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knew. She was in his mind and he meant every word. He made her feel special. It was an odd feeling after being thrown away by the Carpathian people, after the betrayal of her brothers when they made the decision to join the ranks of the undead and ally themselves with Xavier for power. It was odd to feel the intensity of Razvan's emotions for her: his pride, the honor he felt, the absolute unwavering devotion to her. He was a selfless man, uncaring what others thought of him, but fiercely proud of her.
Her heart did a jittery slide that seemed to go on forever, a slow turnover, and she knew she was lost. "I am more afraid of what is between us than I was facing the master vampire."
A master vampire who had once, long ago, been her very loved brother. Razvan curled his fingers around the nape of her neck and held her close to him, offering comfort when she didn't ask for it. She would never ask for it.
"I buried them long ago," she whispered, laying her head against his chest and letting the strength in his arms hold her up. Here, in this dream garden, with no one around, she could show weakness, just for a moment, because she knew Razvan accepted her exactly for who she was. "I carry their souls in mine, in the hope that when I go to the next life, what I have done will count for them, and they will be given a second chance. Whether they take it or not is up to them. I had completely reconciled myself to their loss but . . ." She trailed off.
There were no words to express the overwhelming grief and wrenching sense of betrayal when her brother had used the illusion of his earlier self in an attempt to kill her. She knew he would have destroyed her as easily as he would the farmer and his family, Travis and Razvan. She had been completely unprepared for that terrible pain, the heartache she felt at seeing him again.
"I think it would be normal to feel that way. I was prepared for my sister to despise me, and I certainly feel I am prepared for my biological daughters to detest me, but that does not mean it won't hurt." He held her close, surrounding her with warmth. "You have a loving heart, Ivory. You guard it well, but those you let into your life are there permanently, regardless of what happens. I've heard the love in your voice and felt it in your mind each evening Nicolas comes to give us blood. It's the love of a sister and yet it has been centuries since you have seen him, and he has done many troubling things in his life."
"But he is such a wonderful man. He is so in love with Lara, your daughter," Ivory pointed out. "I could love him for that alone. He has not yet completely brought her into this world, although both of them suffer for it. They give so much to the Carpathian people, trying to save the babies."
"She has become sensitive to the light," Razvan agreed. "And she cannot go to ground, but she can live many years without too many problems."
"He worries she will get pregnant in her half-state. Did you catch in his mind exactly what she can do that no other can?"
"She is part mage, and they need a mage to hunt the microbes invading the women's bodies. The microbes kill most of the children."
Ivory frowned and pulled away from him. She looked around the lush garden with its abundance of shrubs and flowers. Water wound lazily along the bed of a pretty little stream, coloring the rocks in sparkling golds and silvers. The ribbon of a waterfall zigzagged along the high rock face forming one wall of the garden. The water shimmered in a long drop. Butterflies flitted and birds sang even under the shine of the moon overhead. It was a dream world.
They could stand together, close like they were, and she could feel the first thrill of love blossoming, the fierce physical pull between them, but even here, the real world crept in. Even here the snake that was Xavier crept in.
"He cannot reach us here," Razvan said. "He no longer has my mind."
"But he can. He colors the world in evil, Dragonseeker. Evil is such a little used word, yet he embodies it. There is no monster in the