“Your father sent out many warriors. Some are still alive, some have chosen the dawn, and a few have turned vampire,” Falcon agreed. “And there is no doubt that this one has learned much over the years. But he had fifteen years to find Sara, yet she escaped. A human, a child. He can and will be defeated.” He glanced toward the gate. “He left behind his poisonous mark. I spotted it as we came in. And, Jacques, thank you for finding Sara so quickly and getting her to safety. I am in your debt.”
“We have much to learn of one another,” Mikhail said, “and the unpleasant duty of destroying the evil one, but Sara must be able to go to ground. She is beneath the earth in one of the chambers. For her protection, it is best that you convert her immediately.”
Falcon’s dark eyes met his Prince’s. “And you know this can be safely done? In my time such a thing was never tried by any but the undead. The results were frightening.”
Mikhail nodded. “If she is your true lifemate, she must have psychic abilities. She can be converted without danger, but it is not without pain. You will know instinctively what to do for her. You will need to supply her with blood. You must use mine, as you have no time to go out hunting prey.”
“And mine,” Jacques volunteered generously. “We will have need of the connection in the coming battle.”
* * *
Chapter Nine
Sara was waiting for Falcon in the large, beautiful chamber. Candles were everywhere, flames flickering so that the glowing lights cast shadows on the wall. She was alone, sitting on the edge of the bed. The other women had been summoned by their lifemates. Sara jumped up when Falcon walked in. She wore only a man’s silken shirt, the tails reaching nearly to her knees. A single button held the edges together over her generous breasts. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in all his centuries of existence. He closed the door quietly and leaned against it, just drinking her in. She was alive. And she was real.
Sara stared up at him, her heart in her eyes. “It seems like forever.”
Her voice was soft but it washed over him with the strength of a hurricane, making his pulses pound and his senses reel. She was there waiting for him with that same welcome on her face. Real. It was real, and it was just for him.
Falcon held out his hand to her, needing to touch her, to see that she was alive and well, that the healer had worked her miracle. “I never want to experience such terror again. Locked within the earth, I felt helpless to aid you.”
Sara crossed to his side without hesitation. She touched his face with trembling fingertips, traced every beloved line—the curve of his mouth, his dark eyebrows—and rubbed a caress along his shadowed jaw. “But you did come to my aid. You sent the others to me, and you were always with me. I wasn’t alone. More than that, I knew you would save the children.” There was a wealth of love in her voice that stole his heart.
He bent his head to take possession of her tempting mouth. She was soft satin and a dark dream of the future. He took his time, kissing her again and again, savoring the way she melted into him, the way she was so much a part of him. Are you ready to be as I am? To be Carpathian and walk beside me for all time? He couldn’t say it aloud but whispered it intimately in her mind while his heart stood still and his breath caught in his lungs. Waiting. Just waiting for her answer.
You are my world. I don’t think I could bear to be without you. She answered him in the way of his people, wanting to reassure him.
“Is this what you want, Sara? Am I what you want? Be certain of this—it is no easy thing. Conversion is painful.” Falcon tightened his hold on her possessively, but he had to tell her the truth.