Adalasia stirred in his arms. Wait. What? You’re binding us.
Sandu very reluctantly closed the twin holes over the pulse beating so frantically in her neck and opened his shirt. You are my lifemate. The ritual has to be complete. Yes, I am binding us together. Soul to soul. He lengthened his fingernail and opened a line on his chest, pressing her mouth to the crimson drops that were for her alone, distancing her from the act so it wasn’t difficult for her, so she would only taste the ambrosia of his blood.
He threw his head back, need and a very different hunger moving through his body as her mouth moved on him and her tongue lapped at his gift to her. It would have been impossible to think, but the ritual binding words were imprinted on him before his birth, and they were forced from his mind and pushed into hers, weaving their torn souls back together.
Ainaak olenszal sívambin. Your life will be cherished by me for all time. Te élidet ainaak pide minan. Your life will be placed above mine for all time. Te avio päläfertiilam. You are my lifemate. Ainaak sívamet jutta oleny. You are bound to me for all eternity. Ainaak terád vigyázak. You are always in my care.
He cupped the back of her head, holding her in place, letting the distinctive spice of her blood rush through his veins, the dark needs of his kind celebrating the shocking reality of finding his other half after centuries of waiting for her. It seemed an impossibility, but she was there with him in his arms, drinking from him, taking enough for a true exchange. It took three exchanges for a conversion. Two more and his woman would be fully Carpathian. Fully able to be in his world, sleeping beneath the earth with him, instead of vulnerable above it when he couldn’t protect her.
Very gently, he stopped her and allowed her to come out from under the light thrall he had induced in her. It didn’t surprise him that she stepped away from him, putting a good portion of the chamber between them.
“What have you done?” she demanded, pressing her fingertips to her lips.
“Only what was necessary.”
“You bound us together.” It was an accusation.
“You knew it was necessary.”
“I most certainly did not.” Tears shimmered in her eyes.
His heart contracted. He hadn’t expected that. “Why are you so upset? All along, you’ve known what to expect.” He kept his voice gentle. Low. Suppressing his nature. His need to leap across the room and take her in his arms whether she liked it or not.
“We were supposed to talk about it.” She backed up more.
Sandu waved his hand, and a chair immediately was behind her. When she felt it against the backs of her knees, she dropped into it and gripped the stuffed arms.
“We were supposed to discuss it,” she whispered again.
“There is no reason to discuss binding us together,” Sandu said. “That had to happen.” He felt no remorse, although he didn’t like to see his courageous woman truly upset, and she was. “If you know I am ancient, then you know I can’t stay with you during the day. You must sleep, and I have to weave safeguards to protect you. I have to be able to monitor you and know where you are if we ever are separated. You have to be able to reach for me. This is a protection for both of us, as it restores my soul to me. I cannot turn.”
Her lashes fluttered. “Cannot turn?”
“There are monsters in the world that are very real, Adalasia, as you well know. I am a Carpathian. When we are born, our soul is split in two. A female is given our other half to hold in her keeping until we can find her. She holds all the light. We have only darkness in us. We lose all color and emotion after two hundred years. Eventually, we have nothing but our honor to sustain us while we look for our lifemate. I hunt the undead, but without you, I could go down that path. It is not possible now. You are the keeper of my soul, born over and over until I found you.”
He saw knowledge in her expression. In her eyes. There was wariness. And exhaustion. She was at a breaking point, and he didn’t want to push her any further. They had accomplished far more in one night than he ever thought possible. He would command she sleep and go to ground. They could start their journey the next evening together.
Adalasia realized that being alone in a cave system with five very large, scary-looking men and not feeling intimidated just underscored how far from normal she really was. Okay, maybe she did feel some trepidation. A little. Her mouth was drier than usual. It took some work to control her heartbeat, but there were some good reasons for that.