tunnels. Candles sprang to life on the walls ahead of them

as they hurried along. "-is to remember to keep the image in your head at all times. It has to become automatic so that you do it without really thinking about it and that takes practice. I want you to keep your mind merged fully with mine. Once you shift, excitement and joy-I cannot even begin to describe the feeling for you-sets in and it is easy to lose what you are doing. So keep your mind firmly in mine so I can help you if you need it."

She smiled up at him. "Don't worry, I don't exactly want to fall out of the sky."

He laughed softly, shocking himself. He wasn't a man who laughed often-if ever. He was slowly discovering that with her companionship, Lara also brought a joy in the sharing of everyday things. He tightened his fingers around hers, keeping her close to his side as they moved swiftly through the tunnel. "I did not notice that you scanned the area periodically for vampires. It is very necessary for survival to make that a habit."

"Isn't that a rather faulty system now?"

His eyebrow shot up. "You have been absorbing the information in my mind." He was pleased with her. With everything going on, it hadn't occurred to him that while merged with him she would be seeking as much information as possible to help with her own survival.

"Of course. You seem to have a lot of experience hunting vampires."

His boyhood story intrigued her and Lara had tried to delve a little deeper, at first to see if Nicolas always embraced the fight with the undead. Did he get a rush when he fought? When he killed? She had found the answer and it worried her, but it also fascinated her that he felt no fear-none-when he fought. She