Water trickled from the far cavern wall, the sound loud in the ensuing silence. “He wanted me to join with them,” Destiny admitted in a little rush. “He recognized the stench of evil in my blood, and he called to me and asked me to join their movement.”
Savannah made a soft sound of distress. “How awful for you, and so frightening.”
“It was difficult to face the truth of his words. My blood is like a beacon drawing the vampires. When I hunt them, they are always aware of me.”
Gregori held up an imperious hand. His silver eyes moved from Destiny to Nicolae. “This woman hunts the undead?”
Destiny laid her hand on Nicolae’s chest, suddenly furious that he would have to defend her actions. Tiny red flames leapt in her eyes. “I don’t need Nicolae to answer for me. I’m perfectly capable of speaking for myself.”
Savannah’s soft mouth twitched, and she coughed delicately into her hand.
Gregori shifted, a rippling of muscle. His eyes shifted back to Destiny’s furious face. He bowed his head slightly. “Forgive me. In our society, women are guarded carefully as the treasures they are. We need every one of them and do not care to risk their lives. I did not mean to offend.” There was a clear reprimand in his semi-conciliatory words.
Destiny met Savannah’s laughing eyes. “You poor woman. Is he always like that? Vikirnoff has the same attitude.”
“You get used to him.” Savannah ignored Gregori’s warning touch. “He’s all bark, no bite. I’m doing my best to convince him I would make a great hunter, but so far he’s unconvinced. Do you really hunt vampires?” There was genuine interest and admiration in her voice.
Gregori’s strange silver eyes glittered with menace. “Savannah.” He sounded very severe. He stirred, a menace of movement.
Savannah leaned into him but didn’t subside. “How did you ever get started?” she asked Destiny.
The taunting half-smile directed in Gregori’s direction froze on Destiny’s face. She reached almost blindly for Nicolae’s hand. He was there instantly, his fingers threading through hers. “Destiny was taken by a vampire as a small child. He forced her to take his blood and converted her. Fortunately, she is psychic and the conversion did not destroy her. She had no choice but to learn to hunt. It was the only way to gain her freedom.” Nicolae gave the information easily, casually, as if he weren’t telling a story of terrible atrocity and torture.
Savannah turned to her lifemate. His hand moved lovingly over her small face. He bowed again toward Destiny in a gesture of respect. “Few people could survive such a thing. It is an honor for me to attempt a healing on such a strong, courageous person. Your survival is a true testament to the beauty of a woman’s spirit.”
Destiny had expected to be shunned. She had steeled herself for it. Being accepted was unsettling. She didn’t know how to respond to warmth and acceptance. She gaped at the newcomers as if they had grown new heads.
Nicolae. She sounded lost. A child seeking reassurance. The sands were shifting under her feet. Everything she had believed seemed untrue. Gregori was intimidating, but certainly less so than Nicolae could be. And Savannah was completely open and friendly.
“Thank you,” she managed to stammer aloud.
“Tell me more about this vampire Pater and his coalition,” Gregori suggested to Nicolae.
“I have noticed the vampires have been traveling together more, banding together in small groups. They have done so at times throughout the centuries, but never in such numbers. This is the first time I have encountered one who actually tried to recruit. He spoke of the power of numbers and how they could defeat hunters by aiding one another. He spoke to others like a commander in an army. He tried hard to get Destiny. And he is smart, this one. The poisons he used are more sophisticated than any I have seen before.” Nicolae raked his fingers through his hair and met Gregori’s glittering eyes. “I believe the threat to our people, and in particular to our Prince, is a serious one.”
There was a small silence while Gregori pondered Nicolae’s remarks. “Many of the ancients use lesser or fledgling vampires as sacrificial pawns. This is not the same thing. They are actually aiding each other and sharing blood?”