“Perhaps he is dead.” Desari circled his neck with her arms, holding him close.
Julian shook his head. “I would have felt his death. The shadow would have gone. I fear he will be drawn to you, through me, that he will come for you.”
She stayed very still in his arms, taking comfort from the strength of his body. “You are no longer a boy, Julian. You have grown very powerful.”
He could feel the tension running through her like a fine wire pulled taut. His hand pushed at her back, a gentle guide toward shore. They had to complete the trip to the next concert site before the sunrise. “He was powerful when I was but a boy, Desari, not yet even a fledgling.” Julian chose his words carefully. “For centuries I have chased the undead and destroyed them, removed all traces of their existence to protect our people. I have witnessed much death and horror, the cunning and destruction these soulless creatures cause. They victimize our people and humans alike. And they grow in power as they age.”
“You were a child,” she said softly. “He more than likely only seemed an ancient to you.” Her heart ached for him, for the terrible loneliness he had endured. “Why did you not tell your Prince? Or your healer? Or your brother?”
“He said he would use me to kill my brother,” he admitted without expression. That pain ran so deep, Julian couldn’t totally share it. “Ever since I have dedicated my life to destroying the vampire. You have not seen, as I have, what they can do. I cannot let myself allow you into such dangerous situations to appease your desire for ‘equality.’ I have no choice but to protect you, even though it may mean at times we cannot agree.”
Desari waded onto the shore and, automatically, without conscious thought, regulated her body temperature so she did not feel the cold of the night on her wet skin. She wrung out her long hair. “Is it so different then, being a hunter, a powerful male, than a powerful, ancient female who does not hunt?”
Julian shrugged his broad shoulders with a lazy ripple of muscle, striding easily after her. “We males are predators first, Desari. We have not a female’s compassion and goodness in us. Our lives are ones of justice, right versus wrong. Those of us who are hunters see death continually, betrayal by old friends and even family members. We are forced to destroy those we once cared for or perhaps even owed debts to. We must protect the females from these horrors they were not made for.”
“You are much like my brother. You and Darius think and react almost alike,” Desari admitted as she donned clothing with a wave of her hand. Blue jeans and white sweater with pearl buttons down the front covered her, hiding her skin from his view. “I see why you think I should give you obedience, but I am no child, and I am not capable of returning to that state.”
“Cara mia, I value your opinion in all things. But I am a hunter, a male Carpathian. It is imprinted on us, before our very birth, what our duty is. We know the ritual binding words, and we know we must protect our women and our children above all else. I cannot rid myself of this responsibility, nor do I know if I would want to do so.”
Desari stood tall and straight, her long hair flowing in the slight breeze. She looked regal, like a queen. “It is shocking to me that males of your acquaintance have forced females no older than a fledgling to bind with them. I am no child or fledgling, lifemate. I am a woman with much power. I know who I am and what I want. I do not wish to be ordered about as if I have no common sense. Why would you think I would interfere in your battles with the undead? But it is my right as your lifemate to aid you, be it with strength or healing.”
Julian clothed himself in matching blue jeans and a white shirt. He turned her words over in his mind and found himself agreeing with her. She deserved the same respect he gave to Darius. Were her gifts any less than her brother’s? He did respect her; how could he not? He respected any woman strong enough to become lifemate to the Carpathian male, fledgling or no. He let his breath out slowly. Was this the dilemma of every hunter when he found his true lifemate?
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